Home is Where the Heart is

by Mack, Christie

  “You don’t need my permission to be a part of your son’s life. It’s your decision to make whether you want to be his father or not. I’m not going to stand in the way,” Cassie stated.

  Nick folded his arms over his chest, revealing the masculine muscles in his arms. “So I take it your father isn’t happy with the idea of you staying then?”

  “You could say that. He was one of the reasons why I was leaving earlier than I originally planned. I can’t be around him when there’s too much hostility between us.”

  “So where are you staying then?” Nick asked him out of curiosity.

  “I thought I would check into the Bed and Breakfast Inn.”

  “Nonsense, I can’t have my best friend staying there; you can stay at my place. Besides, it’s not open for business right now. They’re renovating the place.”

  “Really? I had no idea.”

  “You miss a lot when you’re gone for so long,” Cassie mumbled under her breath. She hadn’t meant to sound so rude—that was more Gabby’s thing—but it just slipped out of her mouth.

  “You sure you don’t mind?” Jordan questioned, grateful for his friend’s kindness.

  “Absolutely. Besides, it’s not like I have to worry about double-checking with any roommates. I live alone, I’m not currently in a relationship—right now, anyway—and we can’t have the starting Quarterback sleeping in his rental car. That’s not right.”

  “Thanks, man.” Jordan gave him that same goofy grin he always did, fist-bumping knuckles with Nick like old times.

  “It’s no trouble. You can follow me home after I’m finished here.”

  “Nick, Cassie, you’re needed with Jake. He wants to show you something,” Gabby said as she walked back to the booth. “Plus, it gives Jordan and me a chance to play catch-up properly.”

  Cassie and Nick offered him slight, apologetic smiles for leaving him alone with Gabby, although the waitress who had taken his order came over and handed him his pizza before walking away. Uh-oh! He didn’t like his chances of walking out of this unscathed. He knew Gabby would have a few choice words for him, considering how close she and Cassie were. He just hoped she’d go a little easy on him, given the public place they were in.

  Gabby leaned back against the plush, red glitter lining of the booth, studying Jordan very carefully as if she was wary of his next move.

  “So, you’re back for good?” she asked him, getting straight to the point. She was determined to bite the bullet and question his true motives for the sake of her best friend and godson.

  He nodded his head. “I am for the moment.” The real Gabby was finally coming out, and Jordan was glad to see it. He’d much prefer the harsh Gabby over the ‘let’s pretend you don’t exist’ charade she had been playing since his return to town. She wasn’t fooling him. Jordan could see Gabby wasn’t happy to see him back in Yellow Valley. Besides his father, she would have been the only one not happy to see him back. After the other night, Jordan wasn’t sure where he stood with Cassie or if she really was glad to see him back—even for a little while.

  “Well, at least until football season starts, and then I will work spending time with Jake into my schedule, no matter how busy I am. I’m going to be a part of his life because I want to be, not because I feel obligated.”

  “And Cassie’s too, obviously.” She didn’t smile, but she didn’t frown either. “I won’t try to keep you and Cassie from being together again. If you make her happy, then that’s all I really care about, but if you know you’re only going to break her heart again…” she took a deep breath to calm herself “…just…please don’t do something you know will break her heart later. I care a lot about my best friend and godson, and if you do anything to threaten their happy lives, I will make your life miserable. Understand?”

  Gabby didn’t give him time to admit his understanding of the conversation. Just like that, she was done, offering him a friendly but confident smile, and then continued to eat her pizza in silence like nothing had happened.

  Jordan knew she had a point, and he respected Gabby for being there for Cassie and Jake when they needed her, but this time, he was going to make sure he didn’t do anything to break their hearts. He simply wanted to be a part of his son’s life—both of their lives.

