Part Eighty-Seven

We had walked back through the house and I could now see all the detail and work that had gone into the renovations. It was going to look really good when he was done. Jared had his father back and a decent house, a yard and a man that looked like he wanted him.

Steve had the same light brown skin that Jared had, the same green eyes and I didn’t once get a bad or ominous feeling from him. I could see that he worked hard, the evidence was in that house, in the deck he was building.

“See you on Friday,” I said as I climbed into my SUV and he lifted his hand in greeting as I drove away and tucked his business card into the console.

I sat outside Jared’s school for an hour and waited for him. I didn’t want to go home yet. Madison had known exactly where he was and she had never said a word. I didn’t exactly know how to feel about that. Steve had no reason to lie to me and I didn’t think he was.

“Hey,” Jared said as he pulled the door open and I snapped back to reality.

“How was school?” I asked him.

“It was okay,” he said and shrugged.

“How about you and I take a little drive?” I asked him.

“Can we get ice-cream?” he asked me.

“Anything you want,” I said.

An hour later we had our ice-cream and sat down on a bench watching children play in the park. It was a nice day out and I knew that I had to have this conversation with him.

“We need to talk about something very important Jared.”

“This sounds serious,” he said and turned towards me.

“The adoption was denied,” I said.

“So what happens now? Am I being sent away?” he asked.

“The reason the adoption was denied was because they found your father and he wants you to live with him,” I said.

“Mom said he was dead,” he said with no emotion in his voice. He reminded me so much of myself when I was that age that I could completely relate to what he was feeling. I had learned to hide my emotions at a young age too.

“I met him this afternoon. He loves you, Jared, and he seems like a good guy,” I said.

“When am I supposed to go live with him?” he asked me.

“On Friday,” I said.

“Why can’t I just live with you?” he asked.

“There’s a court order Jared, I don’t have a choice here,” I said, feeling pissed that Madison had lied, pissed that my hands were tied and pissed that I was failing this kid.

“Can I meet him? Like, before Friday?” he asked me.

“Keep an open mind, okay, he’s your dad and he loves you,” I said to him.

“Fine, let’s go already,” he said, already standing up and moving towards the car. Jared wasn’t the bullshitting type and I knew I owed him this. It was the least I could do under the circumstances.

I sent Steve a text warning him that I was on my way with Jared, that he wanted to meet him before Friday. I didn’t just want to show up and have him unprepared to see his son for the first time in almost seven years.

Jared looked at the house but didn’t say anything when Steve opened the front door just as we climbed out of the car. His eyes softened when he saw Jared and I could see the conflict in them when Jared stopped walking.

“Hi,” Jared said. His words tugged at my soul. He was trying to be tough and brave when he didn’t need to be.

“Hi, Jared,” Steve said.

We all went inside the house and I saw Jared looking around with interest as he looked at the emptiness in front of him. I had had the same reaction the first time I’d walked inside.

“You poor or something?” Jared asked and I chuckled.

“He’s got a mouth on him,” I said.

“The furniture’s arriving tomorrow, I’ve been renovating everything,” Steve said with pride in his voice.

“Where were you? Where were you when she beat me and I went to bed with something in my stomach because Kage fed me? Why did you leave me? And now I’m supposed to just play nice and come live here?” Jared asked out of the blue.

“Jared,” I said and Steve lifted his hand.

“I was in jail, Jared. I made mistakes but I never willingly left you. I didn’t know about your mom and I’m so sorry for everything that happened to you, but I am glad that you found Kage. I am glad that I have the opportunity to fix us, to get to know you again,” Steve said.

“But I’ll never see you again,” he said softly, and looked at me. I had him in my arms and hugged him tightly. I already loved him so much that watching him interact with his father was killing me.

“Jared, we already talked. Steve’s going to bring you to all my home games and I’ll come visit you,” I said.

“Season tickets? Because that shit’s expensive,” Jared said.

“Season tickets like always, I promise,” I said.

“What about the baby? We were going to be a family,” he said.

“Jared, we’ll always be family. You are my family. I’ll never abandon you, I promised you that, remember?”

“Fine, I guess I’ll come live here but be warned, the first time you beat me I’m calling Kage to come kick your ass,” Jared said and Steve laughed. Joe popped into my head and I couldn’t help but smile. I would kick everyone’s asses for Jared.

“Kage is always welcome and no ass kicking will be necessary,” Steve said. “Can I hug you now, please?”

“Sure.”

Steve’s tears streamed over his face as he held his son and I had tears of my own as I watched them. This man loved his son, I was sure of it. Jared had closed his eyes and then he had started to cry as well and suddenly I felt like I was intruding but I was also happy for him. I’d miss his presence at home but he needed his father.