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  “We don’t need this! Let’s go, Ruth.” He practically knocked back his chair before his wife silenced him.

  “Tobias, no more! I am in charge now, and you are going to sit back down and be quiet for once in your life. Don’t you see what we have done? We shunned our own daughter because of who she was and the person she loved! Mr. Mercer, along with finding out about our grandson, we also discovered that Paisley—I guess you would call her our daughter’s partner—had died from a horrific car accident. I didn’t believe it could get any worse, and then I thought about Carrie and how she may have felt knowing she lost the love of her life. And then she has a child without ever telling us. It pains me on a daily basis how much we destroyed our daughter and drove her to make those decisions.”

  I remained quiet, and then she turned back to her husband. “I’ve learned from my mistakes, Tobias. Those mistakes have cost us dearly.”

  His lip quivered, and he got up to take his wife in his arms. “I’m sorry, Ruth. Forgive me.”

  “Tobias, Carrie was our daughter—our only daughter—and she left this earth believing that we hated her because of her choices. These last years have not been easy, and I don’t know how much more I can take.”

  He kissed his wife and then turned his attention over to me. “I apologize, Mr. Mercer. Who you are and what you do in your personal life is not our business. It doesn’t change the fact that we need you. Please help us.”

  He implored me to help him, with me showing little emotion back at him. A tiger doesn’t easily change his spots overnight, no matter how remorseful he tries to look.

  “Let’s start from the beginning before I make any further decisions.” I buzzed my assistant to come in with her iPad to take our meeting’s notes. It would be another two hours before we concluded with me agreeing to take their case. It wasn’t like how I first believed, but I had my reservations.

  The beginning was pretty cut and dry. They were estranged for years with zero contact between them. After relocating to Atlanta, their daughter worked as a teacher and lived with her guy friend, Devan Knight, who was also gay and the father of her child. That had to be an interesting story how all of that came to be! So the key was finding Devan Knight, and then we find the kid.

  The Harpers wanted rights to the child but hadn’t said if they wanted to pursue a custody fight. The child must be close to ten now, and again we had no reason to believe that he’d been abused or harmed in any way. That’s what I tried to make clear to the Harpers: just because someone is gay, that doesn’t mean they are not good parents.

  For whatever his reason was, Devan Knight was the child’s father, and my gut was screaming at me that he didn’t want the Harpers anywhere near his kid because of how they truly felt and all the hurt they caused for their daughter. I knew that if I was a father, if anyone fucked with my kids’ happiness, then they would be shut down quicker than I could snap my finger. This guy Devan must have done the same thing.

  They said that after the funeral they went their separate ways and never heard from Devan again. At the time, they didn’t know their grandchild existed. They said they would never have gone back to Portland having known that, but they didn’t find out until years later when they reconnected with an old friend who still kept in touch with Devan’s parents.

  Once they laid their eyes on his face, they knew they were looking at the perfect combination of their daughter and Devan, but more resembling Devan. The picture was taken a few years ago, but I had to imagine Devan still looked the same.

  He was gorgeous. I would guess around my height, but slender in the frame. His hair was dark as night, kept short on the sides with more on the top.

  “If you keep staring at that picture, your face is going to freeze.”

  “Don’t you have work to do?” I said to Marcy, as my eyes remained on the photo that I was holding.

  “Yes, but I’d rather tease you first. Come on, Jake. What is it with you? You’ve been off since the Harpers left and have been holed up in your office all day. That’s not like you.”

  “I don’t know. Something about this case is just not sitting well with me. Have our Atlanta contacts checked in yet?”

  “Yes, Mike has. It’s all been uploaded to your drive. Boss, I skimmed over it, and nothing jumps out as a red flag.”

  “Yeah, well that’s where I come in, to find what others can’t see. Let me call Mike after I read his report, and then we can pick this up tomorrow. Go home before you quit on me for being overworked.”

  “Not a chance, I love you too much. See you tomorrow.”

  I spent the next hour reading Mike’s report, and Marcy was right: no red flags. Devan Knight, self-made millionaire. He developed software for big name companies and in recent years did independent work for Google and other social media sites. He was basically an army of one with no one to answer to but himself. Kind of sounds like someone else I know. From what I gathered so far, he lived his life privately. Even with all his professional success, there were not too many public photos of him out there, not one with a significant other, nor anything public on his personal life. But he’s fucking loaded and lives the quiet life. I needed more than this.

  I pulled the death certificate for Carrie and the birth certificate for their son, to whom he was named as the legal father. His parents lived in Atlanta close by until they followed him to Idaho, of all places. I was a little shocked by that, but then after discovering that’s where Paisley was from, it made sense to go back there, I guess. I loved living in Seattle, and anything beat the sand and 110-degree heat of Afghanistan.

  I’d used all of my best search engines that I had security clearance to, and nothing came up to be concerned about. So what this case came down to is that the Harpers hired me to make the introduction and forge a relationship between them. I still don’t trust Mr. Harper. You don’t have an outburst like that and then go all peace and love on me.

