Cara’s eyes widened in surprise, and Mike flinched as if Judge Blaine had slapped him—instead of calling him by his biological father’s name.
Mike leaned forward in his seat. “It’s Mike. Mike Marsden, Simon’s son.”
?
?Remember to keep this from your partner. He’s as straight as they come, and we can’t risk him finding out,” the judge said in a warning tone.
Cara’s gaze shot to Mike, but he was focused on the older man.
“What can’t we risk Simon knowing about?” Mike asked him.
Suddenly, the older man looked around frantically. “Did you hear that? Someone else is here. They’re talking and listening to us. I told you we can’t talk here,” he said, sounding panicked.
“It’s just the television.” She spoke in what she hoped was a soothing voice, but the judge didn’t calm down.
“Mary, Mary?” the judge called out loudly, tossing the blanket off his lap. “Who else is here?”
Mike and Cara rose from their seats at the same time his wife came running in.
“I was worried he’d get like this. Was he able to help you with information before he got upset?” she asked, wrapping an arm around her husband.
“He did his best,” Cara assured the woman.
As if by silent agreement, she and Mike edged toward the door, knowing their visit had come to an end.
“Would you mind letting yourselves out? I don’t want to leave him alone,” his wife asked.
“Of course. We’ll be fine,” Cara said.
She followed Mike through to the entryway, out the front door, and back to his truck. He didn’t say a word as he started the engine, nor did she ask him to. She knew he needed to process what he’d heard and come to his own conclusions.
“Can you take me home to get my car? I need to head over to Havensbridge.” She knew Mike wouldn’t be coming with her now.
He turned to face her. “You don’t want to talk about what we just heard?”
“Not until you’re ready.” Clearly the judge had known Rex Bransom thirty years ago, and they obviously shared a secret they hadn’t wanted Simon to know. Whatever Mike’s next step, he deserved space to figure it out on his own time.
He blinked in surprise but remained silent.
“Take me to my car?” she asked again.
Mike shook his head and laughed at the irony. Unlike most women, Cara seemed to know he needed time to wrap his head around this mess, and instead of talking nonstop or pressing him for his feelings, she was letting him be.
Yeah, she was unique all right. No wonder she’d gotten to him. And there was the irony. She made him want to open up. “I’ve always done my best not to think about him,” Mike heard himself say.
“Rex,” she whispered.
“Yeah.” He rubbed his burning eyes with the back of one hand and thought about the judge’s words. “I can’t say I’m shocked that the guy who abandoned my mother and me was into something shady. At least he’s stayed out of our lives, and I’ve been grateful for that.”
Though sometimes, when he was younger, Mike had wished his real dad would come back and say he’d made a mistake, he’d never meant to leave, and Mike would have both Simon and Rex in his life. But then he’d grown up and realized that only a coward ran off on his commitments—like he’d run from Tiffany. He’d hurt her, but she hadn’t been pregnant, and he’d made his escape before things got any more out of hand.
By getting Ella pregnant, Rex had an obligation he’d ignored. Mike had vowed never to be like him, and after coming too damned close, he’d kept his promise by keeping women at arm’s length. He was better off without Rex Bransom anywhere in his life.
“But he’s got the answers you need,” Cara said, getting to the crux of the issue.
“Yeah.” And the thought of tracking Rex down after all these years turned Mike’s stomach.
“You could try talking to Simon again.”