Page 5 of Mine to Keep

“That’s not entirely true.” His father ran a hand across his unshaven face. “Your mom and I have always struggled, and we were in a bad place when she and Steve had their affair. I left her before that happened, not the other way around.”

“Why do you always make excuses for her?”

“I’m not,” his father said. “When we got back together, she had no idea that she was pregnant. When we found out, we decided that I was the father, and I was okay with that. I loved her and wanted my family back.”

Jamison was the youngest child of six boys, and until a couple of years ago, he’d thought that he was a Kirby. He’d had no idea that his entire existence had been a sham.

“I missed your brothers, and then you came along, and…God, you were such a cute little bugger,” his father continued.

Jamison had heard this story so many times over the last two years, he could mouth the exact words that would tumble from his father’s lips.

His mother’s exact language would be slightly different, but he could repeat that verbatim, as well.

“She lied to me for my entire life,” Jamison said.

“So did I, and you’ve forgiven me.”

“That’s different.”

“I don’t see how,” his father said, holding up his hand. “And if you’re going to start in on why she and I finally called it quits around the time that Steve came back to town, I had already moved out a few months before. However, I will admit that his return was the final blow. But he’s not the only reason. If you think back to your childhood, you’ll likely remember that your mom and I had a pretty crappy marriage. As much as we loved each other, we couldn’t live together. How or why we stayed all those years after you boys grew up, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we were afraid to be alone. Steve made it easy for your mom to make that decision, and it was a relief for me.”

“Steve was in Lighthouse Cove for a year before he decided to fuck with our family and had to know if I was his biologically or not. And now they both want me to have open communication. That’s never going to happen.” It twisted Jamison’s gut that his mother even thought it was okay to encourage Steve to text and call. Jamison would never be a part of Steve’s life. He’d had thirty-seven years to get to know Jamison and had done nothing.

No. Jamison was not Steve’s son. It didn’t matter that the biology was there. Not one bit. Dalton Kirby was his father. He was the man who’d raised him. Who loved him unconditionally. Dalton deserved Jamison’s respect. His loyalty. And his love.

“I can’t say that I was thrilled he did that, but deep down, your mother and I knew he was your father, even before you were born,” his dad said. “I don’t like Steve, but he’s not going anywhere, and I want you to have a relationship with your brothers and your mom, and that includes Steve’s children. Those are your brothers and sisters, too.”

Jamison had met Steve’s four children a couple of times. They were nice enough, and they struggled with the entire idea, as well. But they were more concerned that Jamison would come in and take their money.

Jamison could care less about that.

“How you deal with Steve’s kids is between you and them, but I hope you open your heart to getting to know them. They areyourflesh and blood.” His father tapped his chest. “It hurtsmyheart that you barely talk to your brothers and that you haven’t really spoken to your mom since you found out. I blame myself for that. I could have handled the situation differently.” His father inched closer, resting a firm hand on Jamison’s shoulder. “Nathan is on his way over. Be kind. Your brothers don’t deserve your wrath. They didn’t do anything wrong.”

“They think I should get to know Steve, and not just because of the biology. Because Mom is dating him.”

“If you’re doing this because of me, then stop. I’m not the least bit intimidated by you having any kind of relationship with Steve. I know the kind of bond we have, and no one can take that from us. No one.” His father pulled him in for a manly hug. “I love you, son.”

“I love you, too, Dad.”

“I’ll take your Jeep back to your place,” his father said. “You did a good thing today.” He patted Jamison on the back. “I’ll see you for dinner tonight?”

Jamison handed his father the keys to his SUV. “Of course.” He stepped back and watched as his dad had a short conversation with Nathan. He should make a beeline for Bryn’s small sedan, but if he did that, he’d never hear the end of it at his dad’s place, and tonight was all about meeting his father’s new girlfriend, Lanie. Though Jamison had recently learned that his father had been secretly dating Lanie on and off for the last year. The only reason they’d kept it under wraps was that Lanie wasn’t sure she was ready after her own divorce, and she lived an hour north.

However, she planned to move to Lighthouse Cove and in with Jamison’s dad at some point.

It was something that Jamison had mixed emotions about. He wanted his dad to be happy, and he knew that would never be with his mother. But he wasn’t ready for either of them to move on in such a permanent way.

“Hey, Jamison,” Nathan said as he strolled across the sidewalk.

Everyone in Jamison’s family had ties to law enforcement, except for him and Miles, who was a mechanic—though being a firefighter did put Jamison in the first-responder category. His brother, Rhett, was a private investigator. That said, his defense attorney father used Rhett often, as did Jamison’s oldest brother, Seth, who was also an attorney, though he worked in corporate law.

“I’m in a bit of a hurry. What’s up?” Jamison exhaled through his nose. The only time he saw his brothers these days was at his father’s house or if he bumped into them in town. Otherwise, he avoided them simply because they didn’t see any problem accepting Steve into their lives.

They didn’t understand why even going for coffee would bother Jamison or make him feel uncomfortable.

“Pretty amazing what you did today,” Nathan said.

“Just doing my job.”

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