While Nathan was working on the house trying to make up the time Calvin had cost them by putting up the wrong framing wood, he couldn’t help but ponder why Jillian had kept him out of their son’s life. He needed the answers as to why she had lied to him and had kept his son’s existence a secret for so long. Along with why she had said such a cruel thing to him when he came to get comfort from his girlfriend in regards to his parents’ death. He just needed the answers to these new unsolved questions.
He had been so cruel to his parents and then they had died, having only heard his nasty remarks. Nathan had gone out to party, drink, and relieve some stress. He had come back in the morning only to see the cops at his house. His parents were dead! They died during the night while he was getting drunk. He would forever regret what he had said to his parents the night they died. He had spent many nights in prison secretly crying over the last words he said to his mom and dad.
Nathan had said some pretty evil things to his parents, and now he couldn’t take them back. All his parents knew before they died was how he hated them. And for some reason, he was getting a second chance. He didn’t know why. But Josh was alive, and he was now the only living parent to his son. He didn’t want to mess up his second chance. Nathan felt he owed his parents big-time!
Nathan carried on working before Marty asked, “What’s wrong, boss?”
“Say what?”
“You’ve been distracted all day today, and you aren’t really peppy or yelling at Calvin for one. You’re just kinda in your own little world,” Marty commented while wiping his brow.
“Well, I got something on my plate all of a sudden,” Nathan said, bothered.
“Yeah, like what?”
Nathan put his hand on one of the young man’s shoulders. “You know what, Marty... You’re a great guy. We all like you...just too soon.”
“I understand. But, if you ever want to talk... I’m here for you,” Marty said compassionately.
Both guys went back to work correcting the framing mistake. Later in the afternoon, Donna called and he asked how things were. She filled him in on how they got clothes, groceries, and some other things. He had a feeling she was leaving something out, but with how distracted he was, Nathan was okay with that.
“Okay, well, I’m going to be late. I’m still going to drop by Josh’s old home, and it’s a bit out of the way.”
“Okay,” Donna said pleasantly.
Nathan finished for the day at work, and got a call from Bob; he’d be back to work on Monday. He told his worker to get better because they needed to get the house finished. In response, Bob said that they would get it done, and properly.
He was originally going to work on the weekend to get caught up, but he wasn’t sure about it now that he had a kid. Donna said she’d help him today, but what was he going to do with this kid? Not ‘kid!’ Donna said don’t call him kid. He’s your son.
What was he going to do with his son tomorrow?
Nathan didn’t know.
He’d see how today went with Donna and Josh when he got home. Had Josh spoken more? He didn’t know. Nathan suddenly was concerned as to how being around Josh for a full day had affected Donna emotionally. He couldn’t be gone too late.
He went to Jillian’s home, and it was locked. Pacing outside the property, he debated whether he should break a window or break down the backdoor. How was he going to get Josh’s stuff with the place locked up?
Nathan spent some time contemplating his dilemma, before the next door neighbor popped by. “What are you doing here? Nobody lives here anymore.”
“Yeah, I know. Umm, I need to get some stuff for my son,” Nathan said firmly.
“You’re the little boy’s father?” the older man questioned curiously.
Nathan looked over the man; he looked harmless enough. Nathan could understand the man questioning why he was at the Maples’ house. “Yes. I’ve been away working for the last couple years,” he said, thinking it was wise to use the same excuse Jillian had told their son as to why daddy wasn’t home. With the neighbor still eying him cautiously, Nathan added, “I just got the call yesterday that my son needed me. I rushed back as soon as I could.”
“How is Josh?” this retired-looking man then asked.
“Umm...he’s good. He’s alive,” Nathan said, unsure what else to say.
“Well, that’s good. We read about the accident in the newspaper. That was awful what happened to his mother and grandparents.”
“Yeah, that was horrible. No kid should ever have to go through that. The fact that Josh survived was a miracle!” Nathan exclaimed with some emotion in his voice and a lump in his throat.
“I agree,” the neighbor said before a long uncomfortable pause.
“So I need to get some stuff for my son, as he’s kind of struggling,” he shifted his feet in hopes the man might be able to help. “And I lost the key to get in...” He prayed saying that wouldn’t give himself away. Where the neighbor might think he was one of those fathers that neglected his child, as well as the mother.
