Page 48 of Mine to Keep

“She wanted me to move back, but I couldn’t. And if she were to leave, your dad wouldn’t have let her take your brothers.”

There was a reason Jamison didn’t want to hear this. “I take it if it had been proven that I was your kid, she would have been able to take me.”

Steve nodded.

“And you met your wife, so you told her no.”

“Actually, that relationship was new, and I was madly in love with your mom. I would have blown up my life in a heartbeat.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Your mom couldn’t move to Miami,” Steve said. “And I couldn’t leave.”

“Why the fuck not?” Jamison asked with a fair amount of anger. He had no idea where it had come from.

Actually, that wasn’t true.

He felt abandoned.

By his biological father.

“There were things I needed to take care of in down south. And considering the situation and with Dalton knowing about the affair, I felt as if I needed to make a sacrifice so that you could have the best life. I called Dalton. We agreed not to find out who the father was and to put him down on the birth certificate. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for your dad. I know how hard it was for me. But I wasn’t looking at your face day in and day out, and I asked Rebecca not to send me pictures. The one time she did, I knew immediately that you were my kid.” Steve leaned across his desk and pulled open the center drawer. He pulled out a photograph. “I guess this was the day you got your driver’s license.”

“Wow. I remember that day.” Jamison took the image. His hand shook as he stared at his younger self. He couldn’t help it. He glanced between the photo and Steve.

He looked just like him. There was no denying that.

He glanced at all the pictures of Steve’s two boys and two daughters lining the bookshelves behind his desk.

Jamison and Melbourne looked as if they could be twins. Orlando had a bit of a different look, but there was still a huge resemblance. And, of course, he saw the similarities to his half-sisters.

It was hard to comprehend that he had four more siblings to add to the five he already had.

“Dalton told me that if we were going to do this, I had to go away and never come back,” Steve said.

“I guess you’re not a man of your word.”

“That’s not fair. Because I did exactly that until you well into your thirties.” Steve puffed out his chest. “I left you alone. I raised my family. I did the best I could to stay in my corner. But you are right when it comes to Rebecca. She and I broke our word to your dad by remaining friends. When I returned three years ago, your father asked me if I was going to come after you, and I said no.”

“But you did anyway.”

“Put yourself in my shoes. Wouldn’t you want to know?”

That was a question no one had ever asked Jamison, including himself and his therapist. And he didn’t have an answer. He wasn’t prepared to dig deep and examine the question.

Only, the tickle in his heart told him that maybe, just maybe, he might want to know if he were Steve.

“And, for the record, I didn’t break up your parents’ marriage. And you know that. They separated a dozen times. I know because your mom called me each and every time.”

“You can stop right there.” Jamison had heard enough. “I know what it’s like to have a wife cheat on me. While I understand that Cheryl and I had other issues, it was the affair that put the final nail in that coffin. You put a few of those in my parents. All those letters, emails, and late-night phone calls, they did a number on their relationship.”

“Perhaps. But at the end of the day, we all tried to protect you. That includes both your dad and me.”

“If that’s the case, why did you feel the need to tell me the truth after all these years?” Jamison had never asked anyone that question, and whenever his dad tried to explain, he shut him down.

Same with his mom.

That had been before his divorce. Once he and Cheryl split, everyone cut him some slack, but now it was all building again since Steve and his mom were all lovey-dovey.

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