When I Found You by Brenda Novak

Twelve

Aaron’s truck was parked in front of the house when Dylan got home. His brother had driven almost three hours from Reno, where he ran their second Amos Auto Body location, even though he had to be up early to open the shop.

As soon as Dylan let himself into the house, both Aaron and Cheyenne came to their feet, and Cheyenne rushed across the room, her worried gaze searching his face—probably for any hint of forgiveness. “Dyl?” she said. “Are you okay?”

He nodded.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

He put an arm around her, drawing her close. He wasn’t sure how he felt about what they’d done, but he knew Mack was right. They loved him, and they meant well. And since, in his mind, fairness meant judging by intentions and not actions, he had to take their good intentions into consideration. “It’s going to be okay,” he said as she buried her face in his chest. “We’ll figure it out.”

Aaron didn’t say anything until Dylan looked at him.

“I’m sorry, bro,” he said. “We just wanted to make you happy.”

“I know.” Dylan sighed. “So...what do we do now?”

Aaron’s chest lifted as he took a deep breath. “We wait until Kellan calms down enough that we can talk to him.”

“Have you tried to reach him?”

“I have. Several times. I thought... I thought if I could convince him of the truth—that this doesn’t have to change anything—it might make you feel better.”

“But...”

Aaron shrugged. “He won’t pick up for me, either. Once Cheyenne knew I was coming, she let me know where he’s staying. I drove by, but it looked as though they were settled in for the night, so I decided not to risk upsetting him any further by banging on the door.”

“Probably a wise decision. The Rinehardts have agreed to let us see him tomorrow. The high-handedness of them deciding when it would be appropriate for us to see our own family member sort of pisses me off—that they feel they should have any say in this thing—but I’m holding my tongue, not saying or doing anything until I get to talk to Kellan tomorrow.”

Aaron shifted uncomfortably. “Do you want me to stick around for that?”

Dylan studied his younger brother, taking in the tall, muscular yet wiry body and the rugged face that was so much like his own—and Kellan’s. “Do you want to be present?” It was a difficult question to ask. Was he going to have to share his son with Aaron from here on out?

“No,” he said immediately. “Not at all. He’s your kid, Dyl. But I’ll stay if you think it will help.”

Suddenly, Dylan felt like he could breathe again—for the first time since Cheyenne had dropped the bomb that Kellan wasn’t his. Maybe Mack was right. Maybe the DNA results didn’t matter all that much. They’d been living under the same circumstances for fourteen years. The only difference was that he now knew how Kellan was conceived, and it wasn’t as he’d thought. So maybe he could put his life, which had seemed shattered only a couple of hours earlier, back together again—providing he could convince Kellan to see the situation in the same way. “No,” he said. “I think we got it.”

“If not—if you need me to say something to him that would back you up in any way—let me know.”

Dylan’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, hoping that he’d finally received a text from Kellan, but it was Presley.

We all love you.

Aaron’s wife had sent that. Nothing else. Just that. And he was glad. It was so much easier to keep it simple.

“You’d better get home to your own family,” he told Aaron.

“Okay.” Aaron pulled his keys from his pocket. “Listen, Dyl. I know this probably won’t make the situation any better, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. It must seem as though we purposely set you up for a terrible fall. But we believed it would be so much better for you if you didn’t have to know.”

Having Cheyenne’s body pressed against his, her arms holding him tight, felt so familiar and so comforting that the shock and numbness Dylan had been experiencing since she told him began to ebb away. They’d been happy together; he’d be stupid to let this come between them. “Would you have ever told me?” he asked, curious to see whether Aaron had been tempted.

His brother shook his head adamantly. “Are you kidding? I wish you didn’t have to know even now.”

Somehow, in spite of everything, Dylan chuckled. “We’ve had to deal with some weird situations, you and I.”

“That’s true. But we’re brothers, and we’ll always be there for each other. It might not seem like it, but that’s what this was about, Dyl.”

Letting go of Cheyenne, Dylan clasped Aaron’s hand and gave him a brief man hug. He’d always found it strange that it was more awkward for him to be demonstrative with Aaron than his other brothers, but it was what it was.

And now he knew it wasn’t likely to change.

Mack’s phone went off bright and early the next morning. Hoping it wasn’t more bad news about Kellan or Dylan, he fumbled to answer and managed to hit the right button. What he couldn’t do was talk without sounding hoarse. “’Lo?” he croaked.

“Mack?”

It was a child’s voice—but his caller was too young to be Kellan. “Lucas?” he said.

“Can I buy a toy, Mack?”

Yes, it was Lucas. Mack recognized the voice. Scrubbing his free hand over his face, he sat up against the headboard. “What kind of toy, buddy?”

“One at the store.”