  Later that night, after settling into Nick’s two-bedroom bachelor pad, Jordan sat outside on his small but peaceful balcony with a bottle of beer in one hand and his iPhone in the other. He sank back into his chair, taking in the view of Yellow Valley’s local university surrounded by tall oak trees. Jordan had to admit, no matter how much he loved the city life, or how good the city of Miami was treating him in his busy lifestyle as a professional football player, it felt so good to be back in his hometown. He guessed he was still a country boy at heart.

  As he stared out at the familiar surroundings, he contemplated if he was doing the right thing, or if his decision to make this call had been made too quickly.

  Jordan knew he needed to do it at some point. One way or another, it needed to be done, and the sooner, the better. At least if he filled his agent in on the son he never knew he had, he was taking control of his own life, rather than waiting for the news to spill out into the public on its own. Paul couldn’t be mad at him this way.

  He scrolled through his phone contacts until Paul’s name and number showed up, and breathing in and out a deep breath; he pressed the call button and waited. It felt like a very long time before Paul picked up, even though it was really only a couple of seconds. His agent was usually attached to his phone, despite his wife being not-so-happy most of the time that he was constantly working.

  “Hello? Paul Synods speaking—”

  “Paul, it’s Jordan.” He cut Paul’s introduction off. “We need to talk.”

  He cut to the chase, knowing he had to get it off his chest before he changed his mind and backed down from telling him. Jordan reminded himself he was doing the right thing by being upfront with Paul about his latest revelations before he found out the hard way. This way, he couldn’t get pissed at Jordan for not informing him of the issue from the beginning.

  “Okay, what’s up?” Paul said, sounding unsure of where the conversation might go.

  Jordan took in a deep breath, anticipating the next part of their conversation. “There’s no easy way to say this…”

  “Then I usually just say it. That’s often the best way,” Paul said, trying to calm his best athlete.

  How did one confess life-changing news to somebody? Jordan saw no easy way to tell his agent, other than to simply blurt it out in less-than-subtle words. Paul was a simple man. He was a husband and father, so he would have to understand how Jordan was feeling right now.

  “I’ve recently discovered that I’m a dad,” he said in a rush.

  “You’re what?” Paul could barely make out the words, stunned by his client’s explosive response.

  “I’m a dad. I have a son with my high school girlfriend. He’s five years old,” Jordan said again, speaking more slowly into the phone receiver.

  How much simpler could he put it? It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Sure, it was a surprise even to him, but it took guts for Jordan to actually admit to his agent his surprising news about becoming a father, but he didn’t think he could say it any more clearly.

  “Are you one hundred percent positive he’s your son? There isn’t a chance he’s not yours?”

  Jordan pulled the phone from his ear for a moment and scratched his head. Of course, he should have seen this coming. Paul was a virtuous agent, and always got the job done with a constructive attitude. Jordan knew he could always count on him to be there as both his confidante and paid employee when imperative decisions needed to be made regarding his career and personal life.

  He was hard and tough as nails when he needed to be, but these attributes were only two of the many reasons why Jordan still employed him as his agent. He always found a loophole to everything going on in Jordan�
�s life, but this time, there was no loophole. He was, in fact, Jake’s father. There really was no denying it, and he had no intention of ignoring his child either. He couldn’t do it to Jake, or to Cassie. They deserved far better than what they had previously been through.

  “Yes, he is mine. I have no doubt in my mind that he’s my son. I just thought you should know so we can spin the story to the press in a positive light before the tabloids get ahold of the story first.”

  He had seen firsthand how tabloids could taint your career with their own little twist by using words just big enough to cause a scandal around the globe, and then it was blown out of proportion. He couldn’t risk exposing Cassie and Jake to the dangers of tabloid life. It wasn’t fair to them, and they didn’t sign up for that.

  “Did you take a DNA test to confirm your findings?”

  “Not exactly, but that doesn’t mean he’s not my child. He is mine. He looks exactly like me when I was his age.”

  “That doesn’t mean you are the boy’s father either. Without a paternity test, we might be fabricating a story to the press that is not even necessary. One way or another, we need evidence to prove you are, in fact, this boy’s dad.”

