Down the Hidden Path

by Heather Burch

  “And she didn’t explain anything unique about this situation?”

  His gaze landed on her. “No, sir.”

  If Gray could sink into the marble floor and disappear, she would. She’d worked so hard to stay away from Miah, worked so hard to maintain the promise she’d made to Angela when Angela had found out the truth.

  “Mr. Granger, I don’t mean to be rude, sir, but I spent the last twelve years in the Army and I’ve found that when people need to say something, it’s best to say it and not beat around the bush.”

  Wilson rested his forearms on the desk. “All right, Mr. McKinley. The Olsons were also dear friends of mine. I’d like to speak frankly as their attorney, but also as their friend.”

  “I’d appreciate that.” Miah clasped his hands in front of him and waited.

  “Twelve years ago, I handled an adoption for Mr. and Mrs. Olson. They adopted a son, named David. It was an open adoption, allowing the birth mother to be part of the boy’s life. Mary Grace, would you like to interject anything here?”

  Miah looked at her.

  Tension wound her body so tightly, she couldn’t move. In her periphery, she knew Miah was putting the pieces together.

  He stood from the chair. “Gray, is David your son?”

  She attempted a nod.

  He took a step closer to her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  But she couldn’t look at him, she couldn’t even breathe because her carefully constructed house of cards was getting ready to crumble.

  Wilson continued. “This meeting isn’t about Mary Grace’s relationship to the boy. It’s about yours.”

  For a few moments, the world went black around Gray. Beside her, Miah stumbled two steps away and fell back into his chair. Gray dropped her head in her hands and cried.

  Miah had been in a firefight once where everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Only once. Usually, time sped up. But there was that single day when he could hear every snap of a twig, every pant of the guys beside him; he could smell the blood rising from a fresh wound on his arm, could taste the sweat as it slid between his lips, could even taste the gun residue in the air.

  That paled compared to this. The attorney sat across from him, eyebrows high on his head, fingers tapping the desk as if counting off the seconds until Miah exploded. But he was a trained soldier; explosions weren’t part of his MO. Access, redirect.

  The attorney’s information was wrong. Plain and simple. “Mr.—” He had to look at his gold plate to get the name right. It had slipped right out of Miah’s mind. “Mr. Granger, that’s impossible.”

  How could the guy have gotten his information so messed up? “Gray.” It was a question and a command and caused her head to snap to look at him. “Tell him. He’s got it wrong.”

  That’s when he saw the haunted look in her eyes. And the meeting at the taco stand filtered through his mind—how quickly she’d wanted to get away from him. Then he thought about her resistance to take the job, her lack of willingness to reunite with the man who’d been her best friend. Suddenly, he felt nauseous. Miah leaned forward, planting his hands on his knees, and pulled several deep breaths.

  “Miah, I . . . couldn’t tell you.” Gray’s voice, weak, small.

  No. This couldn’t be happening. Then he remembered how she spoke of the mystery man in her life and how Miah feared her heart already belonged to someone else, leaving little room for him. “David,” he scoffed.

  “I’m sorry.” She looked over at him, but could only hold his gaze for a moment. “When Angela found out it was you, she made me swear never to tell you. If I did, she’d take David away.”

  “Why? I never even knew them.” Miah gripped the arms of the chair with such force, he thought they might disintegrate in his hands. “How long have you known he was mine?” he ground out.

  “If I may interject,” Wilson said, raising a finger. “Mary Grace told us she didn’t know who the father was at the time of the adoption. That made our . . . situation easier. The Olsons wanted a clean adoption. They didn’t want to run any risk of being challenged by a birth parent down the road. Since Gray requested an open adoption—and since there was no father in the picture—they felt certain it would all be fine.”

  “Fine?” Miah choked on the word.

  “I think Mary Grace was trying to do the right thing. There was another child the Olsons could have adopted. They may have gone that way if we’d had to track and get the okay of an absent father.”

  Gray stared at the floor. “But when Angela got to know me, she said there was no way I’d have a child not knowing who the father was. David was two. I admitted the truth.”

  Wilson raised his index finger as if to make a point. “I had no foreknowledge of this. But from what I understand, Angela made Gray promise not to tell you about the boy.”

  Miah could feel the adrenaline running through his veins. He turned his fury on Gray. “Do you know how crazy that sounds?”

  “Mr. McKinley, I can advise you to get a paternity test.” Wilson leaned back in his leather chair.

  Miah tried to wrap his head around all of this. Gray. At eighteen. She hadn’t been dating anyone, spent every free moment with Miah. And there was that one night. He corralled his anger, walked to where she sat and kneeled in front of her. “Is it true? Is David my son?”

  She looked as if her world was crumbling. Maybe it was. And in her eyes, he knew. She didn’t even need to say it, but he wouldn’t let her off the hook.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “He even has your eyes.”

  Miah’s eyes drifted shut.

  Wilson kept talking. “You’re still welcome to do a paternity test.”

  Miah shoved to his feet and spun. “Not necessary. If Gray says he’s my son then he is.”