His eyes felt like sandpaper, and this call had interrupted some desperately needed sleep. So that he’d be available in case something happened with Dylan, Aaron, Cheyenne or Kellan, he’d sat up watching a movie with Grady last night. But he couldn’t help laughing. “Where’s your mom?”

“In the shower.”

His mind immediately conjured the image of Natasha lying naked in the tub as he rubbed her soapy body—and suddenly he felt much more alert. “Can I talk to her?”

“No!” he said. “She’ll get mad at me.”

“For...”

“Calling you. She told me I couldn’t.”

“I won’t tell her,” Mack said. “Just give her the phone, and I’ll bring you a surprise when I come back.”

“You will?”

“I will.”

“You promise?”

Mack laughed again. “I promise.” He could hear Lucas running upstairs. A door opening. The water running.

“Mommy?”

“What, sweetheart?” Natasha’s voice was surprisingly clear when she responded, but she didn’t give Lucas a chance to answer before she asked, “Did you finish your breakfast?”

“No,” he replied. “I don’t like oatmeal.”

“You ate it for Mack.”

“It had bananas in it.”

“I put bananas in this, too,” she said, clearly exasperated. “You have to eat some of it, or you’re going to be hungry at day care today.”

“I don’t want to go to day care! I don’t like day care!”

“It’ll be fun. You’ll see. There will be other kids to play with. My boss knows the owner, says it’s a great place.”

“Why can’t I go with you?” he asked, sulkily.

“Because I have to work, remember?”

The water went off. Afraid that Lucas had forgotten about him, Mack almost hung up so that he could call back, but then Natasha said, “What are you doing with my phone?”

“Mack wants to talk to you.”

“What?”

“Mack’s on the phone.”

“This early? You didn’t call him, did you?” she added, her voice suddenly stern. “We talked about this, Lucas. That’s Mack’s money we found on the table. We’re not going to buy toys with it—we’re going to give it back to him.”

“He wants to get me a present,” Lucas said.

“Oh, he does,” she said with a laugh. “We’ll see about that. Give me the phone.

“I’m sorry,” Natasha said when she came on the line. “I told him it wasn’t polite to ask for things, but—”

“He’s six, Tash. Life is simple to him. He asks for what he wants. It’s fine. Maybe we should all do that.”

“Oh yeah?” she said. “And what would you ask for?”

He didn’t have to think about it for long. He’d ask for another night like the one he’d spent with her during Victorian Days. After giving her that bath, making love to her was all he could think about. But he knew she’d be shocked to know that—shocked to know just how much he’d struggled to stay away from her through the years. “For you to forgive me,” he said.

There was a slight pause. He’d taken her off guard. “There’s nothing to forgive,” she said at length. “What are you doing up so early?”

He didn’t tell her that he hadn’t been up until Lucas called. “Just wanted to check in. See if you’re feeling well enough to go to work.”

“I am. That was a terrible bout of the flu, but it’s gone now. Thank God. I hope you don’t come down with it. How’re you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“Is everything okay at home?”

He was tempted to tell her about the turmoil last night. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her. It was that he’d already told Dylan he hadn’t said anything to anyone else and wanted that to remain true. “Yeah.”

“You going to the shop today?”

“Maybe this afternoon.”

“Must be nice to have the luxury of deciding when you want to work,” she joked. “It hasn’t always been that way.”

“You would know. You helped us build Amos Auto Body back in the day.” He’d had so much fun when she lived and worked with him. But she’d flirted with him shamelessly, making him want things he couldn’t have. He couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t want her. Although he’d tried hard to generate some genuine interest in the other women he’d dated, he’d never felt quite the same about them. Natasha’s memory overshadowed everything else.

“It’s my first day,” she said. “I can’t be late. I’d better go.”

“Can you take Lucas to the store after work, so that he can buy a toy with the money I left?” he asked.

“No, I can’t,” she replied. “I told him not to ask you.”

“He didn’t ask.”

“You already admitted that he did.”

“Fine. I get it. You have to teach him the right things. I’ll bring him something when I come back instead.”

“You mean if you come back.”

“I’m coming back. Have you heard from Ace?”

“No, but his parents called me yesterday.”

“And?”

“Let’s just say they aren’t pleased. But I didn’t expect them to be. Did you mail that...um...test?”

“I did.”

She didn’t respond.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said. “Either way.”

“Maybe for you it’ll be okay. I’m screwed, regardless.”

“Tash—”

“I have to go,” she broke in. “I’m running out of time.”

“Okay.” He said he’d call later and hung up, but he knew she was right. Her life would only get more difficult, no matter who Lucas’s father turned out to be.

“Hello? Natasha?”