  After an agonizing conversation with his agent, making Jordan wish he had never called Paul in the first place, Jordan ended the phone call, agreeing to ask for a paternity test to reveal the truth once and for all. Only then would they really know whether Jordan was a dad or not, despite him knowing deep down the results already.

  Now he just had to find a way to ask the hardest question of all—for a test from Cassie. Something he wasn’t looking forward to doing at all.

  A couple of days later, after time was given to process Jordan’s desire to be a father to Jake, Cassie invited him over to her house Monday morning so they could sit down together and tell their son the truth. Cassie hadn’t wanted to rush straight into telling Jake, worried Jordan would change his mind again and say he couldn’t do it, which would break her son’s heart into a million pieces. She wanted to make sure being a father was what he truly wanted.

  After Cassie told Jake the news, he looked at Jordan, and then back to his mother strangely.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” Cassie asked, placing a hand on his knee. “Are there any questions you’d like answered?”

  “Is that why I don’t look like Mommy? Because I look like you?” Jake asked Jordan, and then turned to his mother. “Some people at school thought you weren’t my real mommy because I don’t look like you.”

  Cassie felt like sweeping her little boy into her arms and never letting go. People could be so cruel.

  “Oh, baby, that’s not true at all. I am your mom and I always will be,” Cassie assured him while swiping away a tear before he could see it.

  Jake nodded his head gently, leaning into his mother’s warm hug and turning his attention to the man he now knew was his father. “Does that mean I can call you Dad?”

  “Only if you want to, buddy,” Jordan answered. He wasn’t going to force something Jake wasn’t ready for.

  Dad. It still felt weird to know he was a father. He guessed he would get used to it eventually.

  “Okay,” Jake replied. There was long pause, silence entering the room, and then Jake asked if Jordan could take him to school this morning.

  “I don’t know. If it’s okay with your mom, I would be happy to take you to school.”

  Jake turned to Cassie. “Please, Mommy? Can he take me to school?” he pleaded. She looked into those big brown eyes of his and she knew she couldn’t say no to him, even though her mind wasn’t completely sold on the idea that Jordan was all in when it came to being a dad. She just hoped her little boy wouldn’t be disappointed later on. It wasn’t something she wanted to deal with, and she hoped she had made that clear with Jordan.

  “Of course he can, if that’s what you want.”

  Jake bounced up and down on the spot, giddiness and excitement radiating from his small body. “Cool! You can see my classroom.”

  Cassie told him to go brush his teeth, and when they were alone, Jordan made sure he thanked her, though Cassie was simply grateful she’d raised such a cool and resilient little boy who didn’t seem fazed by the news.

  “Don’t break his heart. He’s not eighteen like I was. You can’t go and toy with his emotions; he’s only a little boy who deserves his father present in his life. You can’t be here one day, and then gone the next. Being a dad doesn’t work that way. If you’re playing dad today, then you have to be here for him for the next thirteen years—and beyond too. You can’t just pretend you’re not his father whenever you feel like it, or when your career gets too stressful.” Her words were cold and grew serious.

  “I would never do that. I want to be a part of his life. I know it’s going to take some time for you to believe me, but I’m going to make you see you did the right thing allowing me to be here. You won’t regret it.”

  “I hope so, but actions speak louder than words.”

  Cassie hoped he was right. The last thing she wanted was to regret letting him back into her life to play daddy to their son, like he should have been doing the day Jake was born. She would believe it when she saw it; she needed to see his authenticity with her own eyes.

  When Jake ran out with his bag and hat, ready to show off his newly discovered dad to his little school friends, Cassie let Jordan know she would inform the school of who was dropping him off today, and when she wished him good luck, Jordan wondered why.

  He didn’t need good luck. He was just taking his son to school.

  Jake had never been more excited to go to school than he was today, knowing his dad was the one taking him. With his backpack strapped to his back, Jake marched into the classroom mighty pleased with himself, and ready to share his big news with his fellow classmates.

