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“Shouldn’t we start with the elephant in the room?” Kade asked.
“Ash will tell us what he wants us to know if and when he wants us to know it,” Chase said. I looked at Hunter who shook his head slightly to indicate he hadn’t said anything to them about his visit that morning. Chances were Grace told him not to.
“You’re kidding. He nearly kicked dad’s ass,” Kade said.
“We’ve all wanted to do that,” Hunter argued.
“Yeah, but out of us all, Ash is the last one who would.”
I sighed. “He fucked up my life. More than he knows, or maybe he just doesn’t care.”
“So, it’s true?” Chase asked. I nearly questioned his comment about letting me share in my own time, but I figured if I got everything out fast, we could move on.
“Six years ago, I got together with Beth McAdams. Her father and ours didn’t like that, so they separated us. Turns out she was pregnant and no one told me.”
“Not even Beth?” Chase asked. “I always thought she was a pretty even-keeled kid.”
“She tried, but dad intercepted her letter.” So many things crushed my heart and that was one of them. My own father had prevented me from knowing about my child. Had my mother known about this? “And now here we are.”
“You spent the morning with her?” Chase asked. “Your daughter?”
I nodded. And then unable to stop myself, I pulled out my phone and pulled up a picture of her holding her red panda in one hand and a hot dog in the other. I handed it to Chase.
He took the phone and smiled wide, making me feel like the proud father I was. “She’s beautiful, Ash.”
Hunter moved behind him and looked at the picture over Chase’s shoulder. “She has your dent.”
“Yes.”
“Let me see,” Kade held out his hand as he stood and went toward the deck. “She looks like Beth.”
“Mostly, yes.”
“Are you sure she’s your—”
“Yes,” I ground out.
Kade held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry man, but that family is hurting and this would be a good way to get the money they need.”
“I brought this to you before I knew about her,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean they weren’t manipulating you.”
“She’s his,” Hunter said, glaring at Kade.
“Maybe we should move on to the business deal,” Chase said.
I took my phone back from Kade. “I know you think I’m biased, and I won’t deny it. But the numbers work if we sell some of the assets and focus on the money makers.”
“I’ll admit that the inn out in the Hamptons looks appealing,” Chase said. “It being so close to Kade’s restaurant adds an extra potential. Dad likes it when our assets are close to each other.”
“I agree. It will be a challenge, but I don’t know about Ben,” Kade said. “Rumor is he has a serious drinking problem.”
“He does. And he hates my guts. But I think if he got clean, he could be an asset. He knows McAdams business better than anyone.”
“What about Beth?” Chase asked.
“She’d be too. She did work in Europe for her dad until he got sick.”
Kade laughed. “You’ll make up for all those lost years by sending her to work, while you’ll be Mr. Mom?”
“Maybe I will,” I said annoyed at him. “Only not Mr. Mom. Beth and I aren’t together.”
“Why?” Chase asked. “You’ve pined for her for years. Now you can stick it to dad.”
“She did wait five years to tell him about the kid,” Kade said.
“I can forgive the five years. It’s the last few weeks and her plan to never tell me that I can’t get over.”
“Harsh,” Kade said.
“I’m sorry, Ash. I know that must be hard.” Chase looked at me in pity. I hated it.
“I don’t know why you don’t fight for her,” Hunter said.
“Did you miss the part about how she was going to keep his kid from him?” Kade quipped.
“No, but I also know that Dad and old man McAdams win if Ash and Beth let this keep them apart.”
“How do I forgive that?” Every time I thought about it, I wanted to hit or throw something.
“Did she tell you why she did what she did?” Chase asked.
“She was afraid I’d hurt the kid.”
“You mean like leave… like you did six years ago?” Hunter said. Why did I feel like he was on Beth’s side now?
“That was because our fathers threatened me.”
“Did she forgive you that?” Chase asked.
“Yes, but again, I blame dad for stealing five years of my daughter’s life from me. From her. But the last few weeks, Beth could have told me about Hannah. She planned to leave town and I’d never know. Even though since the moment I’d seen her again, I told her I wanted her back.” How was I the bad guy in this?
“Women are crazy when it comes to their children,” Chase said. “I’m pretty sure Sara said she’d chop my balls off if I ever hurt our child the way her parents hurt her.”
