Page 90 of Call it Fate

It had been painful to leave them back in Sterling Mill, but I at least took some good memories with me. Iain had given me a handful of drawings to put on my refrigerator, but they didn’t erase the look of dejection on his face. I think the only thing that made it better for him was my asking Emalee if she’d keep Milo. I knew she didn’t have a lot of room, but I needed to know there was a daily reminder of me there for her. I knew she wanted the same when she readily agreed, and Raelyn had even made a cushioned bed for Milo to go with the smaller one she’d made for Callie, the name Iain had given his kitten. Emalee had packed several frozen meals for me and promised there would be more when one of us next made the trip to see each other.

Even several other Sterling Mill residents came to see me off the day before I left. Harrison, Noreen, Lessa, and Sam had stopped by the clinic to thank me once again and gave me a loaf of homemade banana nut bread. I was thrilled to see Lessa had taken well to Sam, who, in turn, was doing everything he’d been trained to do perfectly. I was proud as I saw Harrison navigate his way out of the clinic with Sam’s help, and Lessa was no longer limping as she trotted faithfully alongside the pair.

The Ladies Auxiliary Guild gave me a quilt they’d put together, a beautiful star-type pattern made of blues and greens that would easily remind me of the mountains where it had been made. Megan brought me some sweet treats, and Cam and Chase gave me a beautifully framed picture of Em, Iain, and me.

I remembered the moment it was taken well. We’d been trying to capture a family photo, but one of Chase’s goats suddenly photo bombed us from behind. Em and Iain had their heads thrown back in pure joy as they laughed at the goat, but it was them I was watching with a huge smile. It was an honest, happy moment in time, even better than the more traditional picture we’d finally captured.

The daytime hours passed quickly while I worked alongside Dr. Anders. Because of his specialty, we received more complex cases than we had in Sterling Mill. I loved everything about my work…except going home where it was too quiet.

I usually caught up with Em and Iain shortly before Iain’s bedtime. He filled me in on everything he was doing, mostly talking about more outdoor playtime as the days grew warmer. I missed seeing him in action, missed seeing him race from one place to another unless it was to school.

Each night that passed, the black seed of anger that had been planted when I learned what my father had done grew. It fed on my grief of missing out on so many years and blossomed with my newfound loneliness until I couldn’t ignore it anymore. If my father hadn’t interfered when Emalee had approached him, if he had told me she was pregnant, we would have been together all this time. I was sure of it. It was his actions that sent Emalee packing to Sterling Mill permanently, his actions that kept us separated, and his fucking actions that made me miss out on six years of our son’s life.

It needed to be dealt with.

* * *

“Mr. Abbott,you can’t go in there!”

I ignored the frantic cry of my father’s secretary and strode right through his door like I owned the place. Ironic. There was a time I thought that would be the case. Now I was gladder than ever that I’d changed course. I wanted nothing to do with him ever again after this.

He was behind his desk, laughing at something someone was saying on the phone. As soon as he saw me, his face grew serious, and if I wasn’t mistaken, a flash of fear hastened through his eyes, though it was quickly hidden. He finished his phone call with a brusque, “I’ll call you back,” surprising me with his quick attention. Maybe he knew I wasn’t above creating a scene.

“The prodigal son has returned. What has you all ablaze?”

I walked right around his desk and grabbed him around the neck, hauling him out of his chair. “You bastard!” I yelled right before my fist knocked him back into his chair. I grabbed him again.

A gasp sounded from the doorway. His secretary stood with her hand across her chest. “I’m calling security.”

I shoved him away from me, and he stumbled a few feet. Then he rolled his shoulders and straightened his tie, never taking his eyes from mine. “Don’t bother, Elaine,” my father’s choked voice called.

She paused in her retreat and looked at him like he was crazy. “What?”

I was sure one look at my flaring nostrils and clenched fists might have made him think twice, but he gave her a curt nod as he stayed on the other side of the room from me. “Close the door, and see that I’m not disturbed.”

Her nod was hesitant, but she did as he requested. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had security on standby outside the door.

I whirled on him, pleased by the flinch he couldn’t hide. “You son of a bitch. How could you? How could you keep Emalee from me? Keepmy sonfrom me?”

He didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed as he stood and moved toward the sitting area in his oversized office.

“You knew she was pregnant with my child.”

“Did you really think Julio wouldn’t report back to me that you wanted to use him to track down some nobody? That’s right. Julio looked into her all right, but for me, not for you.” He snorted. “Grow up, Zach. That’s what real power is.”

He was full of shit. “How could you? You knew she was important to me. Me. Your own son! You betrayed me!”

“Because you betrayed me!” His voice boomed throughout the office. “You were supposed to stand by my side. Abbott and Abbott. Instead, a quick shake in the sack and you’re hooked on to something different. Changing your mind about your future, turning down internships, and running around for a year. I thought you simply had wanderlust. I could forgive that, but then you inform me that you’re changing career paths.”

Like a sparkler, my anger flamed and then sizzled. Instead, a deep sorrow filled my bones to the marrow. “So you stole my son from me as punishment,” I whispered hoarsely.

He reached for something inside his desk drawer, then moved to a set of chairs off to the side. He gestured for me to sit, but I didn’t want to oblige him. I crossed my arms and didn’t move, so he shrugged and threw something on the table. He sat, crossing one ankle across the opposite knee and folded his hands in his lap, and stared at me. It was a pose I’d seen hundreds of times when he was in business meetings, his posture giving nothing away other than a sense of authority.

“So, she had the baby,” he finally said in a flat voice.

Was he for real? “She didn’t have just any baby. She had myson.Did you think she wouldn’t?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I wasn’t sure. A girl her age, her finances…one wouldn’t really blame her if she made a different decision.”

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