  Wilson folded his hands in front of him. “Now, if we’ve established that, let’s move on to the next—”

  Miah raised both hands. “Stop. Just stop. I need a minute.” He walked to a small window that overlooked the street. Outside, a small child was being chased by his mother in the park that anchored the square of downtown River Rock. “I have a son.” The toddler in the park opened his mouth wide when his mother grabbed him up in her arms. “I have a son.” And the whole of all he’d missed, all he’d not gotten to experience, overwhelmed him.

  He spun toward Gray. “How could you? How could you watch him live and grow and not tell me?” The oxygen was too thin in Wilson’s office and Miah suddenly felt light-headed. “How, Gray?”

  She stood, looking only slightly more in control than she had moments ago. “You’d run off to Hollywood, Miah.” Her voice was flat.

  “And this was to somehow punish me?”

  “It’s not all about you. I was trying to do what was right for David.”

  He took a step toward her, pulling Wilson up out of his chair again. “By keeping him from his father?”

  “You were a kid, Miah. One who ran off with a starlet.”

  “And what were you?”

  “Smart enough to know that a couple like the Olsons could give David a good life.” Her hands were fisted at her sides, a motion he’d seen her do whenever she talked about things that were slipping through her fingers.

  He smacked his chest with an open hand. “We could have given him a good life. Together.”

  “We weren’t together, Miah. You made that clear that night when you took me home. You called it a ‘good-bye send-off.’ Remember?” There were tears on her cheeks now.

  “I was . . .” He shook his head. “I was just trying to make sense of what happened between us.”

  She squared her shoulders. “Well, you seemed to reconcile it all pretty well.”

  For an instant, he hated himself for having said those words to her. It was wrong. He’d even known it at the time. “No.” Miah shook his head and stepped out of th
e regret. “That doesn’t justify this.”

  “I was three months along and Nana had a stroke. We left River Rock and went to live with my aunt in Laver. From that moment on, everything I did was so David could have a good life. With two parents who loved him and loved each other.”

  And then once again, it hit him. “I have a son.” His eyes trailed the room, looking for something to bring equilibrium, but there wasn’t anything. A wall clock on the mantel of a fake fireplace, a palm tree in the corner, but it all looked rubbery and unreal; even the walls seemed to be melting before him.

  Wilson’s voice interrupted him. “If we could move on with these proceedings, it would be helpful.”

  Miah looked at him as if he were an alien, newly landed, searching for the man in charge. Silently, he passed Gray and dropped into the seat.

  “The Olsons have granted you Permanent Guardianship of their son, Mr. McKinley.”

  Gray sprang out of her chair. “What? That’s impossible. I was with them when you set up the documents—” And then, Gray swayed, grasping, reaching out, but finding nothing but air. Miah grabbed her and lowered her into her seat.

  Wilson continued. “Recently, Angela and Bill amended those documents. Yes, for years, Gray was to have sole custody of David. But because of their recent financial decisions, their business was going under. They felt as though it would be in the child’s best interest to be in a stable situation.” Wilson leaned forward, his leather chair squeaking with the movement. He offered a friendly smile. “Whether we’d like to admit it or not, money is a vital concern when one is considering the long-term care of his or her child. Once you returned from the war, a decorated soldier, owning your own home, and, of course, the fact that your family is the Havingers, well.” He raised his hands as if the name Havinger solved all the money issues of the world.

  “Because I’m a Havinger?”

  Wilson put on his game face and glanced through the documents in front of him. He handed a small stack of pages to Jeremiah. “Because you have a stable home situation. No one ever expects something like this to happen, but the Olsons were very proactive in their wishes.”

  There was ragged breathing coming from the seat beside him, but Miah didn’t care.

  “Wilson.” Gray was trying to gather her composure. She was failing miserably. “I have a home.”

  He scoffed. “Mary Grace, Angela didn’t feel it was suitable for raising a child.”

  She wrapped her hands around the chair and leaned forward. “I was making it suitable for David. I started working on my grandmother’s house so I could have a place for him if he attended River Rock high.”

  “Angela was also concerned about your work situation. You left a full-time position at Laver Community to take an as-needed job at River Rock.”

  Miah saw the panic on her face, in her eyes, but it didn’t matter. For weeks she’d worked at his house without bothering to mention the fact they had a son together. “For—”

  “For David?” Wilson repeated, almost mockingly so.

  Her head dropped. “The job at Laver was nights. I never got to see him.”

  “Mary Grace, you know Angela was only trying to do what was right for David. Look at this as an opportunity.” He pointed at Miah. “David will get to know his biological father. This could help give him back a little bit of what he’s lost. If, of course, Mr. McKinley is interested in having the boy.”

  Her gaze shot to Miah, pleading, fearful, bloodshot.

  His focus went to the first document in his hand. It was titled “Nomination of Guardian” and outlined that he was to serve as guardian in the event that neither William nor Angela were able to. He read on to see Gray’s name near the bottom. In the event Jeremiah was unwilling or unable to serve as guardian, the task fell to Mary Grace Smith.

