8

But how fucked up was that? Didn’t that make her a horrible person?

“Hey, I know exactly what you’re thinking and you need to stop.” Oriana let out a light laugh. “Did I mention you owe him nothing? I mean it. Nothing. If you never want to see him again, you don’t have to. And there’s nothing wrong with you making that choice.”

“Or with you making a different one.”

“Exactly.”

“Ugh, why do you have to be so reasonable about everything? Now I feel silly for worrying about you.” Silver tipped her head back, pressing her eyes shut. “I don’t know what I want to do. We’ll see how things go down. If he’s any good at playing ‘Daddy’. And I have to see how Dean and Landon feel about it before I bring Amia.”

“Of course. I spoke to Sloan and Max before I brought West.”

“And they were okay with it?”

“Yes. Not right away, but after he’d called a few times. After I’d spoken to his therapist. And my own.”

Silver frowned. “I didn’t know you were seeing one.”

Oriana sighed. “I wasn’t, though maybe I should have sooner. I thought there was something wrong with me even wanting to give him another chance, so I made an appointment after his first call. I just told you a lot of the things the therapist told me. She also said I’d needed to close the door to him, for my own well-being, but it’s mine to open when—and if—I’m ready. The same goes for you and Ford.”

“That makes sense. I like the idea of it being a door, though burning that bridge was a bit more badass.”

“I bet!” Oriana chuckled, then groaned at a sharp cry. “West is in a clingy mood and the guys are with their trainer. I have to go. But don’t stress.”

“I won’t. I promise.” She hoped she could keep that promise. Knowing that Oriana was talking to a professional helped. This shit was a lot to deal with. She should probably make an appointment with her own. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Oh, and Ford should be calling. He mentioned inviting himself over for dinner. He has something to tell you.”

“What?”

“Not for me to tell. But it’s…big.”

“Oh come on! You were my sister before he was your brother! Where’s the loyalty?”

“One. Don’t pull that, it’s not fair. Two. It doesn’t make any sense. He’s a year older than you are, so—”

“You know what I mean!”

“Stop it. Talk to Ford. And give Amia a kiss for me.”

After they hung up. Silver paced the kitchen, her phone on the counter, waiting for it to ring. Over the summer she hadn’t spent much time with Ford, other than at her wedding. They all had their own lives and time passed too fast. Oriana was usually the one who called them both after a few weeks and insisted on sibling time. They’d go to a movie, or dinner, just the three of them.

Every single time, Silver and Ford managed to annoy the hell out of one another. It was kinda fun.

But she missed him. Missed them both. Thankfully, the season was starting again, so they’d see one another every day at work. Only Ford and Silver would be in the offices, but Oriana split her time between board meetings and her position on the medical staff. She might play referee between Silver and Ford, but when things were serious, they always pulled together.

They were family. The fact that Ford had called Oriana without hesitation, but not her, wasn’t good. She wanted her brother to feel comfortable talking to her.

She glared at her phone.

Then stepped across the room, picked it up, and called him.

“Hey, little sis.” Ford’s tone sounded strained. “Umm…I guess you talked to Oriana?”

“Yes.” She softened her tone, going for the good sister vibe that came so naturally to their elder sister. “I’m not really upset you didn’t read the article, you know. You have a lot going on. Did Akira seal the deal on her new rink?”

“She did. And she’s so excited. The place needs a lot of renovations, but she should be able to start her figure skating school within the next year. And making the rink available for free skate will bring in some money from the city, so she’ll be able to manage the property taxes.” He inhaled roughly. “Not sure how she does it, but once she sets her mind to something…damn.”

“Not even the least bit surprised. You’ve got yourself an amazing woman.” So far so good. At least it didn’t sound like he’d be giving her bad news. And Akira was okay. “How’s Cort?”

“Doing a lot of custom work. He’s expanding his shop. Bringing in enough so he’s not stressing about mortgage payments and bills.” Ford’s tone changed, hardening a bit. “They’re both doing awesome. If not for me being a stupid fuck, life would be perfect.”

Here we go.

