by Rhian Cahill
“What’s wrong?” Her gaze darted between the three men.
“Is Phoebe here?” Graham asked.
“No. You missed her.”
“We’re not here to see her, Sunshine,” Roger said.
“Then—”
“Consider this an intervention,” Wayne added.
“Intervention?” She shook her head. “What for? Me?”
“Yes.” Graham gripped her elbow and guided her out the door.
“Wait. Where are we going?” Sunnie glanced over her shoulder to see Wayne shutting the front door.
“To dinner.” Roger led the way down Phoebe’s path to the car parked at the curb, where he opened the rear door and waited for her to climb in. “Slide all the way over. I’m jumping in the back with you.”
Sunnie scooted along the leather seat to make room. She buckled her seat belt and a wave of nostalgia flow over her. When she was little they’d pick her up together whenever her mother deemed they were allowed to see her. Usually the visits with her fathers coincided with a new boyfriend for Phoebe. Smiling, she thought it ironic that some things never changed.
“Hey, you remember that little pizza place we used to take you to?” Wayne asked as he sank into the front passenger seat.
“Yes.” More happy memories filled Sunnie’s mind. “Are we going there?”
“Yep.” Graham started the car. “Nothing but the best for our number-one girl.”
Sunnie grinned as the engine revved and Graham steered the car out onto the road. “So what kind of intervention are you doing?”
“No talking until we get to Mamma’s.” Roger patted her knee.
“None at all?”
“Well you could tell us how handsome we are.” Wayne glanced at her over his shoulder. “Never hurts to hear.”
Sunnie laughed. “You don’t need me to tell you that. What about all those women you’re always dating? Surely they’re enough to boost your ego.”
“Nobody boosts the ego like your number-one girl.” Roger leaned over and kissed Sunnie’s cheek.
Her heart jolted. They all called her their number-one girl but no one knew that for sure. She didn’t understand how these three men could accept her as their own as well as each other’s. “How do you do that?”
“Do what, Sunshine?” Graham asked.
“Love me like a father when you know it’s possible you aren’t?” She really needed to understand. If she hoped to have a life with Rand and Z then she could expect to come up against this very thing in the future.
“We’re almost there. We’ll talk over Mamma’s all-meat special.” Graham turned into the parking lot beside Mamma’s.
Roger gripped her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Come on. Things are never as bad as they seem.”
“How can you say that when you have no idea what’s going on?”
Roger’s gaze darted to Wayne then Graham.
“Oh my God! They told you!” Sunnie’s cheeks burned with embarrassment.
Graham leaned between the front seats and cupped her chin, lifting her face until their eyes met. “Yes, but they’re both going out of their mind with worry, Sunshine. Why didn’t you call them to say you were okay?”
Sunnie had picked up her phone to do just that a hundred times during the last twenty-four hours, but each time she did her mother’s voice screeching freak echoed in her head and she couldn’t bring herself to press the buttons. She closed her eyes and leaned into her father’s touch.
“I wanted to, but Mother…”
“Yes, I can imagine what Phoebe would have to say about it.” Wayne flung his door open and climbed out of the car. Bending down, he ducked his head back inside. “Come on, I’m starving and I’m not talking about that woman on an empty stomach.”
The car shook when Wayne slammed the door.
“Hey. Watch the car.” Graham opened his door and got out.
“Let’s go, Sunshine.” Roger pulled her across the backseat behind him as he got out. “You’ll have to excuse Wayne. He’s tried to get us to set you straight about Phoebe for years.”
“Set me straight?” She walked beside Roger, her pace matching his.
“There are some things you need to know about your mother.”
“What sort of things?” Sunnie stopped at the front door of the pizzeria.
Roger pressed his hand to the base of her spine and nudged her inside. “Dinner first.”
