Page 12 of Crimson Love

And since I finally have a good kidney, my cock makes sure I know he’s sick and tired of not being the center of attention.

Even jerking off is the last thing my abs need at the moment. Instead I dig through the bags of food until I get to the bottom and find what I’m looking for.

Lennon Shaw.

General Manager.

The Manor at Winslet.

And I have her phone number. Not that I need it since she said she’d be back tomorrow.

CHAPTER FOUR

LIKE FATHER, NOT LIKE SON

Two months later

Jett

G etting to know your sperm donor as an adult is an odd thing. I never set out to find my birth father. I figured he didn’t want me in his life, so why the hell would I want him in mine? Grandma told me no one knew who he was since my mom took that secret to the grave. I was just fine with Grandma. And when she died, I was good on my own.

At least I thought I was. That’s when genes, biology, and blood types became the most important things in my life. So much, I thanked myself for being lazy and not dumping all of Grandma’s stuff after she died. I’m not a “stuff” guy. I don’t have a lot of it, and I sure as fuck didn’t want to dig through hers. Grandma was a packrat. She kept every single thing of my mom’s.

If there was a clue anywhere in this world about who my father is, it was in the storage unit I dumped Grandma’s stuff in. If she only knew the one trait I spent years giving her shit about actually saved my life, she’d come back to give me hell.

So, yeah. I had selfish motives.

It’s not like I hid that when I bent over backwards to get them to answer me. Little did I know, someone was gatekeeping me. That was a development I couldn’t focus on at the time since my body was a literal ticking time bomb.

But when I woke up from surgery and Harlow informed me I wasn’t going to implode from the inside out, I had a chance to sit back and think on why I was kept from my father.

I may be a cynical man, I know, but when Harlow and our father say they had no idea of my existence, I have no reason to doubt them. I’m not going to lie, it had more to do with Harlow than Patrick Madsion.

Patrick, on the other hand, is awkward as fuck around me, which is to be expected more than the happily ever after Harlow is determined will happen.

Last night, I got a call from Chrissie. She’s Harlow’s best friend and used to be her assistant, but now she’s Patrick’s.

Yes, my father had his assistant call and set up a meeting with me.

Not exactly dad material, but it intrigued me enough I accepted, took my meds, put my phone on silent, and went straight back to bed.

Ever since I got to the manor, sleep has come easier and easier. The last few years have not been good, but the vultures aren’t circling, I don’t have depressing doctor appointments on tap, and nurses aren’t waking me up every hour in the hospital. My mini suite is quiet, the bed is plush, and I set the room to the temperature of a walk-in freezer.

This is the only heaven I’m interested in being close to. The longer I’m here, the more I’m used to it.

It doesn’t take me twice as long to shower and get ready any longer. I’m still off work for a few more weeks. I have no rent. I’m staying at a five-star resort for free with an unlimited meal ticket.

I fucking hate the free-ride portion of this deal, but Devon has proven to be a man who will do anything to make my sister happy. He refuses payment. Uncle Sam dictated my life since I signed at the young age of eighteen. After that it was my bum kidney. I can’t lie, I moved here because Harlow begged me to, and since she was giving me a kidney, who was I to turn her down?

But for the first time in my life, I find myself with choices. Now that I have them, I have no fucking idea what I want. I need to figure out if Winslet fits and find my own place.

I step off the elevator and move through the atrium. There’s something about a new lease on life that makes the world look bigger and brighter. With no shadow nipping at my heels for the last two months, I have stopped avoiding anything that produces happiness or life or a future.

It’s mid-morning and the place is bustling with vacationers. Some look like they’re moving from one event to another, and others are taking their time.

Time.

That’s another luxury that has taken some getting used to.