Maybe it was bad news.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah… How about I come over this weekend? Tell you after—”

“Or you could tell me now. Do I need to go over there? I’ll bring Dean’s whip.”

Ford burst out laughing. “That is a disturbing image. You do know I love being whipped, right?”

“Why did you have to make it weird?”

“You started it.”

Silver snickered, tipping her head back as she leaned against the counter. “Oh my god, how does Oriana put up with either of us? We’re, like, twelve.”

Ford laughed and she could picture him nodding. “I guess we’re making up for lost time.”

Her throat tightened at that. She’d hated Ford so much when she’d met him, but over time what she’d learned showed her he was just as fucked up as she was. And no less deserving of love. Growing up in a toxic home had done more damage to her than she’d ever realized. At least she’d had Oriana. Ford’d had his mother, but from what she knew, he’d spent more time taking care of her, protecting the woman from the darkest parts of the world the Kingsley family was tainted with than she’d ever spent shielding him.

They were making up for lost time. She couldn’t erase what Ford had been through, but she could be here for him now.

She just had to figure out how to make him believe she was.

“Look, you don’t have to tell me anything. And you’re more than welcome to come over any time.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not the best sister. I call you names and throw things at you and we argue about everything. But when it comes down to the serious shit, I’ve got your back.”

“I know that, Silver. And I hope you know…same here.” He sighed. “I was at your father’s—”

“Our.”

“Yeah… Our father’s place for a bit after you left. We talked about the team and…” His voice trailed off and he went quiet for so long, Silver was tempted to ask if he was still there. He cleared his throat abruptly. “There’s…there’s no good way to say this. You’re gonna think I’m a deadbeat and I guess that won’t change if your men are around. Having them disgusted with me too ain’t gonna improve the situation.”

“Jesus, Ford. What did you do?” She chewed on her bottom lip. Maybe that reaction wasn’t the best way to show support. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out. Do you want me to call Asher?”

A sharp laugh. Then Ford groaned. “I don’t think he can help with this.”

“So you’re not in legal trouble?”

“No.” Ford’s voice was muffled. “I’m a dad.”

Her brow furrowed. She crossed the kitchen, pulling a chair away from the round kitchen table, and dropping into it, trying to sort through her thoughts. Fine, Ford had mentioned not being ready to have kids, but if the woman he loved was pregnant, would he really treat it like a mistake he’d made?

“Does Akira not want to keep the baby?”

“Akira’s not pregnant.”

Oh fuck. She rubbed a hand over her face. “I’m trying to be supportive here, but if you cheated on her—”

“I didn’t! Fuck, why is that the first thing everyone asks? The kid’s ten. I’m suddenly the father of a ten-year-old and I’m fucking terrified. But I should have known. He’s been through some shit and I wasn’t there for him.” Ford’s voice tightened. “Maybe it’s better I wasn’t there though. Maybe I would have made things worse.”

She tightened her grip on her phone seconds before dropping it. Stared at it for a moment. Her mouth went dry and she scrambled to find the right words. To comfort him like Oriana would.

Or had.

She probably had.

Right away.

Say something!

“Umm…” The few facts he’d laid out hit her and she frowned. “Wait, he’s ten? Dude, you were only sixteen when he was born. How old is the mom?”

“She’s dead.”

“Okay… How old was she at the time? If she was young too she probably did her best, and maybe she didn’t know how to reach you, but—”

“She was in her late twenties. And she knew. I don’t know why she didn’t tell me. Does that matter now?”

Almost thirty and fucking a sixteen-year-old? Sick bitch. All right, probably not the right thing to say. But no way would Silver let her brother take the blame for not being in the kid’s life. “It does matter. You weren’t given the choice to be there. But you have it now. And you’re not alone. What did Cort and Akira say?”

“Akira’s at the movies with Justina and Sahara. She doesn’t know yet…” He made a rough sound, almost pained. “She’s got so much going on, she doesn’t need me dumping this on her. She’s made it clear she’s not ready for kids.”

“You didn’t plan this.”

“So? It’s my problem. Not hers.”