Sunnie didn’t get to protest because Roger slid his arm around her shoulders and ushered her to a booth in the back. He nudged her onto the bench seat and followed her. Graham and Wayne took the bench across from them. Questions buzzed in her head and she wanted to get right into the topic, but the waitress came over to take their order. Once the woman had jotted down what they wanted and disappeared, Sunnie dived right in to the reason they were there.
“Okay, no more avoiding. What gives?”
“First let me say I’ve spoken to Brandon and we know everything up until the point where you left with your mother yesterday,” Graham said.
“Everything?” Sunnie chewed on her bottom lip.
Graham nodded.
“Oh.” She sucked in a breath. Heat surged over her chest and up her throat until it burned her cheeks. Sunnie ducked her head.
Roger placed a finger under her chin and tipped her face up. “You have no reason to hide, Sunshine. Never be ashamed of loving someone.”
Before Sunnie could think of anything to say, the waitress returned with their drinks. The interruption gave her time to take a deep breath, and a second one as the drinks were handed out. Although she didn’t feel 100% comfortable talking about her love life with her fathers, she knew she had to. Especially her fears. As the waitress walked away the words came tumbling out.
“I’ve always loved them.”
“I know.” Graham’s hand curled over hers. “But you’ve never allowed yourself to be in love with them before. What changed?”
“I don’t know. One second we’re friends—housemates—and the next we’re getting it on in the kitchen.” Sunnie’s face flamed with her confession. She hadn’t meant to reveal so much.
Roger chuckled. “Nothing wrong with a little heat in the kitchen.”
“Roger!”
Roger sighed. “You know I preferred it when you were little and called me Dad.”
Sunnie sat back, stunned at Roger’s admission. “But Phoebe said—”
“Do not take anything Phoebe says into account, Sunshine. That woman lies more than she breathes.” Wayne’s hand clenched into a fist where it rested on the table.
Graham squeezed her hand beneath his to get her attention. “Your mother told you to stop calling us Dad?”
She nodded.
“Bitch!” Wayne’s voice vibrated with anger.
“Wayne,” Graham cautioned. “Sunshine, it’s time we told you some things. Maybe then you can make decisions about your life without your mother’s influence.”
“Funny. Phoebe said something similar about you three,” Sunnie said.
“I’m not surprised.” Roger picked at the label on his beer. “Why did you run, Sunshine?”
Sunnie couldn’t answer. Her mouth had gone dry and the lump in her throat blocked all words. But if she wanted to keep their respect—and her own—she had to be honest. She took a sip of her Coke. The sweet icy liquid fizzed on her tongue, bubbled as she swallowed. After a couple of gulps she licked her lips and spoke.
“I panicked. I’m not proud of it and I can’t say it was rational. No, actually, I can say with honesty it was completely irrational, but Phoebe was crying and saying I was a freak like all of you. What really got to me was she’d already done what I was attempting and failed. I couldn’t get past that.”
“Phoebe has never done what you’re contemplating,” Graham said.
“Of course she has. She tried to have a relationship with the three of you.”
“No.” Roger grabbed her free hand. “Phoebe never loved any
of us. And she never once wanted to have all of us in her life. She played us, Sunshine. Plain and simple, she used each of us to get what she wanted only she got trapped in her own web when she fell pregnant with you.”
“What? But I thought… Phoebe said—”
“She lied,” Wayne growled. “We knew she was seeing all of us. And we let her. I can’t speak for Graham or Roger, but I was in love with Phoebe, or who I thought she was anyway. It didn’t take long after she told us she was pregnant for me to fall out of love with her.”
“Here, I want you to see something.” Roger pulled his wallet from his pocket and removed a photo. He placed it on the table in front of her. “See that?”
“Yes, it’s us, at a carnival. I was six.” Sunnie stared at the picture as memories assailed her.
“Rose took it, remember?” Roger brushed his index finger over the image of a younger Sunnie. “This was the week after Rose and I found out we couldn’t have kids. Or more importantly, I can’t have them.”
Her gaze darted up to meet Roger’s. “What? But that means…”
“I can’t be your biological father.”
