Catalyst

by Riley, Leighton

  Once we’re sitting across from Rick, my stomach drops. The businessman I knew is gone, replaced by a man in a khaki jumpsuit and a scruffy face. Gone is the man who used to own his surroundings. Now, it owns him.

  “Son,” Rick says with disgust as he sees Liam and turns his lip up when he looks at me. Rick found out Liam was still alive when they brought him in for questioning Maguire’s confession. Liam was informed of Rick’s nonchalance when he heard the news. I know it affected Liam.

  “Don’t.” Liam’s words are a threat to his father. “You don’t have the power anymore. You don’t get to judge,” he spits out.

  This might be a short visit.

  Rick laughs and leans back in the chair. “So Maguire spilled the beans about me. But how much did he tell you?” His sly smile makes me nauseous.

  “Enough to know what kind of man you really are. You really thought you’d never get caught? I’m a cop, for fuck’s sake. I would have found out eventually.” Liam’s fists are balled tight, showing areas of pure white.

  “You didn’t know a thing, and it was right under your nose. For a detective, you sure are shitty at realizing what’s goin’ on around ya. Remember that cute little girlfriend who moved away before college?” He leans forward as if to tell a secret.

  “Yeah, so?” Liam’s brows furrow together. His dad’s getting to him.

  “She was paid to leave you. Your stupid ass knocked her up. Couldn’t keep it wrapped up and had to stick it in some whore pussy. I’ve been paying for that boy for damn near nine years now! You never had a clue.” He laughs at his son. “You’re pathetic.”

  It’s like hearing a train rushing toward you and all that can be done is stand and wait for the crushing impact. Before I can move a muscle, Liam has already reacted.

  “You son of a bitch! How could you?!” Liam roars. Standing up, he turns away from his dad for a moment before pointing his finger at his dad, his breathing heavy. “I hope you rot in hell. Looks like that’ll be fifty to life for you. Don’t drop the soap, fucker.” He waves him off and storms out of the room. I follow without looking back at Rick.

  Once we’re outside and in the fresh air, Liam collapses to his knees and breaks down, tears rolling freely.

  I sit down next to the love of my life and wrap my arms around him. Brick after brick is being laid over his back, and it’s destroying him minute by minute. A person can only handle so much before they aren’t the person they used to be. We’ve gone through so much that I can’t lose him now.

  He deserves happiness.

  Placing a kiss on his head, I try to soothe him by humming one of our favorite songs, All or Nothing by Theory of a Deadman. By the chorus, his cries lessen, and I can feel him coming back to me.

  “It’s you and me with our backs against the ocean. We won’t let them defeat us. There’s so much good to live for to pay any attention to the bad, babe. Let’s head down to Jamaica Beach and spend a few days there. Clear our heads and disconnect,” I offer. Even though going to the beach in December isn’t our norm, it’d be a much-needed getaway.

  “Rentals are probably easy to get this time of year. I could use a week off from life. Fuck, Tinsley, what am I going to do about having a son I’ve never met. Who knows what he’s been told about me. Probably that I’m a deadbeat dad or just a sperm donor. I swear if I had known, I would have helped her out.” Looking out into the distance, he adds, “I was off partying while she was a single mom, changing diapers and never getting any sleep.”

  I know we’re going to have to talk with his baby mama, but at this point, waiting another few days until things settled was not going to be the end of the world. It had been nine years, and I knew they weren’t expecting Liam to pop up ready to play dad.

  “Babe, can we continue this in the car? My ass is freezing from the cold concrete.” I try not to sound needy, but the look on his face tells me that I completely am being needy, but I also get a smile out of him.

  “So you’re saying we should go for a coffee run before we head out of town?” He stands up and fixes his jacket before grabbing both of my arms and pulling me up in front of him. I feel both of his hands on my butt as he rubs it to get some warmth there. Within seconds, we’re both chuckling at our ridiculousness.

  “We need to pack before we head out.”

  “Says who? I plan to keep you locked in a rental home for the next five days. Clothing is optional.” His hand finds mine as we head to the car.