“Maybe stop calling your son your ‘problem’.” She snapped her mouth shut, but damn it, she didn’t know how to comfort him like their big sister must have. And he was starting to piss her off. “Give the woman a chance to react before you assume the worst. Life is fucked up. It throws shit at you that you’re not ready for, but you gotta get ready for this real quick. Whatever Akira, or Cort, decide, that little boy needs you.”

“And I’m here for him. I will be… as soon as I figure out how.”

“Good. Then figure that out. Where is he staying?”

“With our father.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Okay, that’s gotta end, like, yesterday.”

“I’m working on it. Jaxon—my son—has his aunt and uncle with him. They won’t let him come home with me until I can prove myself. Since our father brought them up here and is paying for everything, they think he’s fucking awesome. I’m just the guy that knocked-up their sister.”

“You’re his father. They don’t get to decide that.”

“They kinda do. They’re the only family he knows.”

“Yeah, well I think you need to talk to a lawyer. Asher probably knows a good family one.”

“No.” Ford’s sharp tone startled her. He went quiet, then continued, calm this time. “I don’t want to drag Jaxon through court and all kinds of shit. I’ll visit him, let him get to know me. And in the meantime, do what I can to stabilize the team so I can afford to take care of a kid because I hear they’re expensive.”

“Sooo expensive. Amia grew out of everything and now won’t wear anything pink. She cries when I try to put anything pink on her! Gives Landon this pitiful look until he pulls out something purple or blue. My kid hates pink! How did that happen?”

Ford chuckled, sounding more relaxed. “I don’t know, maybe you had the poor thing drowning in it for the first year of her life?”

“Because it’s the perfect color!”

“She clearly does not agree.”

“Clearly.” She smiled, not all that upset that her daughter was developing her own sense of style. The kid loved shopping and got excited about trying on new hats and dresses. Landon and Dean actually enjoyed trips to the mall now. Their precious baby girl made everything seem exciting and new. “Listen, you’ve got a lot to work through, but just think about it. Before long you’ll be filling your son’s life with all the things he’s missed out on. You’ll figure it out, Ford. I have faith in you.”

Silence. Then a rough inhale. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that. From you. Seriously, Silver…it means a lot.”

“You feel any better?”

“Yeah. Just gotta figure out what to do with the team so I can give him all that. I…” He paused. “I haven’t told anyone else, but between me and you, our father asked me to delay Keane selling the team. Give him a reason to stick around a little longer.”

“By any means necessary?”

“Why do you think he asked me?”

Silver ground her teeth. “He’s going to want to pull in his own investors, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Well fuck that.” She lowered her voice, hearing soft footsteps above. Dean and Landon would be pissed if they heard her getting involved in something like this, but if she told them, they’d want to handle this the ‘right way’.

Which wouldn’t save the team.

She was a Delgado. So was Ford. They knew how to get dirty when they had to. How exactly was Ford going to delay Keane? She didn’t want to know. She had to trust him not to go too far.

And help the only way she knew how. “Let me make some calls. Life in Hollywood was crazy, but I do have some good contacts. No better time to use them, right?”

“Are we talking insanely rich contacts?”

“We are. And I won’t ask for details if you don’t.”

“Probably better that way. Spread out the blame.”

“If we’re careful, no one ever needs to know. So no blame. Just our team fighting their way to the top, our family name one we can be proud of again, and everything we’ve built still here for a long, long time.”

A slow exhale, then Ford laughed. “Damn. You get it. I wasn’t sure anyone would. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, go prepare to tell Akira all about your boy, and not like he’s a bad thing you did. She’ll surprise you.” Silver leaned back in the chair, lifting her feet up to the one across from her. “And I still want you guys to come over this weekend. Bring Jaxon. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“I will. Give Amia a kiss for me.”

After hanging up, Silver pulled up her list of contacts, scrolling through them until she found the name she was looking for. Donnell Priest. A man she hadn’t spoken to in almost four years.

She wasn’t surprised when the call went straight to voicemail. He was a busy man.

But she didn’t doubt he’d call her back.

“You asked me once if I’d ever consider getting back in the business. Well…I have an offer for you. One that will work for us both.”