Page 47 of My Song for You
“I’m his guardian. My parents must have convinced Alexis to make a will.” My parents had also been listed as guardians, for all the good that had done Logan.
Jared scrubbed his hand against his face. “So even then, in the event that she died, she couldn’t be bothered to admit the truth and list me as his legal guardian? She was willing to risk my son’s future for her idiotic charade? And what would have happened to him if you’d been in the vehicle? Who would’ve taken care of him then?”
“He would’ve been placed with children’s services and put up for adoption.” At his darkening expression, I added, my anger equaling his, “What, you thought it would’ve been better for Logan to be handed over to you? You could have been on tour then, for all she knew. Then what would you have done?”
But even my own words sounded hollow. Deep down, I knew Jared would’ve stepped up when he needed to, but I had allowed my sister to sway me, the way she always did. The more time that had gone by, the easier it had become not to contact Jared after my sister’s death and tell him about his son. And besides, Logan was the only family I had left. I needed him as much as he needed me. I couldn’t let Jared take him away from me.
“My sister and her husband would’ve been more than happy to take him in.”
“Yes, but when Alexis wrote the will, your sister was still in college.” Like I had been. “And it wasn’t as though my sister was expecting to die.” I swallowed hard, searching for the strength to ask my next question. “Now that you know the truth, what does it mean?” I chewed on my lip, hoping it meant nothing. That we could go back to how things were before and no one else had to know the truth, including Logan.
“I want custody of my son. I want him to know who his father is. And I want him to be part of my family, like he should have been from the beginning.”
Panic hit me like a boulder speeding down a steep slope. “You can’t do that,” I practically yelled.
“Legally I can. I already have the DNA test result to prove he’s my son. His biological mother is dead, so legally I can have full custody of him, especially since the fact that he is my son was kept from me.”
“But I’m his mother.”
“Legally, you’re not.”
“When did you become a fucking lawyer?” My legs were shaking uncontrollably at the possibility that I would lose not only the one person who loved me but the only family I had left. Before my legs could give out on me, I stumbled to the couch and sank down on it.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Jared sat next to me and let out a hard breath. “Hey, at least now you can go back to studying animation. You no longer have to worry about Logan, and you won’t have to spend your life working at the diner. Now you can finally date again and not worry about Logan getting hurt. You can finally have your life back.”
“How can I not worry about my son? He’s the only part of my sister I have left! Don’t you get that?” I said, stubbornly refusing to quit calling Logan my son. I didn’t care what Jared said—Logan was still my son. I might not have officially adopted him, but in my heart he would always be my child.
“You really don’t believe I’ll be a good father, do you?” Jared said, his voice reminding me of the eye of a hurricane, ready to lull you into a false sense of security before the vicious winds hit again.
“How could you be? Have you forgotten what you do for a living? Have you forgotten Logan is deaf? Are you planning to bring him on tour with you? What about his school? Are you planning to bring the necessary specialists with you to help him learn to communicate?”
“My parents and sister will help out.”
But not me.
Numbness crept in at the implication behind his words. He didn’t trust me because I’d kept my promise to the sister I’d loved.
“What about the media and paparazzi?” I asked. “Once they find out about him, he’ll never be left alone. He’ll never have the same freedom other kids have.”
“That’s not true. The paparazzi don’t target most celebrities’ kids. Most people aren’t even aware those celebrities have kids.”
It might’ve been true, but all I could see in my mind were those celebrity kids who were constantly in the limelight. With Tiffany and Jared possibly getting back together, there was no way Logan would stay free of the spotlight.
Jared pushed himself off the couch. “I’ve made up my mind, Callie. Your sister and then you kept me out of my son’s life for whatever misguided reasons you had. I’ll never get those years back, but I definitely plan to be in his life from now on.”
Without giving me a backward glance, he stalked out of the living room. A few seconds later, the apartment door clicked shut.
In the end, after everything was said and done, everyone had left me. Alexis. My parents. My ex-boyfriend.
And soon Logan and Jared would be added to the list—and I would lose everything that mattered to me.
Chapter 20
Callie
In the staff locker room the next day, I stripped my uniform off and changed into my jeans and T-shirt.
