Part 16 (1/2)

Sloane sat quietly in the swing on her back patio. Once all of the commotion of their impromptu celebration ceased, she was glad to have a moment of peace. She was ecstatic that she was going to be able to keep her son, but the nagging guilt of keeping Brayden from Gates was weighing on her mind. She'd made a huge mistake in keeping him from his son and she knew it. She would still have the opportunity to watch Brayden grow, while Gates hadn't so much as held his own child. She wondered exactly why he'd dropped the case. He'd been so angry at her and she couldn't blame him, but why just give up?

”Penny for your thoughts,” Avery's voice startled her from her contemplation and she looked up to see her aunt take a seat beside her. ”You look like you are trying to figure out where Jimmy Hoffa is buried,” Avery chuckled.

”It would probably be easier than what I'm really thinking about,” Sloane offered.

”And what might that be, pray tell?”

”Gates.”

”Hmmm, I see.”

Sloane tilted her head to give Avery a side-eyed glance. ”I know. Go ahead and tell me you told me so.”

”Um, no. I'm not going to do that.”

”Why? You were right. I should have told him when I found out I was pregnant. I shouldn't have kept this secret so long.”

”Sounds to me like you are beating yourself up enough for the both of us,” Avery smirked and patted Sloane's leg. ”Sweetie, I have only wanted the best for you since you came to live with me.” She paused deep in thought and sighed. ”When your mom and dad died, I promised myself that I would try my best to raise you the way they would have. My sister was such a free spirit and she would have let you make your own decisions. She never judged and she was an encourager. That's who she was and I wanted to be the same for you. Even during those times when I knew the decisions you were making may not turn out the way you wanted them to.”

”Yeah, well, I really messed this one up.”

”Sloane, I will admit, I was disappointed when you made the decision not to tell Gates about Brayden. He deserved to know his son. Every man deserves the chance to raise his child, especially if he's really serious about being a father. So when you didn't even give Gates a chance, it was hard to sit back and watch you keep such a huge secret. But, it was your life and I had to let you live it. No matter what any of us do, we each have to deal with the choices we make.” They both sat quietly for a few minutes listening to the crickets chirping before Avery spoke up again. ”Now that the secret is out, I think the most important thing for you to focus on is how to make all of this right.”

”But how do I do that? I can't just rewind time. I can't bring back all of Brayden's 'firsts' to give to Gates. I did something that is irreversible.”

”It may be irreversible, but it's not impossible to overcome. Both you and Gates have a responsibility in this situation. Brayden. He's yours and Gates' responsibility. And honestly, Gates has made a step. I think it's time you took one too.” Avery reached over and hugged Sloane before she stood and stretched. ”Now, I'm going to go and check on the little monster and then I'm headed to bed.”

”Goodnight.”

”Goodnight, sweetheart.”

”h.e.l.lo?” Gates croaked. He had reached out to his nightstand and grabbed his cell phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID. He had a splitting headache and called his office earlier to let Linda know he wouldn't be in during the morning and may not make it in at all that day. Since then, his phone rang nonstop, which didn't help his headache. Evan called twice, Linda called back and Angelica called. Evan called wanting to make sure he was okay. Linda called to let him know his trip to Seattle had to be postponed since the person he was meeting with was sick and was not going to be in for the rest of the week. He wasn't quite sure why Angelica called. He was still upset with her and hadn't bothered to listen to the voicemail.

”Gates?” Hearing the familiar southern lilt through the receiver, he shrugged the pillow from his head and pulled himself up in the bed, glancing at the clock on the nightstand to see what time it was.

”Sloane?”

”Yeah, I'm sorry to bother you. I tried calling you at your office. Uh, your a.s.sistant said you weren't in so I figured I'd get your voicemail.”

”Oh, no, it's no problem. I'm kinda working from home today.” He rubbed his eyes, trying to focus. He wasn't quite sure why Sloane was calling. He'd wanted to reach out to her on numerous occasions since he dropped the custody suit, but every time he got ready to call, he stopped. He just wasn't sure what to say.

”Well, I don't mean to disturb you. I know you're busy. I wanted to call and thank you...for dropping the case. That couldn't have been easy for you.” The thick emotion in her voice made him realize even more how much it would have hurt her to take their son away and his chest tightened.

”It was in Brayden's best interests.” Snapping his mouth shut, Gates felt like kicking himself. Could you sound any colder, idiot?

”Oh, well...thank you.

”You don't have to thank me. I want what's best for him...like you do.” He hoped she could tell he was sincere. He did want what was best for his son, even if it meant he didn't get to see him often. In his heart, Gates knew Brayden was better off with Sloane.