“Then why?”
“Look at the picture, Sunshine,” Graham directed. “What do you see?”
“Us.”
“No.” He tapped the table next to the photo. “Look closer. What is it about these four people stands out?”
Sunnie studied the image of three grown men laughing with a small blonde girl twirling between them. Every second of that night was etched in her memory with permanent ink. They’d treated her to every ride, every game, every stick of cotton candy she could eat. Anything her heart desired was hers. Sunnie sucked in a breath. She could see it. In their faces. On hers.
“You love me.”
“Yes.” Roger wove his fingers through hers. “I may not have been responsible for your genetic makeup, but I’m your father in every way that counts.”
Sunnie couldn’t take her eyes off the man who’d taken on the role of father when he didn’t have to.
“We talked about it.” He used his hand to indicate Graham and Wayne. “Us—Rose. We knew no matter what, none of us could bear to lose you. Rose and I couldn’t love you more if you were made from our flesh and blood because we’ve got something better, Sunshine. Love. A love so great it takes my breath.”
“But why would Phoebe do that? Why would she say you could be my father if there was no possibility?”
“She doesn’t know. She’d already made all our lives miserable when Rose and I got married. We didn’t want her to have something else she could use against us. Or you,” Roger explained.
“After Roger discovered his situation,” Graham said, “Wayne and I decided to find out which of us was your father. Phoebe would never allow us to have a DNA test done without dragging it through the courts and making all our lives hell. So we did something I’m not proud of, but I’d do again in a heartbeat.”
Sunnie stared at the man she’d considered her father regardless of their unorthodox circumstances. “What did you do?” she whispered.
Wayne smiled. “I’ve got a close friend who’s a doctor. He helped us get a sample. It was painless and you thought you were just having a regular checkup.”
Silence descended. Sunnie waited for them to tell her who her biological father was, but no one spoke.
“Well?” Graham asked.
“Well what?”
“Aren’t you mad at us for what we did?” Wayne asked.
“No, why would I be?” Sunnie glanced between all three of them. “We all had a right to know and Phoebe certainly wasn’t going to tell.”
“Yeah, the results gave us a little insight into why she refused to admit who was responsible,” Roger murmured.
“What do you mean?” Sunnie’s stomach clenched. The looks on their faces made her think she wouldn’t like the answer.
“Phoebe lied.” Wayne thumped his fist against the table. “Always a lie.”
A shiver snaked down her spine. “Tell me.”
“None of us are your biological father,” Graham said.
Sunnie was dumbfounded. “How is that possible?”
“Phoebe was seeing someone else.” Roger sighed.
“W-who?” Sunnie’s voice shook.
“That’s the hard part, Sunshine.” Graham speared his fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends. “We don’t know. I had a private investigator look into it but came up with nothing concrete. He did discover she’d been seeing a married man around the time you were conceived, but he died about a year after you were born so we didn’t pursue it any further.”
“If you want we can give you his details or look into it further,” Wayne added.
“No.” Sunnie didn’t want to think about the possibility of someone else being her father.
“Sunshine.” Roger tapped the picture still on the table in front of her. “This is what counts. Not genetics.”
She smiled warily. “I know.”
“We didn’t want to make things more complicated. We just want you to make the best decision for you, Brandon, and Zeke,” Graham said.
“You can’t do that with Phoebe interfering,” Roger added.
“What she wants doesn’t matter. It never mattered, the only reason we let her get her way all these years was to protect you. She proved time after time she wasn’t above using you to make us do her bidding,” Wayne explained.
“But you all could have walked away.”
Sunnie watched as each of them looked down at Roger’s photo and smiled.
“Not in this lifetime, Sunshine.” Graham let go of her hand and leaned back. “Here comes our pizza.”
The waitress placed the large pan on the stand she’d put on the table earlier. Sunnie reached for a piece but the crust was too hot to touch and she pulled her hand back to blow on her burned fingers.
