Page 12 of Luke

“It’s not a failure. It’s a different way. You’re making sure our son is taken care of. The how doesn’t matter.”

He didn’t get to say anything else as someone knocked on the door. Luke moved to look out the peephole, and his shoulders sank.

“My friends are here. I imagine they want an explanation and weren’t willing to wait anymore.” He started undoing the locks. “Don’t forget your medicine,” he reminded her. “Come on in,” he said as he opened the door.

“Sorry, Paisley. We didn’t want to barge in on you, but this guy has a lot of talking to do.” Evan offered the apology as he, Ryker, Jake, Catherine, Cade, April, Kayla, and Lauren all filed into her small apartment.

“Paisley.” April went to her, giving her a hug. “I was so worried when you disappeared.”

She answered, but he didn’t catch it. He realized that Cade was also carrying an infant carrier, a small pink bundle nestled inside.

“What did you two name her?” Luke knelt to see her.

“Clara,” Cade said.

“Keeping the Cs I like it.” His mother hadn’t been quite as inspired.

“I’ll take Garrett and get out of y’all’s way,” Paisley said.

“Stay,” Luke offered. “I think you’ll want to hear all of this and as selfish as it may be, I’d like to only say it once. It affects you and Garrett.”

April took Clara out of her seat and went to the mat where Garrett was lying, sucking on his hands. “He’s so big compared to her,” she marveled.

“He grew so fast,” Paisley said, taking a seat on the floor next to him. “I didn’t realize how much until now when I see her next to him.”

April sat beside her and held Clara out for her to hold. Paisley happily held her arms out and shifted the baby to take her face in.

“She’s gorgeous,” Paisley said. “I don’t have anywhere for everyone to sit.” She didn’t look up.

Her apartment was even smaller with all the men in it. Everyone stood at least six feet tall and broad-shouldered, so there was barely any room to move with them all here.

“It’s fine,” Luke said to Paisley as he glared at Ryker. This could have waited and not made her embarrassed.

“There’s no problem.” Lauren stepped forward, pulling Kayla and Catherine with her. “We are really just here to listen and get baby snuggles.” All three of them joined April and Paisley on the floor.

Cade and Ryker grabbed chairs from her small dining table, while Evan and Jake sat on the sofa. They all turned to look at him, waiting for him to speak.

Luke sighed and accepted that he was going to have to spill it all now.

“I didn’t know who my father was until I was sixteen. I grew up in an apartment that was worse than this building with my mom and sister. When I met my father, he immediately let me know he was there to decide if I would be useful. I was defiant, angry, and generally moody, as teenagers are, and he didn’t like it.”

“This better get to why we are here soon,” Ryker warned.

“My father told me he’d take care of us if I did what he needed me to do and that meant a better house, money, and food. I learned quickly to shut up and do what he asked. I never understood what my mother saw in him, but I did what I had to.” Luke ran a hand through his hair. “It was little things at first, delivering papers to people, spying on people, nothing that was too hard.”

Cade squinted at him. “Who is your father?”

Luke only nodded.

Catherine sucked in a breath. “You’re him.”

He nodded again and continued the story. “When I got older, he asked me to befriend you all. I didn’t fit in and I didn’t think it would work, but he wanted information. Every time I came to him with nothing or tried to tell him no, he would threaten my mom and sister. I didn’t want to help and so I partied and stayed away from you guys as much as I could after the stuff with the restaurant. I didn’t know what he was going to do. I only gave him information.” He looked at Kayla. “I’m sorry.”

He was sorry. He hated that anything bad had happened to them because of him. “I refused to work with him after the initial incident with Lauren’s mom. He didn’t seem to care since he was using her instead at the time. Once that didn’t pan out, he came to me. That was when the restaurant stuff happened, all the scandal and vandalism. I didn’t do any of it, but it was my fault.”

“Luke,” Catherine said.

“Let me finish.” He held up a hand, needing to get it all out at once. “Paisley already knows this part, but when you showed an interest in her, he wanted me to put a stop to it. Threatened to cut off treatment for my mom’s cancer if I didn’t. I asked her out and we hit it off. It wasn’t meant to turn into something, but it did. Then he was pissed at that so I backed off before I knew she was pregnant so he wouldn’t do anything to her.”