Page 84 of Born Daddy

Chapter Twenty-Three

By the time they’d returned from their walk with a dozen ears of corn in tow, they’d been gone an hour and a half. His mom arched her eyebrows with a lopsided smile when they entered the kitchen. She set down a knife next to the cutting board, a half-sliced tomato rolling to the side, and wiped her hands on a towel before reaching for the bag.

“Here. Your dad has already started the coals, so I should get these shucked right away.”

“Oh, I can help with that.”

Tate’s small voice drew her attention. “That would be wonderful, thank you.”

As a family, they’d always pitched in growing up. Tate would fit right in.

Tate glanced up at Rogan, who dipped his chin at Tate in approval, his hand at the small of Tate’s back as he encouraged him to go with his mom.

“I saw Seb’s car. Is he watching the game?”

His mom peered over her shoulder where she was pulling the ears of corn from the bag.

“He is.” She chuckled. “You’d better get in there. He was wondering where you’d run off to.” She regarded Tate with a smile. “We’ll be okay in here.”

Rogan didn’t hesitate to reach for Tate’s waist and pressed a kiss to his temple. Despite the light blush that filled Tate’s cheeks and his mom’s pretense that she hadn’t noticed, he felt it had been the right thing to do.

Let there be no doubt.

“See you in a bit, sweetheart.” He winked and Tate’s blush deepened.

As he left the room, his mother’s voice trailed after him, her friendly tone that Rogan knew to be genuine bolstering his confidence even more. By the time he’d made it through the small house to the den where everyone else was watching the game, his thoughts were on his brother. He and Seb had always been close, still got together and talked outside family get togethers.

There would be questions.

When Rogan entered the den, the first thing he noticed was that Seb had chosen not to take a seat, but was instead leaning against the pine paneling with his arms crossed. That alone telegraphed to Rogan his brother had only been biding his time until they returned.

Seb glanced up as Rogan entered the room. “Hey, bro. You finally made it.”

He grabbed his brother in a hug, giving him a couple hearty pats on the back before letting go. Seb squeezed Rogan’s shoulder as he locked gazes with him. He jerked his head toward the front entrance that no one ever used. The message was clear. He wanted a chance to speak with Rogan before meeting Tate.

His dad and Gerry were engrossed enough in the game they’d never notice Rogan and Seb’s absence, and Kathy was sitting in a side chair, seemingly lost in her own world. They had no problem quietly making their way outside without commentary.

“Well,” said Seb once the door had closed behind him. “I guess we have a lot more than usual to get caught up on.”

“That we do.” Rogan lowered himself onto the landing of the brick steps. “First off, how’ve you been doing? Sorry I haven’t been all that talkative since the funeral.”

Seb raked his fingers through his dark, wavy hair—a trademark of the Steele clan. “I have a feeling I know why.” He sighed and locked eyes with Rogan. “I’m not gonna bust your balls. To be honest, I felt a little bad for not offering to go to Cam’s funeral with you. I heard Lenny and Mitch crapped out.”

“Yeah, they did.” Rogan sighed. “I was kinda pissed at the time, but now I’m glad they didn’t—for a couple reasons. One is I’m afraid of what Mitch’s behavior might’ve been like in front of Mrs. LeBlanc, and…”

He hoped his brother would understand. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized how important his brother’s approval was. It wouldn’t change anything between him and Tate, but Seb’s acceptance still mattered.

“And what? Is that where you met him?”

Clarifying who ‘him’ was seemed pointless.

“Actually, I’d met him a few times before at Cam’s place, but didn’t even remember his name.” Rogan scratched his jaw. “He seemed like a nice kid and all, but he never interacted with any of us. I’d always assumed it was related to a social awkwardness of some sort, but now I wonder if it was due to Cam. You know, not wanting his new life to bleed into his old one.”

Seb let out a snort. “I’ll say. Especially not in front of a cop.”

Rogan shook his head. “No, I don’t think it was because of that aspect. Tate didn’t know anything, so him slipping up and giving anything away wasn’t the issue. After a lot of soul searching and reflection on my friendship with Cam, I can now see what an actor he was, what a manipulator. I believe his larger concern was he didn’t want the persona he’d created for his old group of friends to be dismantled. Whatever it was about the dynamic between the four of us, he didn’t want it to be shattered.” Rogan grunted. “It’s almost as if our little gang was one of his creations and he didn’t want it ruined.”

“Wow.” Seb faced the lake, folding his hands then leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “All those years. Damn.” He regarded Rogan again. “So, you truly believe this kid Tate didn’t know anything about the murders.”

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