Sutherland’s Pride (13 page)

Flynn supposed his brain had taken a sabbatical. He could not seem to think. He could only observe what happened. But he managed to get to his feet in time to draw Pride’s chair out for her, and to catch his mother before she slid from her chair to the floor.

Pride ignored the pandemonium at the table and carried Johnny, bawling at the top of his two-year-old lungs about “Flynn’s,” toward the restrooms.

Flynn turned his mother over to Morgan and went after Pride. This was not the way he wanted this to happen, but at least he no longer needed to question her about Johnny’s parentage.

He stood outside the door of the women’s restroom and found his wits slowly returning. Amazing, how his parents had recognized Johnny for what he was at once, whereas it had taken him an entire two days, since he had first observed the little blond boy in Pride’s arms at Judge Donovan’s funeral service.

He closed his eyes. Pride probably thought he was the biggest dunce in Texas. No doubt he was.

He was also the luckiest man in Texas, maybe even in the whole United States. He had a son. He was Johnny’s father.

At the moment, Flynn did not know what emotion would win out, but joy, fury, and a kind of stunned surprise crashed through him at intervals.

He gathered himself. Johnny’s wails subsided and he knew Pride would emerge with the child at any moment.

What, he wondered, did a man say to a woman at a moment like this? Flynn searched his brain and came up with precisely nothing.

But after three years of loneliness and wondering about Pride, he knew what not to do. No matter what, he would not accuse her of hiding Johnny from him. He realized Pride thought she had told him the truth multiple times.

The door to the women’s restroom opened and Pride emerged, carrying Johnny.

“Why didn’t you tell me at once?” he demanded.

“Tell you what?” Pride gave him a bland stare that dared him to say another word.

He remembered his promise to himself and shut his mouth on the accusations he wanted to yell at her. He had done enough of that three years ago, and he knew Pride probably remembered every nasty thing he had said.

“You and Gloria must have gotten a good laugh out of this situation,” he said, through gritted teeth.

She stepped around him, smiling resolutely. “Actually, Gloria can’t believe it. But she does agree that Johnny is just like you, very tenacious once he takes an idea into his head.”

“Flynn’s,” Johnny said, as if to prove the assertion.

Flynn stared at the child. Johnny studied him then studied his bare wrist with obvious disappointment, but he reached out his small arms to his father.

“May I take him?” Flynn felt as if he’d been sucker-punched.

“Of course. Just hold onto him when he sees your father’s Rolex again.”

“Thank you.” Now he felt humbled, because the gift she handed over to him was so much greater than anything he had ever expected.

“This doesn’t change anything,” he said. “I’m still picking you up this evening. We need to talk about this.”

She raised delicate brows and smiled. “I’ll be ready.”

“One thing, Pride.” He stopped her when she took a step toward the dining room. “When were you going to tell me? Or were you ever going to tell me?”

Her green eyes met his with all the honesty he had once associated with her. Once more, Flynn felt as if he had been sucker-punched.

“Tonight,” she answered. “I told Gloria I’d had enough of waiting for you to notice how much Johnny resembles you. In case you’re interested, I have his birth certificate and all the papers from my medical checkups and hospitalization to show you.”

“I’m interested.” Flynn held Johnny against his chest, savoring the feel of the child’s sturdy, little body and the tickle of the little boy’s soft hair against his neck. “I’d like to see all those things, but not tonight. Tonight, we’ll talk.”

She nodded and turned away. “We’ll be lucky if the manager doesn’t ask us to leave. Johnny caused quite a ruckus in there.”

“Nothing a few dollars can’t fix.” Flynn smiled and hugged Johnny — his son. “Is this sort of thing a common occurrence?”

“Actually, he’s usually a lot better behaved than this.” Pride led the way back to their table, where two older people in particular awaited them with incredulous anxiety. “That watch of yours started his manners on a downhill slide, and I’m afraid your father’s Rolex is likely to demolish what’s left of them.”

“If we’re not careful, Dad is likely to buy Johnny his own Rolex,” Flynn said, chuckling.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Pride gave Johnny a boding glance. “Let him eat pennies like a normal child. Diamonds are too rich a diet for little boys.”

He soaked in the joy in laughing with Pride over their son’s antics and smoothed his palm over the little boy’s shoulder. In that moment, he knew exactly what steps he would take next.