Natasha blinked and returned her attention to the crowded cafeteria, where she’d been having lunch with Aiyana, Aiyana’s son Eli, who helped run the school, Aiyana’s other son Gavin, who took care of the grounds and maintenance, and several teachers, including Cora, Eli’s wife. Instead of utilizing a staff lunchroom, most of the teachers ate with the students. From what Natasha could tell, they enjoyed it—treated the kids almost like their own children. The love and acceptance demonstrated at this school was remarkable, especially because Natasha knew some of the kids did everything they could to prove they didn’t deserve love in the first place.

“Yes?” She focused on Aiyana, who’d been the one to address her. “Sorry. My mind was wandering.”

She’d been thinking about her conversation with Mack this morning. He insisted that he was coming back. Could it be true? Would he return even if he wasn’t Luke’s father? And what would she do if she had to see him very often? How would she ever grow content with being alone if he was always there to remind her of what she was missing?

“I was just wondering how your morning went,” Aiyana said. “I heard you were sort of thrust into the fire when Rand Jenson cut his knee.”

“Yes, I wasn’t expecting to encounter so much blood on my first day,” she joked. “It required seven stitches, but I made the sutures so small the scarring should be minimal. He’ll be fine, as long as he keeps it clean. He’s going to check in with me day after tomorrow to let me take a look at it. I gave him a tetanus booster, too, just to be safe.”

“I didn’t hear about this,” Gavin said. “How’d he cut it?”

“Trying to climb up on some chairs here in the gymnasium to put up that poster.” Aiyana tilted her head to indicate the one advertising the Popsicle and sports day reward for everyone who maintained a 3.5 GPA this quarter.

Gavin’s eyebrows shot up. “He fell?”

“He did. Hit a metal piece on the corner of the bleachers,” Aiyana said. “Mr. Banks told him to use the ladder. He was just being funny, trying to show off for the other members of the student council, and Mr. Banks didn’t see what was going on until it was too late.”

“Tough lesson,” Cora muttered.

“I’m glad it wasn’t his head that he split open,” Aiyana said. “I’m also relieved that we didn’t have to send him to the hospital—and that’s only because we now have a doctor on staff.” The way she saluted Natasha made Natasha smile. Aiyana was obviously trying to recognize her accomplishments and make her feel valued. She suspected Aiyana did the same with the teachers and students—tried to make everyone feel valued and appreciated. But what she’d said made Natasha a little self-conscious. She preferred not to make a big deal about being a doctor and not a nurse. She didn’t want those who might not have clued in to the fact that she was that doctor, the one whose nurse had caused the death of a baby, to realize who she was and why she no longer had a practice of her own.

“There’s nothing like diving right in,” Eli quipped.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Natasha mumbled.

Cora put down the single-serving milk carton she’d been drinking out of. “I hear you have a little boy.”

Relieved at the change of subject, Natasha nodded. “Lucas. He’s six.”

“I have a girl that age and a boy two years older,” Gavin said. “We should get them together for a playdate.”

“That’d be great. I live on Main Street, so we don’t have any other young families nearby.”

Natasha couldn’t help liking Eli, Cora and Gavin. They seemed friendly, easygoing. “Sounds great.” She gave Gavin her contact information before she got up to stack her tray.

The bell went off, and the students flooded toward the exit. Natasha didn’t have to be back in her office at any specific time. She just had to be on campus and available, in case she was needed, so she hung back and let everyone else go first. Aiyana, who was also waiting, pulled her aside.

“I wanted to tell you that we’ll be getting a new student soon,” she said. “His name’s Austin Forester, and he’s fifteen.”

Since Natasha didn’t know any of the students yet, besides the boy who’d cut his knee and a girl who’d started her period and needed feminine hygiene products and a little reassurance, she didn’t understand why Aiyana would call her attention to this new student. But she smiled and nodded. “Okay. Will he be one of our boarders?”

“Yes.”

“It’s so early in the summer. Isn’t that an unusual time to take in a new boarder?”

A pained expression claimed her employer’s face. “Not at this school. That’s the problem. Austin’s been removed from his home and is now a ward of the state. So he’s going to need all the love and care we can give him.”

Natasha tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’ll be happy to do my part.”

“I know you will. I just wanted to warn you because...he’ll have some scars and other injuries I’ll need you to take a look at.”

Natasha’s lunch suddenly sat heavy in her stomach. “You mean he’s a victim of abuse.”

“Yes. We see that more often at this school than you would at any other, of course. And from what I hear, his case is...rather severe.”

Natasha felt herself tense. “I’m sorry.”

Aiyana squeezed her arm. “So am I. But we’ll take care of him.”

After the death of the Grossman child, Natasha was terrified of losing another patient. Working at New Horizons seemed like the perfect stopgap in so many regards, but could she handle what she might see here? Would it be too much for her?

Or would it give her the opportunity to truly help children as she’d intended from the start?