That uneasy feeling in his gut was now much more like a knot. “I’m sure.”
He turned to the doorway. He had a feeling he knew who was waiting for him, but he longed to be wrong. He would give anything for it to be someone else.
His feet felt as though they’d been cast in concrete. A steel band felt as though it was cinched around his chest, growing ever tighter. With determined effort, he put one foot in front of the other. And when he stepped into the entrance to the living room, his worst fears were confirmed.
A man stood facing the fireplace as though looking at the framed family photos. Apparently he hadn’t heard Trey’s arrival. That was fine with Trey. He needed a moment to figure out what to say to this unwanted visitor.
The man was about his height. He appeared to still have all of his hair, although it was silver now.
There was nothing outwardly striking about the man. Nothing to let on how mean he could really be. Any other person would probably think that he was a nice old man. They wouldn’t know the damage he’d caused or the life he’d destroyed.
And Trey knew why he was here. This was Sage’s doing. This was why she’d been so nervous upstairs. She knew he didn’t want this man in his house—in his life. And yet she’d brought him here anyway.
“You are not welcome.” Trey’s voice came firm and steady, even though he didn’t feel like it on the inside.
His father turned. He didn’t say a word at first. It was as though his father was taking in his appearance and sizing him up. “I can see some of your mother in you. That steely determination written all over your face is just like her.”
“You have no right to talk about my mother. You lost that right a long time ago.”
His father nodded and said in an even tone, “I understand.”
Trey couldn’t take his father’s ambivalence. He wanted his father to be as worked up as he was. He wanted his father to show some sort of emotion.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you. I thought it was past time.”
Trey vehemently shook his head. It was never a good time for this man to intrude in his life. “I told you at my mother’s funeral that I never wanted to see you again. Why would you think that has changed?”
“I asked him to come.” Sage’s voice came from behind him.
Trey turned. “You shouldn’t have done it. You are meddling in something that you don’t understand.”
Her eyes pleaded with him to understand. “You only get one go-around in this life. When it’s over, you don’t get any do-overs. No second chances. Don’t miss an opportunity to get back your family.”
Trey shook his head. “Sage, you can’t make this into the happy family you so desperately want.”
“Don’t be mad at her, son. She was only doing what she thought was best for you.”
He swung back around to face his father. “I’m not your son. You gave up that privilege a long time ago.”
Trey turned and started to walk away when Sage reached out and caught his arm with her hand. “Please, just hear him out and then you can go.”
“I can’t. He has nothing I want to hear. He had almost thirty years to say it. Now it’s too late.”
His father’s voice filled with emotion. “I did try to say it, but your mother...she refused to let me see you.”
Trey swung around. “That’s a lie. She never would have turned you away. She told me how you wouldn’t even take her phone calls.”
“You only heard her side of the story. But I have one, too. I came back for you, but she wouldn’t let me inside. She said you were at school. Another time she said you were at a friend’s house. She always had an excuse to keep us apart. We argued. It seemed like that’s all we ever did in the end. And then she threatened to take you away so that I would never find you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“She did it. She took you and it took me almost a year to find you. You must have been about six at the time. She moved to Paris and stayed in a small apartment.”
Trey was about to deny it but then the memories started to come back to him. He’d hated the tiny apartment. It was nothing like the château. It stunk and he wasn’t allowed outside to play. He’d missed his bedroom, his friends and, most of all, Maria.
“See, you do remember the move. Your mother wanted to punish me. And her greatest weapon was keeping you from me.” His father’s eyes grew shiny with unshed tears. And his voice grew gruff. “When I found the apartment, we had a terrible row. The police were called. In the end, I agreed to keep my distance if she would take you back to the château where I knew there would be people around to see to your safety.”