  From the doorway of the classroom, Jordan watched the way Jake put his bag away and mingled in with the other children already in the room. Waving back at him, he heard Jake say to his friends with a big smile on his face, “That’s my dad.”

  Jordan felt a grin form on his own face, which didn’t go unnoticed by other parents dropping their kids off too.

  “Excuse me?” One mother approached him. “You’re new to the school, aren’t you? I’ve never seen you here before, and I’m here every morning and afternoon with my daughter.”

  Jordan turned and noticed a woman with auburn-colored hair speaking to him. She appeared to be looking him up and down, giving him the once-over like she didn’t know if he was good or bad.

  “I am. Jordan Castillo.” He held out his hand, and it seemed as soon as he spoke his name, a small crowd of parents—mostly women—formed around him.

  Obviously, they all knew him as the town’s golden boy football player.

  “Oh, so you’re the infamous ex-boyfriend of Cassie and father of her son. We were beginning to wonder when you would make a return to town,” another mother with straight blonde hair and thinly framed glasses said. “We thought maybe she had made up that she once had a thing with you. At one stage, there was rumor going around she had adopted that sweet little boy. Of course, we know it’s not true now. Jake just takes after you.”

  Jordan knew what she meant by that comment. Gossip spread like wildfire in Yellow Valley, and it was something he certainly did not miss while he was away. They just assumed Cassie couldn’t possibly be Jake’s birthmother because he looked nothing like her.

  Jordan couldn’t keep up with everyone surrounding him. So maybe his popularity right now had nothing to do with his sudden rise as football player in the NFL. Did everyone know he was Cassie’s ex-boyfriend? Did no one in his hometown have anything better to do than gossip about people’s personal lives?

  While they huddled around him, waiting for any kind of response to come out of his mouth, another arm quickly pulled him from the group.

  “Okay, ladies, there’s nothing to see here. So we haven’t seen a real-life football player hail from Yello
w Valley and suddenly make a return to his roots before—big deal. Move on. Let’s leave the poor guy in peace,” said the woman coming to Jordan’s defense. He was suddenly grateful for this woman, whose short brown hair fell into a neat little bob just below her shoulders.

  Once the attention turned away from Jordan, he relaxed a little and said thank you to the kind stranger.

  “Oh, that’s okay. I know they can be a little intimidating to anybody new to the classroom sometimes. By the way, I’m Sierra.”

  “Well, thank you, Sierra. I can see what you mean. I’m Jordan, but I suppose you already know that.”

  She laughed, lightening the mood. “Yeah, Cassie and I are friends. She’s told me about you, and warned me this morning you would be the one dropping Jake off instead. I guess she figured you would need saving from the Mother’s Club. My son, Caleb, and Jake are best friends.” Sierra pointed toward a boy with sandy blonde hair and freckles on his face sitting next to his son, and then she leaned in toward Jordan, whispering, “Between you and me, Cassie and I are two of the only normal ones here. We don’t get into gossip.”

  Jordan was relieved to know he had an ally at the school, one that didn’t judge him based on his past mistakes and actions.

  “If you hold on a moment, we can walk out together. I’ve just got to throw my son’s lunch into his bag,” she told him before rushing into the classroom, making her way to where the kids kept their belongings.

  While he waited, the same gossipy woman from before approached him one final time with a favor request.

  “I’m head of the Parent Association for our children’s class, and I was hoping I could get your assistance in baking some cookies or cupcakes for the annual fundraiser the school holds with the high school. You’ve probably heard about it before...”

  “Um, yeah, you mean the Yellow Valley Annual Gala,” Jordan answered.

  She tossed her hair over her shoulder, going into detail as if he didn’t know anything about it, despite living here most of his life. “The proceeds raised go toward the two schools’ improvements. This year, we’re aiming for a bigger auditorium to be built for all the schools in the district to share. We were hoping Cassie would be able to bake us something delicious as a sponsor in honor of this class. I’ve been meaning to catch up with her, but she’s always so busy.”