  Nodding my head at the idea, I have no objections.

  “Promise me we’re going to get through this? Through everything and come out on the other side stronger than ever before?”

  He takes no time to respond. “I wouldn’t allow it any other way. Purge anything negative and we’ll have our happily ever after. Despite all odds.”

  The confidence he has in us is comforting.

  “Five days locked up on a beachfront property with you? There’s no other way I’d like to spend my time.”

  “I love you.” He holds onto my left hand as we head toward the highway.

  “I love you too, Liam. Forever and always.”

  Tinsley

  “DID YOU FIND her yet?” I ask as I stuff my face with a mint Oreo, walking into the main living room of the rental property.

  “She’s changed so much since I last saw her.” Liam is squinting at the computer as he clicks the right arrow slowly. I take a seat next to him on the couch and take a look for myself. We had thought it’d be cute to gallivant around in our undies, but once we realized the temperature inside the home, we made a run to the store to grab a few basics. He’s in long pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt with his hoodie up around his face. I’m wearing the same thing as it is freezing in the house, even with the heater going.

  I’m selfish. I want to know that I’m prettier than she is.

  I look at the picture he’s currently studying, and she’s cute, I can’t lie. “What’d she look like when you were with her?” The picture shows her in riding boots and skinny jeans and a white shirt, hugging her son alongside her smiling. On the other side of Liam’s son is a man in dark jeans and a button-down. He has glasses and just a bit of a beard growing, but it works for him. He’s on the shorter side, but from the looks of it, he loves the both of them. I can tell by the way his arm wraps around her arm and how his other hand is resting on his stepson’s shoulder.

  “She never straightened her hair back then, always left it curly. She looks the same, just more mature and grown up.” He’s remembering the past. I can hear it in his voice. After a minute, he snaps out of it and tells me, “I’m glad she found someone. We weren’t meant to be, but maybe there’s a silver lining through it all.”

  “Have you reached out to her yet? We could go up and visit.” I lay my legs on his lap and get comfortable. “Do you think she’d want that?” I ask in curiosity. From what I knew, the breakup was sudden, and from her side of things, I doubt Liam looks like the good guy.

  “I sent her a message a few minutes ago. She saw it but hasn’t responded. Probably hates me, but I don’t blame her. I blame him.” He starts to shut the laptop just as the message notification sounds off. Opening it back up, we stare at her response.

  ‘Braxton used to ask about you all the time. I became excellent at making you sound like you were off on super cool missions. When he turned six, he asked me if you were ever coming home. I told him no. Last year, Draigan came into our lives and he’s been a phenomenal father figure to Brax. If I allow you to visit, it has to be on Braxton’s terms. We have our family now, but he deserves to know.’

  “She sounds like a great mom. We could go up there for a weekend and get acquainted. Give him time to process and decide what he wants to do. Maybe we can visit a few times a year if Braxton wants,” I offer.

  He looks at me and leans in for a slow, heart-melting kiss. His hand laces through my hair and his other hand grabs my thigh. “How did I get so lucky? You’ve been so amazing, finding out about m
y son and never questioning me or my loyalties. I love you so, so much, Tinsley.”

  Giving him another kiss, I tell him, “I love you too. It’s how we handle what’s given to us that makes us who we are. We’re stronger than all of this.”

  Leaning me back, he settles his weight over me and puts the computer on the floor. “We still have one more night here. How about we make the most out of it?” His voice is demanding but sensual.

  Wrapping my legs around his waist, I nod and feel his hardness grind against me. It isn’t long before we’re both naked and sweating, keeping each other warm with our passionate heat.

  After, we fall asleep under a blanket on the floor. The waves crashing outside lull us to sleep.

  WITHIN THE PAST sixteen hours, Liam has talked to both Erin and Braxton, bought us plane tickets to Raleigh, North Carolina, secured us a rental car since we have to drive another hour to get to their home, and made a trip to Target to get us a suitcase, travel necessities, and actual clothes to wear.

  Once we settle in the rental car and we are driving out of the city, my nerves hit me. I’m about to meet the woman Liam fathered a child with. I’m also about to meet said child. I feel like a homewrecker even though it’s not the case at all.