“Careful.” Roger grabbed her wrist and examined her fingertips. “It doesn’t look as though you’ve done any damage.”
“I’m fine. Barely a sting.” Sunnie tried to pull her hand from his grasp.
“Not yet. Let me kiss it better.” He brought her fingers to his mouth and placed a soft peck on the tip of each. “There. All better.”
Reminded of days when a simple kiss could right her world made Sunnie’s eyes sting with tears. She’d never felt anything other than loved by all three of these men. As a child she’d known every day that they’d hand her the moon if they could. It made her realize she’d let her mother interfere with that. When Sunnie had been old enough to get curious Phoebe had taken advantage by twisting the truth or telling outright lies. It had fractured her relationship with her fathers to the point that she’d legally changed her name at eighteen.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what, Sunshine?” Roger asked.
“For letting Phoebe tarnish everything we are. For being blind to what is really important.”
“And what’s that?” Graham asked.
“Love.” Sunnie smiled. “Hanging out with you guys over pizza, and letting you pay the bill.”
“Hey, squirt.” Roger tweaked the end of Sunnie’s nose. “For that we’ll do a runner and leave you to wash dishes.”
“Bet I’d beat you out the front door if you tried.” Sunnie bumped Roger’s shoulder with hers. “You’re getting old, ya know.”
“Watch it or I’ll take my pizza and share it with some other little girl,” Roger joked.
Sunnie’s smile widened at the familiar banter. “I’ll sic Rose on you if you try.”
“Damn. Foiled by the women I love.” Roger sighed dramatically, making Sunnie laugh.
“I’ve forgotten how much you make me laugh.”
“Not much chance to do that lately,” Wayne said.
“That’s going to change.” Sunnie tested the pizza to see if it had cooled enough to hold. “As soon as I fix things with Rand and Z I’m going to organize more outings like this.” The budding relationship with Ran
d and Z wasn’t the only one in need of TLC and Sunnie intended to put 100% into improving the bond with all the men in her life.
After they devoured the pizza Graham called the waitress over to order a second one but Sunnie decided she wanted dessert instead. She had a hankering for some gelato. The last time she’d indulged in the yummy Italian treat had been in this very restaurant with her current companions, so she was definitely overdue for some delicious sugary goodness.
“Are you sure you don’t want more pizza?” Wayne asked.
“Nope, I’m going to have a double helping of lemon gelato.”
“We’ll have a small Mamma’s all-meat special and a double scoop of lemon gelato,” Graham told the waitress.
“Do you want me to bring the gelato when the pizza is ready or now?”
“Oh, now please.” Sunnie nudged Roger with her elbow. “Let me out. I wanna run to the bathroom before my dessert comes.”
Sunnie returned from the bathroom to find her gelato waiting for her. Only problem was there were three distinct spoonfuls missing.
“Hey.” She slid into the booth seat Roger had vacated for her. “I don’t remember saying I’d share.”
As Roger sat, he did something he hadn’t since Sunnie had been a child. He ruffled her hair. The roller coaster of emotions she’d been on in the last few days hit the biggest dip and she couldn’t stop the sudden flood of tears.
“Jesus.” Roger pulled her into his arms and rocked her.
She had no idea how long she sat, held close in her father’s arms, bawling her eyes out. By the time the last tear had dropped Sunnie felt completely wrung out. Sniffing back the final one, she pulled free of Roger’s embrace.
“Here.” Graham offered her some napkins.
“Sorry.”
“Nothing for you to be sorry about, Sunshine.” Wayne pushed a glass of water in front of her. “Have a drink to soothe your throat.”
“I need to go home.”
“We’ll take you as soon as you’ve given yourself time to settle.” Graham signaled to get the waitress’s attention. “Can we get that pizza to go, thanks?”
“I’ll pay the bill and then we can head to my place so you can freshen up before we take you home.” Wayne stood and headed for the counter.