“Sounds good. You said you have a room for me?”
Matt nodded. “Same one as before. It’s yours for as long as you want it.”
Jaxson thanked him and went up to his suite. It was nice, much nicer than any hotel he’d ever stayed in. Separate bedroom, living area, private bathroom. Dining room downstairs, on-site gym, game room, all the amenities a guy could want.
Bonus: he wasn’t worried about anyone jumping him from behind and attempting to rearrange his face.
In fact, the only thing that would make it better was if Penny were there with him. She’d been gone less than fifteen minutes, and his world already felt darker and colder.
He showered and climbed into bed, and then he pulled out his phone. Enough time had passed for her to have gotten home.
Jaxson: Get home okay?
Penny: Yes, no problem.
Jaxson: Good. Talking with Sam and Cage tomorrow a.m.
Penny: Good luck! I’ll be thinking of you.
Jaxson’s heart warmed.
Jaxson: Get some sleep.
Penny: I will.
Jaxson: Now?
Penny: Soon.
Jaxson frowned at the phone. Penny had mentioned on several occasions that she suffered from insomnia, but she hadn’t had a problem any of the nights she was with him. Maybe he should have tried harder to convince her to stay.
Jaxson: You’re not going to the greenhouses tonight, are you?
His question remained on the screen for several long seconds. He interpreted her nonanswer to mean she was either already there or thinking of going. He didn’t like the idea of her being out there by herself at night, and with no vehicle of his own, he couldn’t head down there and be with her. Although Matt would probably let him use one from the garage.
Jaxson was seriously considering seeking him out to ask when his screen lit up again.
Penny: No, not tonight. The drive wore me out. Sweet dreams, Jaxson.
Jaxson: Sweet dreams, Penny.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jaxson
Sam’s husband Steve, or “Smoke” as everyone else called him, was sitting in the dining room when Jaxson went down early the next morning. Kate and Sam shared the responsibility of running the Sanctuary kitchen with Kate handling dinner and Sam taking care of coffee and breakfast.
“How is she?” Jaxson asked, grabbing a coffee and sliding in across from Smoke.
“Anxious but ready.”
Jaxson nodded. He knew how she felt. In a couple of hours, they’d both have answers to the questions they’d been asking their whole lives, answers that could potentially change everything he thought he knew about his father.
After breakfast, Sam, Smoke, and Jaxson gathered in a private conference room with Cage and a guy Matt introduced as Ian Callaghan. Ian had the same dark hair and general size and bearing of his doctor brother, Michael, but had more of a wicked gleam in his eyes. That and the fact that he’d been able to access information so quickly suggested Ian did indeed make a good ally.
After initial greetings, they got right down to it.
“We were able to piece together a fair part of what happened,” Ian explained. “Not everything. There are holes, but there’s enough to answer the burning questions.”
Jaxson and Sam exchanged glances and nodded.
“Okay, let’s hear it,” Sam said.
“After Ilsa left Sumneyville, she disappeared for a period of time but eventually ended up in a soup kitchen up north. One of the volunteers there saw she was pregnant and suggested a women’s shelter nearby, run by an order of nuns.
“One of them, Sister Charity, is still there and remembers Ilsa. She said they took her in and gave her food and a warm place to sleep in exchange for doing light work around the place. The Mother Superior also reached out to social services, which was standard practice. The shelter was only a temporary respite. When necessary, social services was tasked with finding long-term solutions for the women who needed more.
“According to Sister Charity, Ilsa was withdrawn and kept mostly to herself. Unsurprisingly, one of the social workers tried to convince Ilsa to give up her baby for adoption, but Ilsa refused to consider it.”
“So, she didn’t know she was having twins?” Sam asked.
“Apparently not. All nonemergency medical care was prioritized and provided on a volunteer basis, and as Ilsa didn’t appear to be in any physical distress during her pregnancy, she didn’t get a lot of attention. No one realized she was having twins until the actual birth.
“From the Sister’s account, things were fine ... until they weren’t. Ilsa went into premature labor and didn’t tell anyone, convinced that they were going to try to take her baby. Complications ensued. By the time someone found her and called the ambulance, she was in bad shape, as were both of you.
“This is where things get a little fuzzy. Ilsa woke up in the hospital, scared and confused. Paranoia set in. Ilsa believed the nurses and the social workers were conspiring against her. She thought she’d been poisoned and forced into labor, so they could take her baby. As soon as she was able, she snuck out of the hospital with Sam, believing she’d only had one child.”
“No one told her she had twins?” Sam asked in disbelief.
“Unclear. It’s possible that they did, and in her altered state, she didn’t process it. It’s equally likely that they didn’t tell her, believing it would only add to her distress.”
Sam nodded somberly, and Ian picked up the tale once again.
“The social worker was notified, but by that time, Ilsa was long gone. At that point, Sister Charity broke her vow of silence on the subject and revealed to the authorities that Ilsa had told her the name of the babies’ father in confidence—Bo Adams. It took several months, but they eventually tracked him down and notified him about Jaxson.”
“What about Sam?” Jaxson asked.
“Another snafu. The original social worker assigned to the case had moved on. Thanks to a huge caseload, miscommunication, and a series of clerical errors, the replacement knew only of one baby, the one Ilsa had left behind—Jaxson.”
“So, he didn’t know,” Jaxson murmured.
Ian shook his head. “No. By all indications, Bo didn’t know about Sam. And Ilsa didn’t know about you either.”
* * *
Hours later, Jaxson’s head was still spinning. So many mistakes. So much lost time. But at least they had their answers. The past was now well and truly just that—the past.
He stared out at the lake, wishing his leg felt good enough to take another walk along the trail. He saw Sam approaching, looking as contemplative as he felt.
“Do you mind?” she asked, hands in pockets when she reached the pavilion.
He shook his head. She sat down beside him on the steps.
“Hell of a morning, huh?” she said quietly.
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad I know though. I always wondered.”
He nodded. “Me, too.”
“And no matter what, we found each other, right?”
“Right. Sis.” He tacked the last word on the end with the hint of a smile.
“Bruh.” She smiled, too.
“Maybe we should stick to Sam and Jaxson.”
She laughed softly. “Agreed. So ... what happens now?”