  “You ready for this?” I ask, feigning confidence.

  “Fuck, no. I mean I want to meet him, but we’re going in on the defensive. I hope he doesn’t hate me.” Liam sighs.

  “From the phone call, Braxton seemed nervous and excited too. This could be a good thing.”

  I hope I’m right.

  An hour later, we park outside of a ranch-style home with the nearest neighbor being a few hundred feet away. We both stare for a moment before Liam reaches over and squeezes my hand and gives me a smile of reassurance.

  Before we can even knock on the door, Braxton opens the door and is wide-eyed, staring at Liam.

  “Hey, Braxton. I’m Liam,” Liam offers.

  “My dad.” Braxton takes a step closer and gives him a big hug. When I look into Liam’s eyes, there are tears.

  Watching this, it’s hard not to cry. Erin and Draigen join us and the three of us watch as Braxton holds onto Liam.

  “Let them come on inside, Brax.” Erin touches her son’s shoulder, and he lets go of Liam. We follow them inside and take a seat in the family room.

  I watch as Erin talks about what Braxton’s doing in school and in sports. He’s a math whiz who plays football and wants to be a secret service agent when he grows up. She keeps the conversation light, and Draigen chimes in occasionally to add his two cents.

  Braxton’s been staring at Liam for a good five minutes before he joins in the conversation. “Who do I call dad? Draigen has been like a dad for a while, but you’re my real dad. Calling you dad is weird.”

  Liam’s mouth hangs open for a moment as he looks to Erin for help. She just smiles, waiting. “How about Liam for now? If you ever want to call me something else, I’ll be fine with that too.” He smiles at his son, and it’s hard not to miss the similarities. The dimples when they smile, the shape of their eyes, the way they watch people before making judgments.

  “I call Draigen, Draigen. Not dad. When they get married, though, he’ll be my dad. Oh! I know. He can be Dad 2.0. Then eventually, maybe you can be just dad.” Braxton smiles and looks around for approval. Draigen is smiling, but I know he’s uncomfortable about the situation.

  “We’ll figure it out later, Brax.” Erin shuts the awkward conversation down.

  “Do you have another family? Is that why you couldn’t be with us?” Braxton asks in pure innocence. I’m also not sure what Erin’s told him about why Liam hadn’t been there before.

  Liam is just about to respond when Erin pipes in. “Honey. Remember how you want to be a secret service agent when you grow up? Liam kinda does that now, and he’s been on a really long, top-secret mission. He’s done with it now and is able to visit us.” Erin and Liam exchange a look of understanding, and Braxton seems to look at Liam in a new light now, as if now he’s reached ‘cool dad’ status.

  Liam answers many questions from Braxton and a few from Draigen. It’s not nearly as uncomfortable as I thought it would be.

  After a while, Draigen asks Braxton to help him get some burgers on the grill. Once the two of them are gone, Erin gets more serious and Liam opens up.

  “You can’t come here once and never show up again,” Erin says firmly. “He’s been through a lot. That boy is in love with you, so I’m going to ask nicely that you don’t break his heart.”

  “I wouldn’t dare do that. Believe me, if I had known, this visit would have come before he was even born. I was left in the dark, Erin, but I want to try to make things right. We were thinking about making trips up here every month or two. If you want, he can come to Texas for a few days or maybe a week in the summer. Like you said, as long as he wants the interaction, I’ll give it to him, no questions asked.”

  After mulling it over a minute, she agrees to the idea of Braxton coming down to us for a little bit in the summer. I can see why Liam was with her all those years ago. She’s a good woman and a great mom.

  Two hours later, after our bellies are full and the sun’s gone down, we sadly say our good-byes. We promised to visit in January and Braxton manipulated Liam into agreeing to bring some of his secret agent tools with him next time.

  Tears fill everyone’s eyes as Liam bends down and gives Braxton a big hug. I can hear him whispering into Braxton’s ear but can’t make out the words. Braxton nods his head and wipes away his tears and snot when he backs away. “I will,” Braxton answers, and Liam smiles before grabbing my hand to leave.