”That means a lot to me. More than you know.” The silence was almost unbearable and Gates felt he should say something, but wasn't sure what. Luckily, she spoke up first. ”I know you're busy, but Brayden's birthday is coming up and I wanted to ask you if you would be able to come to his party.”

”Really? I'd like that.” He wanted to kick himself for sounding so distant, but he was a little taken aback that she was inviting him to see Brayden so soon. He knew he had the right to see the little boy, especially now that the custody battle was settled. However, the awkwardness between them was excruciating. They'd never had a hard time talking to each other before. Now that they had a son together, they should have been able to talk with ease, but it wasn't the case.

”Great. I'll send you the details.”

”I'll make sure Linda clears my calendar.”

”Oh, okay. I guess I'll, well, I guess I'll talk to you later.”

”Sloane? Uh, how is he?” It was almost like he didn't know if he had the right to ask about his own son, but he wanted to know more about the little boy. From the first day he saw him and Sloane told him Brayden was his, Gates felt an overwhelming pride in knowing he'd been a part of something so amazing. It was almost like he felt complete and the final puzzle piece of his fractured life had finally been put into place.

”He's amazing. He's pulling up on things and he's just about to walk. He can say a few words like ball, dog, and no. The others come out as some type of baby slang he expects you to understand.” He listened intently to her candid description of how demanding the little boy could be if you didn't understand exactly what he was referring to when he wanted something.

Gates laughed into the phone. ”I'm sure I have no clue where he gets that,” he joked, thinking of how demanding he could be at times and knew that must be one of the not so wonderful traits he'd pa.s.sed on to his son.

”I'm sure.”

He could feel the ice break between them as they laughed and she went on about Brayden and his newest habits. They ended up talking for almost an hour about Brayden and the things he was learning and doing and some of his favorite things.

”I'm looking forward to getting to know him. I know his birthday is coming up, but I'd like to see him before that if that's okay with you? Since I haven't gotten a chance to know him and-”

”Of course. That would be wonderful.” He could hear her voice crack and it eased his fears knowing she was okay with him being in his child's life. He wanted to see his son, but there was still a part of him that wanted to see her too.

”Ah, actually I have some time this weekend if that works for you. One of my meetings was cancelled and I can be there on Friday.”

”That'd be great. I guess I'll see you Friday then.”

”I'll see you then.” Hanging up the phone, Gates realized his headache had faded and he was feeling a lot better than he had earlier.

Friday couldn't have come quick enough for Gates as he strolled to the front door of Sloane's house. He still couldn't get over the fact he had a son and that any of this was happening. He was strangely excited and tremendously nervous. He'd gone over in his head how he thought things may go, but he worried he wouldn't know what to say or how to act around Sloane, or what he needed to do as a father with Brayden. I'm someone's dad. The thought was enough to blow his mind. It was crazy to think Gates McCall was a father and it was interesting when he woke up and looked at himself in the mirror. It was like he was looking at himself for the first time and realizing who he was. Evan tried to tell him to relax and be himself, but he wasn't sure it was that simple.

Ringing the doorbell, he stood back and waited for Sloane to come and answer the door. Glancing around the yard and at the house, he thought it fit her perfectly. He'd been in such a hurry the first time he visited, but now he had a chance to really take it all in. It wasn't too big or ostentatious. It was purely Sloane. Simple and elegant; just like she was. He'd always loved that about her.

He heard the door open and he turned to see a wet grin plastered on his little boy's face while he perched comfortably on Sloane's hip.

”Hey, you made it.” He watched her s.h.i.+ft Brayden to the other hip.

”Yeah, I'm early. I hope that's all right.”

”It's fine. Come on in.” She ushered him into the living room and Gates took a seat on the sofa and looked around at the pictures of Brayden littering every wall, something he'd missed the last time he was in her living room. He finally settled his eyes on Brayden as Sloane placed him in the middle of them on the sofa. Gates was amazed to see himself reflected in the little boy's face. The eyes that had seemed so familiar to him before were the same as the ones he saw every day in the mirror.

”He's getting big.” The little boy crawled closer to Gates and sat on his knees before he started to pull himself up on the back of the sofa.

”Definitely. He's a handful.”

”Hey.” Gates spoke to the little boy, who was now leaning against the sofa and trying his best to chew on the cus.h.i.+ons. Gates couldn't help noticing how beautiful Sloane looked as well. She'd met him at the door with a plain white b.u.t.ton down s.h.i.+rt, a pair of jeans and black flats. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail but she was as elegant as the night he'd seen her in New York.