  He may still have regrets about how he treated his daughter, but that didn’t mean he approved of her. She was gay in life and still gay in death. I think if I had to guess, the Harpers were spitting nails that their only grandchild was being raised by a gay man, probably fearing the kid would catch it or something. It literally made my stomach nauseous that still at this time, we had to deal with this bullshit. I remember the days of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” but I guess I was one of the lucky ones that avoided being ostracized by people that disapproved of who I was. Again, some weren’t so lucky. I went back to reading and shrugged off the negative feelings of my past.

  Mike confirmed everything I just read in the file with nothing more to add. I guess I was going to Boise to set up temporary shop and meet the reclusive Devan Knight. Damn, he was hot. I texted Marcy to book me on the first flight out to Boise and then set me up with the usual accommodations until the case was complete.

  I took one last look at his stunning photo and then couldn’t help myself but to rub one out in the shower while thinking and fantasizing about the sexy Devan Knight’s mouth on my dick.

  Fuck! Get a hold of yourself, Mercer.

  It was the first day of summer, and I was officially on vacation, having finished up my latest project for a big PR company based out of New York. I don’t know why I worked as hard as I did. It’s not like I needed the money anymore. I had enough to live on for the rest of my life and many lifetimes later. I guess I liked to keep busy while Paxton was in school. Once he came home, it was basketball, soccer, or baseball practice to coach, whatever time of year. He was not a big fan of baseball but played it anyway, because he knew I was a diehard Yankees fan.

  Living out here in the Northwest, I thought I would be bored, but life was a daily adventure with my son. I couldn’t remember the last time I went out clubbing or had hot sex with a random guy I met at a club. Not that I was a slut in my younger days, but I wasn’t innocent either. Those days were over when Carrie and I got serious with baby making. Yes, we made our son the old-fashioned way, despite th
e fact that I preferred men. Back then I guess I was more Bi-, but in the end, men won out, and I never touched another woman after Carrie. She was my everything, and the reasons I was with her brought us even closer. The ending result was our beautiful son. I would never be able to thank her for the gift she gave to me. I only wish she was here to see him. He was amazing.

  “Okay, Daddy, I’m ready,” Paxton called out from his room. “Let’s go to Nonna’s. She called while you were in the shower. She’s making chocolate chip cookies and brownies for you.”

  “Just what I need, more calories to add to my waist. I think I’m going to drop you off at Nonna’s house, and then I am going to go for a run and hit the gym.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. We have a gym here in our house,” Paxton responded.

  “How old are you? You can’t be just nine, can you?”

  “I’m almost ten,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Yes, I know, son. I was there when you were born. I guess I just want to feel the ground underneath my feet and have some adult interaction.”

  His face had fallen a bit and I feared I may have hurt his feelings, but then he brightened up and told me that he understood.

  Of course, my parents were waiting on the porch for us. My father took Pax in his arms and swung him around before placing him down. My mother was next to shower kisses all over his face.

  “Nonna!” he shouted.

  “Oh, my darling boy, have you grown?”

  “Yup! And I beat daddy at basketball. You should have seen him, Nonna. He went down,” he excitedly said as he bragged to my parents.

  “Okay, I think that is a slight exaggeration, but yes, the boy got a shot off me.”

  “It’s okay, son. It was bound to happen sooner than later. Pax is growing like a weed these days.”

  “Don’t I know it? I just dropped off another Goodwill bag of clothes he’s outgrown from this past winter.”

  “Boys will do that. Okay, who wants cookies?”

  “Mom, I’m going to go for a run. Mind staying with Pax for a while?”

  “Of course, you never have to ask. Before you go, would you mind helping your dad out back? He has to move some bricks and wood for the new garden, and I don’t want his back going out on him.”

  Dad interjected, “Now, love, I’m fine. You see these muscles? I don’t need Devan’s help.”

  “Time-out. I swear you two are worse than your nine-year-old grandson. Dad, the faster I help you, the quicker mom stops nagging you.”

  “I heard that! No brownies for you,” mom called out.

  “Good, I don’t need them anyway.” I laughed and watched my mom engulf my son with more hugs.

  When we were out back, my father asked, “What’s up, son? You seem off today.”

  “I’m fine, dad. Just thinking about things,” I said as I lifted bricks into the wheel barrel.

  “This time of year is always hard on you. We know that. Why do you think your mom has been on a baking spree? It helps her get through it.”

  “I know. I miss Carrie, dad, but I also miss me, you know? All these years building the business and raising Pax has left me little time for a social life.”

  “Devan, it’s because you have closed yourself off to the world. You live in this bubble that just includes Pax and us. You need more in your life. You have a lot of living to still do, and I say go out and do it.”

  “Dad, it’s not that easy. I’m a 35-year-old gay man with a kid, and my dating profile doesn’t look that appealing.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it. Devan, you have so much going for you, and having a son makes you even better. Okay, so you’re not getting your freak on in some club, but that doesn’t mean you don’t know how to have fun.”

  “Freak? You just said that, right?” I snickered.

  “What? Do you think I’ve lost my touch? Just ask your mother.”