  In just a few short hours, I’ve fallen in love with Braxton, Erin, and even Draigen. I can’t imagine how Liam and Braxton feel, having to part ways after just meeting.

  Once we’re in the car, I ask him what he whispered to Braxton.

  “I told him how proud I was of him and to take care of his momma.”

  We end up missing our flight back to Austin, and instead, check into a hotel room for a night.

  It feels like my heart is mending all the while breaking. Watching Liam with his son, I have no doubt we’ll be visiting often. We text Erin to see about hanging out with them again tomorrow and when she says, ‘of course,’ a weight is lifted off Liam’s shoulders.

  The love of my life has so much love to give. While losing two family members to malicious values, he’s gained three more who are genuine and grounded.

  In the back of my mind, I can already see our future being moved up here so that he isn’t so far away. As long as Liam’s with me, I couldn’t care less where we live.

  He’s my home.

  Tinsley

  6 Months Later

  “HE’S STILL SLEEPING?! Damn, woman, you must be giving up the goods,” I joke as Shannon whispers to me on the phone that Noah’s in her bed, fast asleep.

  Shocker. I know.

  “Shh. It’s more than that, and you know it. I’m surprised we didn’t wake the kids last night, though. That man knows just the right way to—”

  “Lalalala. Stop it. I don’t want to know how good he is in bed. I want to know how you two are coming outside of the bedroom.”

  “Oh, we don’t limit ourselves to coming just in the bedroom.” She laughs out loud as I shake my head, knowing that I walked right into it.

  “Changing the subject! So he’s good with the girls? I don’t think he’s ever been around babies in his life.” I think back. I’m not too worried. Noah has a soft heart, so I have no doubt that he’s great with Emmie and Charlee.

  “Yeah. He went swimming with us and stayed with Charlee while Emmie hung onto me. He helps get them ready for bed and reads to them. It’s ovary exploding cute. How the hell did I not snatch him up a year ago? He could have been so damn helpful on those tiring nights.” I hear a door shut, and now, she’s talking a bit louder.

  “You needed the right timing. I’m glad that you aren’t alone now that
I’m not right down the road.”

  Liam and I moved to Raleigh six weeks ago and are finally getting settled in. Noah and Shannon started cozying up right before Valentine’s Day. Noah treated Shannon to a homemade dinner for the two of them and had a gourmet meal for the now three-year-olds consisting of chicken nuggets and French fries. They’ve been a couple ever since.

  Moving up to Raleigh was an easy decision. Liam proposed to me on the flight home from our first trip to Raleigh. Turns out, he sent Draigen out to get the ring and that’s why we had to stay in Raleigh another day. Liam got on one knee in the aisle once we had reached ten-thousand feet and popped the question right then and there. I obviously said yes, and the rest of the flight was spent whispering into each other’s ear about what we planned to do to each other once we got behind closed doors.

  No, we didn’t join the mile high club. That’s unsanitary.

  Liam got on with the police department in Raleigh and after selling my bars, we had enough to buy a house with a game room and bedroom upstairs for Braxton. He’s been over every weekend and is quickly becoming comfortable at our home.

  Erin and Draigen have enjoyed the nights to themselves. Liam has been playing a bit of catch-up with Braxton, trying to teach him all the manly things he should know. So far, they’ve been paintballing, to a baseball game, and camping. They both failed miserably at camping and came home in the middle of the night to their own beds.

  All in all, the move has been good for everyone. Getting away from Austin and all the bad memories has helped us let go of the past and concentrate on the future.

  Rick’s on trial for a total of seven murders. They expect him to serve life in prison. Liam hasn’t spoken to his father since our first visit with him in jail.

  Maguire didn’t get out so easy. Word got out that he killed his pregnant girlfriend, among a slew of others, to some of his jail mates. Turns out that after child predators, men like Maguire were the next targets. He was stabbed eighteen times while taking a shower. Blood poured out of his body for seven minutes before helped arrived. He lasted two days before his body failed him and he died.