Scandalous Heroes Box Set (121 page)

“After I see my son, who as you know is a minor. Where is he?”

The woman blinked and then pointed to the double wooden doors down the corridor. She spoke through pinched lips. “He's in there. Someone will meet you to get his information.”

Pissed at the delay, Belinda nodded while moving toward the doors.

“Wait a minute…hold on. You can’t go back there, only immediate family members are allowed,” the woman said, standing as she spoke to Blaine and Donnie.

Belinda smiled at Blaine’s calm, yet firm, reply. “No problem, we are his father.”

The sputtered sounds from the woman were silenced as the door closed behind them. Seeing the numbered spaces, she searched for her son’s spot and moved quickly toward the placard with the number 15. Before she reached the curtained area, Solomon, the owner of the landscaping company, stepped out. His smile and gaze landed on her first, and then flicked over the two men who bracketed her on both sides.

“Ms. Moore—”

“Belinda,” she said, waving off the formal tone. “How’s Adam?” she whispered.

“I can hear you, Mom. I’m okay, a bit bruised and waiting to go home,” Adam said from behind the curtain in a strong voice.

The knot of tension that had been coiled inside her relaxed as she quirked a smile at Solomon. “What happened?”

“Goofing around on a job, jumping off some equipment that he had been told not to play with…” He shook his head and motioned her away from Adam’s bed. “He’s a good kid, but I can’t have this type of thing happening on my jobs.” He paused as he met her gaze. “I already told him, and planned to contact you later, but I’m releasing him from the company.”

His words took a moment to penetrate and then her gaze sharpened. “You’re firing him?”

He nodded. And to his credit, he appeared pained over the situation.

“Okay, thanks for letting me know and for all the time you’ve spent with him.”

He held up his hands. “Oh, I am still his mentor; he just won’t work for me, that’s all that’s changed. We don’t give up on our guys that easily. No, we will still get together for talks and hang out. I told him that, please remind him as well.”

Squeezing his hand, she nodded glad that her son wouldn’t be losing everything at the same time. “I will and thanks, Sol.”

The older man nodded, looked briefly over her shoulder and then back at her. “If you need anything, call me. I can spend some time with him at the house. You got your daddy and Abe… don’t be stubborn about this.”

He nodded and walked off. With his offer, the reminder of her dad and other son ringing in her head, she turned to find Donnie and Blaine glaring at Solomon’s back. They did not appear pleased at all. Shaking her head at their actions, she walked past them and pulled back the curtain.

“Hey you? How do you feel?” she asked her son while trying to stop the wince that struggled to surface. A large white bandage covered a portion of his face and another was on his shoulder.

“Uncomfortable. The doctor said I was lucky, it could have been worse.” He turned his head to the side and stared off. “I haven’t ever been lucky,” he murmured.

Her heart ached at the defeat she heard in his voice. “Oh? What about me?”

He turned to face her. “Huh?”

“You have me…and Abraham. I guess we just aren’t enough for you to feel blessed,” she said, playing the same card he had a moment ago. It was low, but years of dealing with his swinging moods had taught her to fight fire with fire.

“Aw Mom, I didn’t say that. It’s just…I keep messing up. You never have to go to the police station or hospital for Abe, why can’t I get it together?” His eyes filled with tears as they met hers. “I mean I try…I really do try to follow the rules, but I get bored or something catches my eye and before my brain kicks in… I let God and you down.”

She moved close to his side and touched his hand. “I can’t speak for God, but you’ll have to talk to Him yourself. But you’ve never let me down. I understand you like sparkly new things, always have. You are not Abe, stop comparing yourself to him. He wishes he was more like you and you wanna be more like him, while I am soooo thankful to have each of you, different personalities and all. You are my joy, I love you exactly the way you are.” She brushed a kiss across his forehead. “He meant you could be dead, and that you are lucky to be alive. And so in that regard, you are lucky… we all are. Because I can’t…” She inhaled and then released it slowly. Blinking rapidly, she looked away and then back at him. “I can’t imagine being here, in this life, without my Adam. So… suck it up and accept the fact that you are one lucky guy.”