The neighbor first looked at him funny, and then said, with a shrug of his shoulders, “I got a spare key if you want it?”
Nathan eyed the man. The neighbor seemed to trust that Nathan was Josh’s father. But then thinking back to how Donna had mentioned how much Josh and he looked alike. The man must have seen the resemblance, as well. “Sweet. Thanks.”
While the neighbor went to get the key, Nathan was happy that he’d didn’t have to break into the house. He didn’t really need a BNE—breaking and entering—on his record. He’d just had his record cleaned from finishing up his parole. Oh, he really shouldn’t have stolen that car. That car was a sweet ride, though, and it also drove nicely.
He knew his brother-in-law had a lot of sweet cars, and he was jealous that Natasha got to drive with Damon in those cars. Nathan wanted so badly to drive the cars Damon owned. Every time he went to visit them, Damon just happened to have one of his nice luxurious cars out, like his Lamborghini. Damon would just glare at Nathan suspiciously, like he was going to steal the car.
Yup, he hadn’t earned his brother-in-law’s trust yet. He didn’t blame him. Natasha still looked at Nathan suspiciously too, like he might steal another car.
Maybe if they knew why he had stolen the car, they wouldn’t look at him suspiciously. He wasn’t going to steal another car. He just needed to get away quickly that day when Jillian broke his heart. He had left Jillian’s and saw the fancy fast car. Nathan just broke in and stole it.
He knew how to break into cars. Nathan had once gotten caught breaking into a Mustang when he was fifteen, and the man didn’t charge him. Instead, he had to work off his indiscretion by helping build a greenhouse that summer.
Nathan loved cars just as much as he loved working on houses. He used to spend a lot of time hanging out with car junkies back in Australia. They had taught him how to break into a car by silencing the alarm within seconds. They showed him how to rebuild an engine from the ground up. And Nathan really enjoyed it when they’d built classic cars from scratch.
Once the neighbor returned with the key, Nathan went into the house and looked around. It had three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a living room, den, dining area, and large kitchen with an island. The house also had a finished basement with another living room, two more bedrooms, and another bathroom along with the utility room. It was a pretty modest-looking home. The house looked pretty much the same as Jillian's old home in Coquitlam. That was before her family had moved to Maple Ridge. There was a backyard with a sandbox, swing set, and patio. The property had a completely fenced in backyard.
Jillian only lived an hour away from Nathan’s penthouse apartment in Shaughnessy. Just knowing that Jillian had been so close to him was like her driving a stake through his heart!
He had advertised his construction company on TV and the radio, and Jillian still had kept Josh away from him. Nathan closed his eyes at that revelation, and swallowed the bile that suddenly came into his mouth.
After looking around, he went into Josh’s room. It was like a typical little boy’s room, designed with a dinosaur theme. He sat down on Josh’s bed, thinking. Josh needed a room. He would have to figure out their living arrangements now. He would have to change things. He only had the master bedroom. Sure, there was the office which you could put a cot in. Could he possibly change it into a room? He didn’t have a yard with toys or play equipment. Nathan lived in a place fit for a king, not a father of a toddler. They would have to move!
But where?
Nathan didn’t realize it was getting really late until he got a text from Donna: You coming home for supper soon?
Wow, that was so domestic of Donna, he thought with amusement.
He texted her back: Still got an hour to drive, but yeah. I’m just going to finish here real quick.
Nathan left Josh’s room, and went into Jillian’s room to look for the diary. Where would she hide a diary? Maybe in the closet, but that didn’t seem right. He checked under her bed, and there was no diary. He then checked in her dressers. Nope. It had to be the closet! Sorting through her closet, Nathan found a blue tote. He dug through that, and there was the diary, plus an old sweatshirt he had given her once at a football game when she was cold. Jillian had still kept it.
But why?
Did Jillian keep his old sweater to hand down to Josh, or was it because she loved him? But if she loved him, then why hurt him so much?
Nathan opened the diary to the first page and read:
To my dearest, Nathan. This is the diary of our son Joshua Nathan Romeo.