  Somehow, seeing the terms guardianship and parent on the pages brought the whole thing home for Jeremiah. This was his child, his blood. A boy he’d never met. Shock slapped him once again when he thought of raising, nurturing, helping this child grow into a man. He cleared his throat. “Oh yes, Mr. McKinley wants the boy.”

  There was a moment when Gray’s face froze as if time itself had stopped, but then her brow furrowed and her mouth became an O shape and the saddest sound he’d ever heard clawed from her lips. “No. No, Miah. You can’t.”

  Oh, but he could. “I’ve got twelve years to make up for.”

  He was so focused on Gray he’d forgotten Wilson until the man spoke. “Of course, Mary Grace is an important part of David’s life. If you will look at document six, you’ll see specific instruction concerning her.”

  Miah flipped through pages until he found a document titled “Instructions to Guardian of Minor Children of William and Angela Olson.” It outlined their wishes about Mary Grace being consulted regarding the manner in which David would be raised.

  Wilson lowered the paper in his hands. “It’s also important for David’s well-being that she be involved. She’s been the most important part of his life aside from his mother and father.”

  Miah hated that he liked the feeling rising in him; it was something akin to revenge. That wasn’t typically in his nature, but this was unconscionable. “Sure. She can come visit.” He sniffed. “We’ll work out a schedule or something.”

  She shook her head, her face a wash of fear. “Please, Miah. Don’t do this.”

  He stood. “Do what, Gray? Take the opportunity to get to know my son?”

  “Please,” but the word was lost in a sob.

  His heart squeezed. In his lifetime, he’d never caused any woman the kind of emotional torment Gray was displaying. Her eyes were swollen and red, fear and shame volleying in the depths of her silver gaze. Her face was a tear-slick mask that read absolute devastation. In a word, she was shattered. His fingers itched to reach out, but reality bit at his consciousness, reminding him that for the past twelve years, he’s had a son. And no one bothered to tell him. He turned away from her, clearing the vision of her pain from his mind.

  Miah swallowed the lump lodged in his throat. He directed his attention to Wilson. “How soon can I pick him up?”

  David made a point to eat all of the bacon cheeseburger, even the lettuce. His appetite hadn’t been great since the accident and he knew Gray was watching him to make sure he didn’t get too skinny. Something else was wrong with Gray. Something besides everything they were already going through. As he’d gotten older, he’d learned to see it. She fidgeted, just like he did when a teacher was getting ready to hand back a graded test and he wasn’t sure how he’d done. There was a time he would have just brushed it off. But things were different now. He was different now. With his dad gone, David was the man of the house. “What’s up, Gray?”

  From the sink, she spun to look at him. A smile first, but it faded, and David could tell she wasn’t looking forward to whatever she had to say. But it was okay because he could be there for her. He could help her. He was practically a grown-up and had been dealing with grown-up problems since the moment he’d jerked the door open and found a policeman on the other side.

  The kitchen chair scraped against the hardwood floor as she pulled it out to sit. David liked sitting on the other side of the table because the floor was crooked and he could shimmy his weight back and forth and rock the chair all the way to the kitchen door. It was cool.

  Gray took a deep breath. “I have some news for you. You’re going to get to meet your biological father.”

  His biological father. That couldn’t be right. His mom had told him the birth father wasn’t in the picture and never would be. “But Gray—”

  She held up a hand. “Let me explain everything and then you can ask every question you have, okay?”

  He closed his mouth, but there was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “He can’t be a good person. I don’t want to meet him.”

  Gr
ay threaded her fingers together on the tabletop. “He is a good person, David.”

  David stood up. “He can’t be. Or I would have met him already. My mom swore to me that he was never, ever going to be around.” His teeth clenched; his skin felt hot but also cold and he shouldn’t be yelling at Gray, but he couldn’t help it.

  “That wasn’t his choice, David. He didn’t know about you. He didn’t know he had a son until today. That’s why I was called to Mr. Granger’s office.”

  “Why didn’t he know about me?” David clamped his hands on the edge of the table.

  “Because I never told him. I should have. I wish I had because maybe—” And then Gray dropped her head. It was a long time before she spoke, and when she looked up to meet his gaze, there was a new strength there. “David, Jeremiah is a good man. And you will be fortunate to have him in your life.”

  David chewed his lip for a moment. He wanted to believe her. Even if he was mad at her. Even if she should have told his birth dad and hadn’t. He moved to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Gray.” It nearly broke him to say it because he didn’t think he could deal with any more changes. But right there, with a tummy full of his favorite dinner, he made a decision. If he was going to be the man of the house, he needed to act like it. And that meant being strong like Gray. No matter what.

  Gray pulled it together, if only marginally, as she packed Bill’s largest suitcase with David’s clothes. Yet again, she was getting ready to let go of the only thing in the entire world that mattered. Slipping through her fingers, like dust on a windy day. Once more, she’d say good-bye to her child so he could go live with someone else. Both their hearts had broken anew when she told him what had happened at Wilson’s office. Not only would David be meeting Miah for the first time, he’d be moving in with him.

  When David rounded the corner by grabbing the doorjamb and sliding into the room, she painted on the smile she’d been practicing for two days since the meeting with Wilson. “Get your books?”