Page 39 of Searching for Valor

Anna shook her head, but her eyes sparkled with amusement. “You’re ridiculous,” she said, pushing herself up from the floor.

“Ridiculously handsome, you mean.” He set Poppy back on her feet and pulled his wife into his arms, pressing a kiss to her temple.

She laughed, the sound vibrating against his chest. “Among other things.”

“Mm, we’ll have to explore all of those…” He waggled his brows. “Other thingsin detail later.”

She slapped a hand to his chest. “Zakir Hendricks, behave. Our daughter’s in the room.”

“That’s okay,” Poppy said. She’d settled back on the rug and was in the process of building something else with the Legos. “If you’re talking about sex, I already know about sex.”

Zak’s mouth dropped open. He looked at his daughter, then his wife, then back at his daughter. Thankfully, his phone rang right then. “Annnd this is where Daddy extracts himself from the conversation.”

“Coward,” Anna called after him as he made a quick retreat back to the kitchen.

He winced but then grinned when he saw Bella’s name on the phone’s screen and swiped to answer. “Hey, Bells. Perfect timing. You saved me from a very uncomfortable conversation with your sister.”

“Hey, Dad.” Bella’s voice came through the line, bright and cheerful. Hearing her call him “Dad” still gave him a swell of strange, bittersweet pride. “What conversation?”

“One I’m not having with you, either. How’s school?”

She laughed. “It’s good. Classes are intense, but I’m managing. Making a lot of new friends,” she replied, then hesitated.

His alarm bells instantly started jangling. “What’s wrong? Do you need me to come get you? Beat someone up? I will jump in the car right now?—”

“No, Dad,” she said in the kind of exasperated tone only a teenager could perfect. “I’m fine. Really. I love it here, and I do not need you driving down and scaring my new friends.” She hesitated again and it took every ounce of self control he possessed to stay where he was instead of she hesitated again and it took every ounce of self control he possessed to stay where he was instead of grabbing his keys and sprinting for the door.

“Bella, you’re starting to freak me out. What’s going on?”

She exhaled in a rush. “I, uh… I met him.”

The words hit Zak like a sledgehammer to the chest. He gripped the edge of the counter, his non-metal leg suddenly feeling like it might buckle beneath him.

Zak’s chest tightened.Him.Bella didn’t need to say who—he knew. Her birth father. The man whose daughter had been stolen from him as a baby. The man who searched for her for nearly fifteen years, only find her and immediately lose her all over again. Yeah, it had been Kyrone Madison’s choice to give up his parental rights and he’d even given his blessing for Zak and Anna to adopt Bella. But they’d both always known Bella may eventually seek Ky out and he’d spent years dreading the day.

Zak wasn’t ready for this conversation—not now, not yet. He’d rather go back and face the sex talk with Poppy.

But it was happening, whether he liked it or not.

“Ky is in LA?” he managed to ask, his voice sounding strange and far away to his own ears.

“Yeah.” She paused. “Are you mad?”

“No, of course not,” he said automatically, even as a storm of emotions swirled inside him— anxiety, protectiveness, a twinge of irrational jealousy. He took a slow breath, trying to keep his voice steady. “How did that happen?”

“He reached out a few weeks ago, said he wanted to meet me when he came to town for work. I wasn’t sure at first, but...I was curious.” Bella’s voice was cautious, like she knew this was hard for him. “I mean, I know I met him before. That night Poppy and I were kidnapped, and you, him, and Poppy’s bio dad all came to find us. But that wasn’t, like, normal circumstances. He was shot and then he was sick, and everyone thought he was going to die… and I guess I didn’t think I’d ever actually get to just talk to him. He’s in a wheelchair now. Paralyzed from the waist down.”

“I know.” Although Ky had gone back to Boston after he had healed enough to travel, Zak had kept tabs on the man. He’d never been able to shake the feeling that he hadn’t seen the last of Ky Madison. He swallowed, his heart thudding painfully in his chest as he asked the question he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to. “And… how did it go?”

“We had coffee. It wasn’t… I mean, it wasn’t bad. He seemed nervous, but we talked for a while.” Bella paused as if she was looking for the right words. “It was… weird, I guess. I know he’s my bio dad, and I know he loved me before I was kidnapped. I think I would’ve had a good life with him and his wife—my bio mom. He told me a bit about her. She seemed like she was a really good mom. I wish I could’ve had that growing up.”

Every word cut like a hot knife. “Yeah,” he managed and hated that his voice sounded strangled. “I wish you could’ve had it, too.”

“But, the thing is, I didn’t feel a connection with him. Not like I do with you and Mom.”

Zak closed his eyes, relief washing over him, though it was quickly followed by guilt. He shouldn’t feel this way. Bella had every right to seek out her biological father, and he’d promised himself he wouldn’t stand in her way. But the truth was, he had been terrified that she’d meet Ky and feel something—something that would pull her away from them, from the family they’d built.

“Are you… are you okay?” Zak asked, his voice softer now.

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