Flipping the page, he scanned the next page briefly. Then he flipped through more pages full of writing before tucking the diary under his arm. He looked out Jillian’s window, and saw it was quite late. He went back to Josh’s room, and grabbed a teddy bear on the boy’s bed. Then he grabbed a few more things that were Josh’s.
Nathan then wandered into Jillian’s parents’ room. He hated her parents so much! They had never really approved of his dating Jillian. He wanted to know why they shunned him. The Maples’ house looked quite clean and classy. Jillian’s mother always kept a clean house, as they would host many prestigious parties.
He stood in the entranceway wondering who got their possessions and the house. Where was it all going to go now that everyone was dead but Josh? He didn’t know. He had all the stuff he needed for now and left quite confused.
If only he didn’t need to put in more hours this weekend at the job site. He could really use the time off to figure out what to do with himself and Joshua now.
He headed over to the neighbor’s house and seeing the man gardening, he walked over to him. “Here’s the key back,” Nathan said, handing the gentleman the key.
But the man refused to take the key. “Well, you’re going to need it to get back into the house to get more stuff, aren’t you?” The neighbor eyed him curiously, then said, “You are going to be bringing Josh back? Therefore, you will need the key.”
“Umm... What?”
“Well, this is the boy’s home. He’s obviously going to want to come back,” the man said carefully.
Nathan looked around the nice neighborhood. “I don’t know. I honestly didn’t know I had a son until yesterday.” He cringed inwardly at his slip of the tongue. He hoped the man wouldn’t change his mind in regards to the key, and having allowed Nathan into the Maples’ home.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir.”
“Yeah,” Nathan said, confused, while trying to hand back the key again. It was the right thing to do.
“No, you keep it. You keep that key.”
He could see the man was sincere. “Are you sure?”
“You’re going to probably need to come back. I mean, that little boy was in an accident and he’s the only survivor. That home is the only thing he knows and is familiar with.”
Nathan understood what the older man was saying, “You been neighbors long?” Nathan asked, pointing back at the Maples’ home.
“Yeah, we’ve lived here almost our whole lives.”
Nathan looked around this suburb more; it was a nicer part of town. There were no mansions, but the homes were newer and conservatively built. It was definitely in the quarter million dollars or higher range of homes. Jillian was definitely more prestigious, to his rags. Not that he was doing too badly himself these days.
In Canada, Jillian and Nathan were separated by an income class. However, they would have been equals while he was living with his family back in Australia. Maybe if he had kept his appearance the way it had been in Australia, her parents wouldn’t have disapproved of their daughter dating him. He met her at his school because she had done something stupid at her private school. She was sent to the school Nathan and his sisters were attending.
“Yeah, I’ll keep the key,” Nathan then pocketed the key before retrieving a business card to give the neighbor. “This is my name and company.” He flipped the card over to write his cell number on the back. “If you ever need anything, give me a call.”
Once the neighbor looked over Nathan’s card, he smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nathan. Call me Stan,” Stan said while pocketing Nathan’s card.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to this house and all their stuff. So if you could call me in regards to anyone showing up, I’d appreciate that.”
“I’m pretty sure Mr. and Mrs. Maples had a will,” Stan said, looking over toward the house.
“I don’t know,” Nathan shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, if any lawyers or anyone comes looking into the property, I’ll give you a call.”
“Yeah, please do so.” Then he shook hands with Stan before getting back into his truck and driving the hour’s drive home. Leaving the property, Nathan didn’t feel any more at ease with his thoughts then he had on the way there.
As Nathan drove home, he didn’t really know how things were going to be, so he did a lot of thinking. He didn’t know if he would be able to keep Josh.
He was all Josh had.
And Nathan wanted to keep his son. Of course he wanted to keep his son! He just wasn’t equipped emotionally or mentally to take care of a kid. He just needed more time to rationalize everything.
Josh did need his own room, and he should have all that a little boy needed in his room. Jillian’s house was a really nice home: it had a good yard, swing set, sandbox, and security. Nathan hoped the stuff he grabbed was appropriate, and prayed it would help Josh feel a little more at ease. Granted, Nathan’s penthouse apartment was still pretty far advanced for a little boy, even if the furniture was changed slightly. It wasn’t set up for a kid, and it had nothing that familiarized Josh with his mom and everything Josh knew.