Tears filled his eyes and trickled down his cheek as they sat quietly gazing at each other. With his unhurt arm, he wiped his face. “Love you Mom. Thanks so much for always… you know being here, never giving up on me or Abe. You could’ve…so many times, but you didn’t.”

Her heart squeezed. “I could’ve what?” she demanded.

He turned away. “Left us. I know it was hard, god-mama used to tell you to stay in town until you finished college instead of driving for hours to reach the campus. I used to stay up waiting to hear your car and then you walking in the house before I could go to sleep. She would tell us to be good so you could rest and how hard it was for you to be there and in college.” He released a long breath, totally oblivious that had just gut-punched her. As much as she loved and appreciated her godmother for taking them in, what that woman had done to her son infuriated her.

She took his hand and squeezed it to get his attention. When he met her gaze, she leaned forward. “I am not the kind of mother or woman who allows other people to raise my children. If I had to walk five miles to school, I would still walk back every night. The Lord allowed me to be with you and Abe. You. Are. Mine.” She said fiercely, wanting to imprint this conversation in his mind forever. “No one separates me from my children, no one. I wish you or Abe had told me this before so we could have settled the matter.” She held up her hand when he tried to interrupt. “Not that I didn’t appreciate the quiet moments to study, I did. I appreciated how thoughtful you two were, but I had no idea her words were the fuel behind that. God-mama was old school, we’ve talked about that a number of times. Some things she said you keep, other things you put on a shelf marked maybe, and the rest get tossed into the fire. No one is right about everything, no one.”

He nodded slowly. “She had some strong viewpoints.”

That was the understatement of the decade. As her godmother grew older, her health declined and she became more fanatical. Belinda had thought to show her appreciation for everything she had done to her godmother by allowing her to name the twins. When the older woman named them after well-known biblical characters, Belinda tried to recant the offer. She did not want to saddle her sons with unrealistic expectations.

“Both names are of men who started new beginnings, I want you and the boys to always remember they were the beginnings of a new life for you and for me,” her godmother had explained. After she saw how much it touched the woman to have the honor of naming her sons, and heard the explanation of the names, she relented.

“Yes, she did, but her heart was in the right place, never forget that.” She tapped his hand in camaraderie.

Chapter 7

Blaine watched his brother pace just outside the curtained area where Lindy had gone. Donald had never been big on patience when it came to family.  Anything else and he could out-wait Santa Claus.

“Donnie?” Blaine said with a grin.

Donald’s head snapped up as his face reddened. He glanced at the closed curtain before speaking. “Yeah… uh… it was her name for me.” He paused as his gaze sharpened. “I didn’t know you called her Lindy, too.”

Blaine’s face warmed and he knew it matched his twin's. “Same thing, she hated Linda.”

Donald nodded and the silence returned.

Blaine’s thoughts raced over everything they had learned in the past thirty or forty minutes and he knew the first chance they got, they would be lashing into their old man. Blaine ran his fingers through his hair as the full weight of what their dad had done slammed into him. “Damn it,” he muttered.

“The old man?”

Blaine nodded. “I could kick his ass for this.”

“Get in line,” Donald said. Although neither would carry through on their feelings, it was good to know his brother felt the same way as he did. “He’s going to pay for this bullshit. I was thinking how to do it…but I keep coming up with us landing in jail for murder.”

Blaine snorted and gazed at the curtain, the murmurs had stopped. “She looks good.”
Damn good! Delicious actually.
His cock had pressed against his zipper the moment he caught her scent as she passed him. No longer a teenager, Lindy had filled out with sensuous hills and valleys that made his hands itch to touch. Her skin had darkened a bit, probably due to her time in Florida, but it glowed, making his mouth water for a taste. Geesh, he wiped his face with the palm of his hand. Not even an hour in her presence and he sounded like a horny teenager again.

No question, he still wanted Belinda Moore. Pushing down his desire, he tore his gaze from the curtain and leaned toward Donald. “She had twins. Two boys.” Excitement raced through him. Each of them had a son.

Donald nodded as a smile replaced the scrowl he had been wearing. “I have a son.” He met Blaine’s gaze. “You have a son. We have sons,” he said as if the wonder of it just hit him. It was better than thinking about their father and way more productive.