• • •

Pride found Morgan Sutherland rising to his feet by the time she returned to their table, pulling out her chair as if she was a princess.

“Pride, why didn’t you tell us?” He stared at Johnny, riding in Flynn’s arms, in a covetous way. “We would never have let you go off alone if we’d known.”

“Thank you.” Pride meant it. “But it was Flynn’s right to tell you. I’m sure he would have done so by tomorrow.”

She deliberately skated over the three years in between, when Flynn had believed she was either lying about being pregnant or lying about who the father was.

“Oh, Pride, darling, I don’t know what to say to you,” Bettricia said. “He’s beautiful, the very image of Flynn at that age. He even has Flynn’s dimple.”

“What dimple?” Flynn grimaced and sat down beside Pride. “If I ever had a dimple, it’s long gone now.”

“At Johnny’s age, you had one on your left cheek just like Johnny’s.” Bettricia watched Johnny in a yearning way, and Johnny looked back, interested. “Hello, darling. Can you say ‘Grannie’?”

“Grannie,” Johnny said in his clear child’s voice. “Flynn’s.”

“Yes, I’m Flynn’s mother,” Bettricia said. “That makes me your grannie. Can you give Grannie a kiss, darling?”

Johnny examined this request and found it doable. He stood on Flynn’s thigh and leaned forward to pucker his little mouth in Bettricia’s direction. She presented her cheek, and the little boy smacked loudly at it.

“What a smart boy you are,” Bettricia said in besotted tones. “Look at him, Morgan. He’s got your eyes.”

“Flynn’s” Johnny yelled and stretched out his hands toward Morgan’s left arm. “Mine.”

“No, Johnny, it is not yours,” Pride said, without much hope of convincing anyone. “Sit down before you make another mess. Flynn, you’d better — ”

Flynn moved too late to stop Johnny’s lunge for Morgan’s watch, but he did manage to prevent disaster by snatching the little boy in mid air and standing.

“What is it he wants?” Morgan asked, in tones of wonder. “Is he saying, ‘Flynn’s’?”

“He recently developed a taste for Flynn’s mariner’s watch,” Pride said. “He thinks your Rolex would make a tasty substitute.”

Morgan promptly unclasped the watch and held it out. “He can’t hurt one of these things. Let him play with it a while.”

Pride blocked the transfer, holding out her hand in warning. “That’s what Flynn thought about his watch, until Johnny ate the stem. No, Johnny. It isn’t yours.”

“Flynn’s,” Johnny howled, at the top of his voice.

“Are we going to go have another talk in the restroom?” Pride asked, in her sternest voice.

Alas, Johnny had somehow divined that the two new additions to his circle of acquaintances desired to spoil him, and he took full advantage. He gave Morgan a heartrending, teary-eyed look and moaned, “Flynn’s.”

“Here, Johnny.” Morgan placed the big, gold watch in Johnny’s hands. “You can give it back when we leave.”

“Flynn’s.” Johnny signified his happiness by leaning toward Morgan with puckered lips. “Grannie.”

“Grandpa,” Morgan corrected, with tears in his eyes.

Pride exchanged glances with Flynn and said nothing more. Clearly, Morgan thought Johnny worthy of the expensive plaything.

With Morgan and Bettricia present, she couldn’t talk to Flynn about anything other than commonplaces, but she would not for the world have missed watching Morgan and Bettricia Sutherland cooing over their grandchild, or Flynn’s proud face as he held the child on his lap and watched him systematically experiment with Morgan’s Rolex watch.

When she and Gloria at last insisted the children needed to get home and bathe, she had all the difficulty she expected in detaching Johnny from Morgan’s expensive watch.

“Let him keep it, Pride,” Morgan said. “He won’t hurt it.”

Flynn gently pried the little boy’s fingers from the watch. “That’s what you think, Dad.” He exchanged a gleeful glance with Pride. “I’m afraid you’re already missing three of the diamonds around the bezel.”

“Flynn’s,” Johnny protested. “Mine.”

“He ate them?” Morgan took the damp watch in a gingerly fashion and examined it. “So he did. Well, they won’t hurt him. Here, Johnny. It’s a present from your Grandpa.”

Pride thought it prudent to intervene. “No, Johnny, it is not yours. It belongs to Grandpa, and it’s time to give it back to him. It’s getting near your bedtime.”

Johnny filed a preliminary motion of protest, but Pride overruled him with the firm tones he had learned to respect.