Nathan arrived home and was tired. It was seven p.m. and he had left for work early, although a little later then his normal time. Nathan got out of his truck and walked into the building. After taking the private elevator to his floor, it smelled so good walking into his place. Donna might be a good cook.
He dropped his keys and mail on the side entrance table, and stretched as Donna came to greet him. “How was your day?”
She was a pleasant sight to see. “Tiring. I’m so tired. I just want to go to bed,” he said drearily, almost forgetting he had a son.
“Well, we were waiting on you to come home for supper. So go shower and join us for dinner!” Donna requested.
“Yes, ma’am.” Nathan smiled before walking toward the bathroom. Stopping in the doorway of the bathroom, he turned to see her right behind him. “You were so kind to take care of my son today and cook us dinner.” He leaned into her personal space and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, Donna!” She blushed in return, and Nathan did what he was told and needed to do.
He came out of the bathroom later and found them in the kitchen. Josh was happy at the table and Donna was sitting beside him. It was almost the picture-perfect family.
“Hey, buddy. How are you?” he asked Josh while messing with his hair.
Josh just smiled up at him.
“I heard you had a good day.”
Josh nodded his head quickly yes.
“You know...it’s okay, you can talk. I’m sure you have a wonderful voice, little man.” Nathan tenderly tried to get his son to open up.
Josh just looked down.
“It’s okay. I understand when you say your yes’s and no’s, quite fine,” he said cheerfully while his heart was breaking with pain.
Once they were all sitting at the table, Nathan looked at Josh. “Did your Mommy and Grandparents say a prayer before dinner?” He showed Josh by putting his hands together, “Like this.”
Josh looked at Nathan uneasily.
“Well, tonight, we are going to do a prayer. So put your hands together, Josh,” he coached, as Donna went to help Josh while watching Nathan.
“We give thanks for the great food we are about to enjoy...” Taking a deep breath and glancing at Donna, he carried on, “I want to pray to God that Jillian and her parents are doing well, and are taking care of each other. I want to thank Jillian for the gift of Josh. I also want to thank all the angels up there...” Nathan had to pause, for he was getting teary-eyed, “for keeping Joshua out of danger,” in response, Josh looked at Nathan. Donna reached for Nathan’s left hand, and held onto it tightly for comfort. She squeezed his hand when he finished the prayer. “Amen!” Donna gave Nathan a comforting, supportive smile.
They then ate their meal in silence. Because Josh wasn’t talking and Nathan didn’t know what to ask his son, where the answers would only be shakes or nods, he just left the awkward tension.
After dinner, Donna quietly said to Nathan while he was cleaning up the dishes, “Now we bathe him.”
“We bathe him right after dinner?” Nathan asked, almost scared.
“Well, he’s been waiting a while for you, and he’s getting tired. When I bathed him earlier, it was just a quick wash. We had a long day. I tired him out playing games, painting and stuff,” Donna said with a pleasant smile.
“Well, aren’t you just the blissful little mommy.” But as soon as Nathan released what he’d said, he cringed in horror at the realization of what he’d just said. “I’m sorry, Donna. I didn’t...”
“It’s okay. You can’t keep sheltering me.”
“I know, but that wasn’t right.” He held her shoulders and rubbed them gently up and down apologetically.
“It’s okay, I understand,” Donna mumbled with a mild smile.
“You did a good job, though. Thank you very much for taking care of my son.” Then with a gentle squeeze of her shoulders, he asked, “So I bathe him, and then what?”
“You read him a book, and then that’s it,” Donna said, still in Nathan’s grasp.
“Okay. Fair enough!” Nathan dropped his hands from her shoulders, and assuming Donna was leaving, then said, “Thank you very much for everything you’ve done today.” Then he chuckled. “Guess I’m going to bathe my son.” Nathan then went to bathe Josh, and assumed that she was going to let herself out.
He bathed Josh, and they played with some toys in the tub. There was no talking from Josh, but Nathan made playful sounds. Then after the bath, Nathan read him a story for bed, however, Josh fell asleep shortly into the story.
They’d had fun in the tub; it was kinda like when he played with his niece. Nathan had done it a couple times when Natasha was busy cooking. He’d watch Kelly in the tub, at least on the nights he would go over to his sister’s for dinner. He played with his niece, so Nathan wasn’t exactly inept when it came to playing with a child; it just was weird for him when it was his own child. He didn’t have any time for preparation in regards to this child coming into his life.