  “I’d rather not, thank you very much. You good, pop?”

  “Yeah, go for your run. I’ll finish up here.”

  “Thanks. See you later.”

  I always loved to run the back roads behind my parents’ property. It was a long stretch of road with the mountains as my background and nothing commercial in sight. It was awesome. By the time I reached the town square, I was soaked through in sweat, and my legs were just about to give out. I may have to Uber it back, but a tall protein shake from the smoothie place should pep me back up, I thought to myself.

  As I placed my order, I quickly checked my phone for any messages I might have missed, when I noticed a tall, dark figure checking me out. Yeah right, as if. I shook my head and went back to my phone, and then when I looked up again, the handsome stranger was now standing beside me. Our orders were called out. As I reached for my shake, his hand grazed over mine.

  “I think the chocolate chip mint is mine,” I said.

  He smiled. “I guess great minds think alike because I ordered a chocolate chip mint shake as well. I like mine with extra protein.”

  Holy shit! Have I been out of the scene for so long that I don’t even catch on when a hot guy is flirting with me? And as I attempted to respond, I couldn’t help but feel the hard erection that was building beneath my basketball shorts. Fuck! This is not the place to sport a woody.

  I couldn’t form any words, so I just grabbed my drink and politely smiled back at him as he paid for his. I pinched the bridge of my nose to get myself in check, all the while zoning out to what and who was around me.

  My eyes peered over to my right, and once again, he was there. How could I describe him? He pretty much matched me in height, but he had the shape of a pro-wrestler who sported a military haircut. He had on a t-shirt with cut-off sleeves easily showing off his tatted arms. One was covered in a full-sleeve, and the other was marked on the top with a military insignia. He had to be Special Forces or something crazy like that.

  “Hi, do you live around here?” he asked me, as I was instantly snapped back into reality.

  “Not really, but I’m familiar with the area.” Liar! Why did I just lie?

  “Awesome! I’m looking for the YMCA.”

  “That’s easy,” I pointed down the street. “We’re on Main Street. Just take this street down for two blocks, take a right on Hillcrest, and the building will be on the left.”

  “Great! Thanks for your help.” He began to walk toward his truck and then he turned back to me. “You play basketball?” he grinned.

  Um! Yes, I do. The idea of playing with you and balls included would be a great way to spend an afternoon, but I can’t. Paxton is waiting for me, and I didn’t bring him here today just so I could go on a manhunt.

  My responsible side just kicked in, and I answered his question, “Yeah, I play.”

  “You feel like joining me down at the Y? Maybe we could pick up a game?”

  “Thanks, but I have to be somewhere.”

  “Another time then. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” I said, and then I tossed my cup in the garbage and began to run the opposite direction of the handsome stranger.

  Fuck my life! I ran the same path I had taken with all thoughts of the handsome stranger flooding my mind. It had been so long since I had intimate contact with anyone, but that’s what I chose when I left Atlanta. My main focus was my son and nothing more beyond that. I’d never regretted any decision I ever made when it came to the life I had as a father. I loved this life, but it also came at a price. I was alone, and days like this when you have a chance meeting with someone you don’t see coming, it kind of knocks you on your ass.

  I rounded the gate and slowed my pace. Anything I was feeling before had now been replaced with pure joy as I watched my boy shoot ball after ball into the hoop my father built for him. Although he was in good physical shape, my dad was taking it easy and allowed Paxton to do his thing. My boy was an endless ball of energy as he ran from side to side and continued to free throw. Damn! He was good and getting b
etter and better each day. He hadn’t seen me yet, so I decided to run up and grab the ball.

  “Hey! What the…?” he started to say and then realized I was home. His smile was infectious as it was now game on. I dribbled to the right, to the left, and then in-between my legs before jumping to dunk the ball into the basket.

  “Lucky shot. Come on, dad. Don’t hold back.”

  “Oh, I won’t, son.”

  My father was laughing as my mom joined him. “Come on, Paxton!” They both cheered him on.

  How could I not let him win now? He wouldn’t want me to give him anything he hadn’t earned, but he looked too happy at the moment to be disappointed.

  I sidestepped a little and then slowed my pace, giving him just enough room to get the ball. He jumped as high as he could, and his aim was spot on. Dunking the ball, he threw his hands up in the air in victory.

  “Yes! That’s twice now, Daddy. I am so ready for basketball camp,” he said.

  My mom handed me a water, knowing I heard him right. Paxton had been asking me to send him to a two-week sleepaway basketball clinic, but my answer was a firm no. I wasn’t ready to do that, no matter how much he protested. Forms would have to be submitted by the end of the week. I knew it was just a matter of time before he would ask again.

  “Yeah, son, you’ve worked really hard on your jump shot,” I told him.

  “So, can I go? Please, Daddy, I really want to go.”

  “I don’t think so, Pax. You’ve never slept away from home before, and I’m just not comfortable with it.”

  “But, Daddy, all my friends are going. This is not fair!” he tossed the ball and stomped back into the house. My heart clenched around me. I hated to disappoint him, but I also had to protect him.