Page 43 of Finding You

She lifted up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “The feeling is mutual.”

A few seconds later, she knocked on Christopher’s door. When she heard him saycome in, she pushed it open and stepped inside with Zion following behind her.

Raven was surprised to see Christopher sitting up in bed, but she wasn’t surprised to see him with a cell phone nearby as well as several file folders. He might be retired, but he kept tabs on all his business interests. Not even an IV drip attached to his left hand could slow him down.

Her gaze took in the clear liquid flowing through the tube, but other than that, he didn’t look sick. Tired. Maybe even exhausted, but not sick.

Christopher removed the bifocals that had been hanging on the edge of his nose and set them on the bedside table. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his eyes wide. He smiled as his gaze darted between her and Zion.

Raven moved to the left side of the bed and placed a kiss on his clean-shaven cheek. “G-Pop, I should be asking you the same thing. What’s going on? Why’d I have to hear from your housekeeper that you were here?”

“Nothing. Just came in for a few tests,” he said flippantly, and she knew he was keeping something from her. No way would the hospital keep him overnight for tests… Would they?

Christopher shoved the documents he’d been reading, before they walked in, into the folder and then set the folder aside. His attention then went to Zion, and he studied him before saying, “You must be someone important because Raven doesn’t usually bring people to meet me.”

Zion smiled and stepped forward with his hand outstretched. “Zion Priestly. The twins’ father.”

“Christopher Osbourne,” Christopher said and shook Zion’s hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“You too, sir. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Christopher countered, glancing at Raven with his right eyebrow lifted. “She hasn’t shared much of anything about the kids’ father. If I remember correctly, she told me it was complicated.”

Raven glanced away. It had been complicated. She hadn’t wanted to admit that she didn’t really know her babies’ father. That she’d had one-night of mind-blowing sex with a man who had only given her his first name. That she’d had no way of contacting said man to tell him that she was pregnant.

But then, Maximus had told his grandfather that he was the father of the twins. Raven had been livid and hurried to correct that lie. Christopher had been excited about having great-grandchildren, and she’d hated to tell him that Maximus had lied. That he wasn’t the father, and that she and Maximus had parted ways long before the babies were conceived.

She wasn’t a hundred percent sure Christopher believed her, but he knew his grandson. He knew the man he’d help raise was a lowlife at times and couldn’t always be trusted.

Since that conversation, which had been early in her pregnancy, whenever she and the babies visited Christopher, they didn’t discuss the kids’ father or her love life. To Christopher’s credit, he never brought the subject up again, but he treated the babies as if they were his family. Doting on them whenever he got a chance. Against her protests, he had even set up trust funds for them.

Raven appreciated that, but she never wanted him to think she visited him because of his money. She liked hanging out with the old man, and he’d been the only father figure she’d had in her life since her father died. Christopher was generous to a fault and wanted to do more for her and the kids, but Raven had told him that if she needed anything, he’d be the first person she called.

Recently, he had requested that, when the twins started talking, he wanted them to refer to him as G-Pop, their great-grandfather. Raven loved the idea, and the only thing that gave her pause was Maximus. As long as he was out of the picture and not trying to use his grandfather to get to her, she’d teach the kids that Christopher was their honorary great-grandfather.

Now that she was relocating, she wasn’t sure how often they’d see him. Besides that, her babies would be growing up with their paternal grandparents. Would they even have a chance to get to know Christopher?

“What do you do for a living?” she heard Christopher ask Zion. “I assume you don’t live in Houston since this is the first time we’re meeting.”

“No, sir. I’m a police officer with Chicago P.D.”

Raven watched Christopher as he and Zion chatted it up about crime in big cities, and then they discussed Zion’s military days. That conversation slid into sports-talk since there was an NBA game on the television. The TV had been muted when they walked in, but Christopher unmuted it. No doubt that was to keep Raven from asking questions about his health.

For the most part, he looked fine, but he had lost weight since the last time she’d seen him. Christopher was in his early eighties, and when they’d first met well over a year ago, he’d looked younger than he was. He had always been active, but as of late, his age was starting to show.

“Why do I have a feeling you’re sicker than you’re letting on?” she asked, not caring if she was interrupting his and Zion’s conversation about the game.

“Little girl, I told you why I was in here. You can believe what you want,” he said mildly, not bothering to look at her.

She almost laughed. He only used the phraselittle girlwhen she was getting on his nerves. Typically, that was during the times she was asking about his health or telling him he needed to at least act like he was retired.

Zion glanced between them, then pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and glanced at the screen. He reached for her hand and squeezed it.

“I’m going to step out and return some calls while you two visit,” he told her. To Christopher, he extended his hand again, and they shook. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“Same here, son. If I don’t see you before you head back to Chicago, safe travels.”

Raven almost groaned. That was something else Christopher didn’t know yet. She was going back to Chicago with Zion.

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