It was the weirdest feeling in the world for Nathan to put Josh, his son, to bed. Josh really liked the teddy bear Nathan brought back for him. Obviously, he picked the right toy. He looked down on his son in his bed. Josh was contentedly sleeping with his bear and blanket in his arms. It warmed his heart that he had a son. With that, his previous fears of being able to keep his son vanished. Nathan would keep Joshua in his life, no matter the cost.
After the little boy was tucked in and secure, Nathan closed the door, but not all the way. He came out into the living room. He had some thinking to do. He had some reading to do, except he couldn’t think or read...because Donna hadn’t left. She was still here.
Donna was sitting on the couch, reading a book. As lovely as she looked sitting contentedly on his couch, Nathan had to wonder why Donna hadn’t let herself out.
“Hey, you’re still here,” he commented, enlightened.
“Yeah!”
“I thought you were going to leave?” Nathan asked, not sure if he wanted her to leave.
“No. Not really,” Donna mumbled quietly.
Odd...
He could see something wasn’t quite right with her. “You’re back in town three weeks early. What’s wrong?” he asked, coming to sit beside her. Instead, he chose to stand a few feet away. He wanted to see her face and eyes. He could still read Donna pretty well.
“Nothing, I just wanted to see you,” she said simply.
“You wanted to come see me?” He wasn’t buying it at all. His gut told him there was more to the story.
“Yeah, I did. Go figure, eh.”
Nathan gently laughed at her last comment. “Yeah... go figure, eh.” With the sudden tension, he asked, “You haven’t called your brother yet?”
“Nope!”
“Okay.” He carefully tried to read her eyes, but what little emotion Nathan thought he saw was now gone. “Thanks for taking care of Josh. And thanks for getting him some clothes and toys. He’s got a lot of clothes at his house.”
“He does?” Donna asked with interest.
“Well, yeah, he’s got his own room and toys. It’s actually a nice house. It’s set up well for him too,” Nathan said casually.
“Well, I tried to childproof this place as best I could. I mean, when Damon bought it and had it designed, I’m sure he wasn’t thinking about children. So I did the best I could,” Donna said, almost doubting herself.
“Oh, you did a great job.” He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I don’t know if this is going to work.”
She watched him intently. “What do you mean, Nathan?”
“Well, obviously we can’t stay here. For one, it’s so fricken high up. If the little guy...sorry, my son... You know...climbs up and falls over the railing, he’s dead,” Nathan said matter-of-factly. The thought sent shivers down his spine and frightened the life out of him.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that happening,” Donna agreed. “So I’d say keep that door locked.”
“I am keeping the veranda door locked!” he declared firmly.
“You know, you could put a hockey stick there.”
“That’s a good idea. I should pick one up,” he felt a little relieved.
“I’ll find something tomorrow for you,” Donna cheerfully suggested.
“Tomorrow?” Nathan saw the look she gave him in response to his question. “Aren’t you going to go to your mom’s and stay with her?”
Donna stood and put her bookmark inside the romance book she was reading. Walking over to Nathan, she said, “My family doesn’t know I’m here.”
He looked around his place, unsure of more things. Where was Donna going to stay? Why didn’t Donna want to tell her family she was back? “Why?”
“Because I wanted to see you, and I don’t want them to know I’m here yet,” Donna said, before firmly glaring at him.
“Okay,” Nathan wasn’t going to challenge her. Something wasn’t right about her sudden visit, and her glare confirmed that something was wrong. He knew whatever it had to be, Donna clearly didn’t want her brother or mother to know.
“I’ll help you,” Donna said, closing in on Nathan.
“What? You are going to help me with my son?” Nathan was surprised. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Seeing her eyes up close, he could see that she was hiding something from him, and trying to be strong.
“Yeah. But on one condition,” Donna said, controlling her voice.
Hearing her comment made him smirk. “Women and their one conditions! You know my sister did this to your brother,” Nathan watched Donna cringe with his mention of their in-law relationship status. “And you did this this morning,” he curled the corner of his lips, raising his right brow.