“Yeah,” Blaine said softly, his gaze returning to the curtain that hid his child. “We do. Congratulations,” he whispered.

Donald glanced behind him at the curtain and nodded. “You too.” He turned and before Blaine could stop him, pulled the curtain apart and stepped forward.

Belinda looked up as the curtain moved. How could she have forgotten Donnie and Blaine were a few feet away? Her gaze remained on Adam. How to do this? How to introduce him? Her doctor had told her there were recorded incidents of twins being fathered by different men. One of the men standing behind her was Adam’s father. A heady warmth filled her cheeks as she moistened her lips.

“Who are you?” Adam asked as his gaze flicked over her shoulder before settling on her with a confused frown.

Exhaling, she swallowed her pride and pushed back her embarrassment. “Adam, this is Donnie and Blaine O’Connor, two old friends of mine. They rode over here with me from the library.”

Adam’s frown deepened as his gaze left hers and stared over her shoulder. Her heart raced as she tried to think of something else to say. But her brain blanked and she had nothing. Moments crawled as the tension in the small space increased.

“Nice to meet you, Adam. I’m Blaine.”

“I’m Donald, good to see you’re on the mend.”

Belinda watched Adam’s frown deepen before he tore his gaze away and looked at her again. “Mom? Who…who are they?”

Her mouth opened and then closed. Numerous witty comments flew through her mind but none were appropriate for the situation. Denial was also not an option. Her throat tightened as she forced the words through them. “Your father.”

Adam’s eyes widened at the bald statement and then his face reddened as he glared at the men. “I don’t…. I don’t have a father.”

“Yeah, yeah you do, Adam. I’m good, but there was only one person born without a father, or a human father that is,” she said, trying to inject some humor into the situation. No one took the bait.

Silence filled the room.

“I had a sperm donor, Mom. Not a father. That’s what I mean.”

She nodded, not looking behind her. Despite what their father did, Adam had a point. Neither man had been a father to her sons. Nodding, she patted his hand, hoping he would wait until she came up with an explanation that wouldn’t make her sound…well, like a woman who slept with two men around the same time.

“Okay… okay. We’ll talk about it later, after you get some rest.” Releasing a pent up breath she wondered where was the doctor, she had a few questions.

“I don’t want to talk about them. Not now or later. I want them to leave.”

Belinda’s head snapped up at the petulance in Adams’ voice. Her son had a strong will, both of them did, but he wasn’t cruel and that statement had to hurt. “Adam,” she said in a mild warning tone.

He turned his face away from her. “Please Mom, get them out of here. They haven’t been here for the past 16 years I don’t want them here now.”

Stunned by the anger she heard in his voice, she looked over her shoulder and caught the flash of pain on Blaine’s face. Donald stood with his arms crossed, staring at Adam before meeting her gaze. He nodded and turned. Before he stepped out he spoke. “Feel better, Adam.”

Blaine nodded at her as well. “There are reasons we were not here Adam, I hope you’ll give us a chance to explain.” And then he left the curtained area.

Adam faced her slowly. “Mom?” he whispered.

Fearing his questions, she took her time meeting his gaze. “Hmm?”

“Us? That guy said us. Which… which one is my… my father?”

The day had been too long and she had no desire to get into her complicated relationship with the O’Connor twins. When she was younger, dating both of them seemed right. But looking into her son’s eyes right now, she wasn’t so sure. She made a quick decision based on wishful thinking.

“Blaine. The one who asked for a chance to explain.” Sending a prayer of forgiveness and hopefulness that she was right, she nodded as his shoulders dropped a bit.

“He’s big.”

“Yeah.” She crossed her arms around her waist and bit her lip.

“So is he Abe’s dad?...”

Clearing her throat, she looked over his head at the beeping equipment as heat rushed to her face. “No, Donald is his father.”

Adam frowned as he stared at her. “But we’re twins…and they’re twins.”

Unable to utter a word of explanation or in her defense, she nodded. His quizzical look did nothing to ease her embarrassment.

“You… you dated both of them? Aren’t they brothers?” The shock in his voice robbed her of speech and filled her with shame. His look of surprise cut her to the core. How to explain?