“She’s right, Morgan,” Bettricia said, with brisk emphasis. “We can’t spoil him, much as we’d like to. We’d better get home too. If Pride brings him and these other little ones to see us, we need to child-proof the house.”

Morgan brightened as he wrapped his wet Rolex in a paper napkin. “So we do. You will bring him, won’t you, Pride?”

The humble request shook Pride to her soul. She knew they sought to show her they had no intentions of going against her wishes, but somehow, she had not expected to feel this deep gladness.

She sought to analyze it logically, but the feeling eluded her, until she realized she was glad that someone besides herself cared about Johnny and would stand in her place if something happened to her.

In that moment, she felt a great burden roll off her heart.

• • •

When Flynn’s knock sounded at the door that evening, Pride was in the middle of the ritual designed to coax the children into having a good night’s sleep.

Before she could put Johnny to bed, Pride had one more duty to perform. Flynn deserved a formal introduction to his son. She invited him inside and asked him to sit down on the white sofa for a few minutes while she fetched Johnny.

“Your son wants to tell you good night.” She led Johnny to the sofa. He wore blue pajamas and regarded Flynn with intense interest.

“Now, darling.” Pride knelt on the floor beside him. “Do you remember how I explained to you that Uncle Eddie is Eric’s and Tracy’s and Sylvia’s daddy, but that he isn’t your daddy?”

Johnny nodded with solemn fascination, still watching Flynn.

“Flynn is your daddy. Your very own daddy. Come give Daddy a good night kiss, darling.”

Flynn appeared both stunned and touched by the action. He sat, unmoving, as Pride urged Johnny forward.

“Flynn’s,” Johnny commented in undertones and scanned Flynn’s bare wrist.

“That’s right, darling. You’re going to be Flynn’s little boy, and he’s going to be your daddy. Do you know what that means?”

Johnny stared at Flynn with enormous penny-brown eyes. “Daddy?”

“That’s right. Flynn is your very own daddy. Come and give Daddy a kiss, darling.”

Johnny approached and studied Flynn fearlessly before trying to climb onto his lap. Flynn looked so bemused he didn’t move to help the child for a moment.

He came to himself with a start and reached for Johnny, bringing the child close. His lashes veiled his dark eyes, and he laid his cheek against Johnny’s silky, blond hair. His mouth tightened, as if he wanted to cry, and Pride backed off.

She waited a moment, but Johnny seemed content to rest in Flynn’s arms. Flynn held him, burying his face against the child’s soft mass of dark-blond hair. Pride slipped from the room and joined Gloria in tucking the other children into bed.

Flynn, toting Johnny high in his arms, appeared at last in the doorway to the bedroom where the two women had added two cots to the double bed. The two little girls had the bed, while Johnny and Eric each had a cot. Three pairs of Boudreaux brown eyes fastened expectantly on Flynn.

“The adult male,” Gloria said. “Your duty is clear, Flynn. Get busy.”

“What?” Flynn still looked as if the entire world had gone upside down all of a sudden.

“You owe everyone a goodnight kiss,” Pride specified. “Don’t think you’ll get away from here tonight without contributing to the public good.”

She had to smile at the dazed way Flynn stared at the waiting children.

“Do I start with Johnny, or end with him?” Flynn wanted to know.

“It doesn’t matter in the least,” Pride assured him. “The only thing necessary is that no child is passed over.”

Flynn placed Johnny on his cot, and Pride tucked the little boy’s teddy bear in beside him. Flynn leaned down and kissed him, and Johnny kissed back with a loud smacking of his lips.

Flynn would probably have liked to linger over Johnny’s bed, but he valiantly went to each of the little Boudreaux children in turn, kissing small foreheads and patting the covers around their shoulders.

“My daddy sits on the bed,” Eric stated.

“This bed isn’t quite big enough to hold both you and me,” Flynn said with suitable gravity.

Eric gazed up solemn silence. It was clear that he felt this was a minor infraction in the rules of being a daddy.

While Flynn fulfilled the duties of the sole adult male, both Pride and Gloria kissed each child in turn.

“There’s more?” Flynn wore the dazed expression of someone who has strayed into the middle of a battle.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Pride laughed at him. “It’s now time for prayers.”

Flynn swallowed, to Pride’s delight, but he was game. She had to hand it to him.

“You get to be in the middle.” She grabbed his hand.