Donna smiled at first. “Ha. Look where that got them?” Then she looked away with a blush, because Nathan caught her red-handed.
It was a rhetorical question, and he was going to answer just to make Donna squirm. “They got married because she fell pregnant with their baby.”
Donna raised her eyebrow, indicating that her mind was thinking of how that baby was made, and Nathan swallowed nervously. What had started as playful little banter had suddenly turned intimately dangerous.
“Alright. You want to help me with my son.”
“Yeah! As long as you promise not to fall in love with me,” Donna said, torn by her own emotions. She knew she had a terrible poker face.
With a confident expression on his face, he said, “I’m not going to fall in love with you. You are my sister-in-law!” That earned Nathan a dangerous glare from Donna. “Sorry, sorry! You are not my sister-in-law,” what were they? Nathan confusingly thought. He knew she called him her best friend and he felt the same way toward Donna.
“Technically, I know my brother and your sister are married, which makes us brother-in-law and sister-in-law. But I don’t see it that way! I see us as friends,” Donna passionately replied while coming closer to him. “The best of friends!”
Nathan wished he only saw them as friends, too. She was more than beautiful. Granted, Donna was older than him by a year, but that never stopped anyone nowadays.
“I’m pretty sure I won’t fall in love with you!” Nathan stood overly confident. “More than I would love a family member,” he added.
“You’d be amazed what can happen in a small period of time,” Donna said, almost egging him on.
He closed the gap between them and was in Donna’s personal space. With her head level to his neck, he looked down into her beautiful green eyes while she looked up at him. He swallowed nervously. They weren’t blood-related, but her bother would kill him.
The air was suddenly hot and thick with sexual chemistry, and no noise in the back ground. Nathan wondered what it would be like to kiss Donna? To kiss her, in a more-than-friends kind of way. The silence was deafening, and it terrified him. He was in unfamiliar territory.
Donna winked at Nathan and put her hands on his chest, closing her eyes and moaning. She suddenly pushed back from him using the hands that were resting on his chest. “Since Josh has the master bedroom, where will you be sleeping? And where can I sleep?” She moistened her lips after asking him about the sleeping arrangements.
Nathan took a couple steps back, swallowed again, moistened his lips, and took a deep breath. Where was everyone going to sleep? Wow, it was suddenly hot in the living room. He looked quickly toward Donna; she looked too tempting.
Josh had Nathan’s bed; he slept in the bed with his son last night, after he had consoled Josh after his nightmare. Nathan guessed he could sleep in his bed again with his son, and Donna could have the couch. It was probably only going to be for the one night, and then she’d...
“If you are fine with the couch, I’ll sleep with Josh again,” Nathan mentioned, once the air in the room chilled a little.
“Yeah, sure, is it comfortable?” Donna asked, running a hand through her hair.
It’s been way too long...and she has to be playing with her hair. Nathan found Donna playing with her hair to be too distracting. In fact, he found it to be a turn on. “I think it’s comfortable...” He swallowed slowly. “It’s been a while since I slept on the couch.” At least since the last time he had a girl sleep over after enjoying her company.
“Cool! Want to watch a show or movie with me before you go to bed?” Donna asked, heading back to the couch to sit.
He headed in the same direction. “Sounds like fun.”
Donna was flipping through the channels on the TV. “Oh, I’ve got to go somewhere in the morning... It shouldn’t take me too long.”
Nathan had sat down at the other corner of the couch; it was his favorite spot. He looked curiously at her lighter-shaded eyes. “Well, I was planning on working overtime this weekend,” he whined with puppy dog eyes.
Donna faced Nathan, and moved closer to hand him the TV remote. “That’s fine. You can go into work after I get back. I shouldn’t be too long, and I’ll watch Josh while you go into work. We can have dinner together again,” she finished, now sitting beside him and leaning toward him.
Feeling Donna’s warm body up again his, Nathan had to control his hormones. They weren’t blood-related, but Damon would kill him...
Would he if Donna was happy?
Damon had mentioned at one family dinner when Donna was also there that she seemed happier, and Donna had sent Nathan a private wink. He knew that he was the reason she was happier.
Relaxing his body posture, Nathan didn’t hear any noise coming out of his bedroom. He flipped the channels, looking for something Donna and he could watch.