Ry turned his head toward Cassie. “Ry? How do you know my nickname?”
“’Cause I gave it to you,” Judge answered, taking another step closer. He now was only a few feet away from his son. His fucking son.
Finally.
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“I hate the name Henry.”
No surprise. “Me, too. Refused to call you that.”
His boy smiled. “Mom would only call me Henry. It pissed me off.” That smile dropped. “She died a month ago.”
Judge wasn’t sure whether to be sad or fucking happy about that. “Sorry.”
“I... uh… was going through her things with my aunt and I found something in my mother’s closet.” He dug into his front pocket and pulled out an old flip phone.
It was the one Judge had mailed to him ten years ago, hoping to make a connection with his son.
“I wondered why she kept an outdated phone, so I found a charger and charged it. I figured the account had been closed since it was so old, but it wasn’t.”
No, he’d kept it open and paid for it every month. Just in case.
Just in case a day like today ever came.
“I listened to the voicemails and read all the texts.”
That had to take a while since there were hundreds of them. “You never saw any of them.” He didn’t make it a question because he already knew the answer.
His son shook his head. “I had no idea you were even alive.” Ry scrunched his brow. “She told me you died in a car accident when I was a baby. That’s why she left Pennsylvania and went to California. She said she was devastated and couldn’t live with the memories.”
Lying fucking bitch.
He knew it was fucking wrong, but he couldn’t help hoping Jen died a slow, painful fucking death. Because no matter how she fucking suffered, it wasn’t nearly as bad as Judge having his son stolen from him. He’d suffered for seventeen fucking years.
“I’m sorry.”
Jesus fuck. His kid was sorry, and it wasn’t even his fault.
“So am I,” Judge said. “Just glad you know the truth now. So glad you found that phone. Glad you’re here.” He ran a hand over his mouth and down his beard, trying to keep his shit together.
“I didn’t want you to think I ignored all those messages. I didn’t. I would’ve responded. I asked about you. Mom always said it was too upsetting for her to talk about you.”
Christ.
“I wanted to meet you in person, not talk to you over the phone. So, I began driving here right after graduation. I’m going off to college at the end of August, but I figured, if… if you want to, we can use my summer break to get to know each other?”
Judge closed his eyes and once again wobbled a bit.
“Would that be okay?”
The uncertainty in Ry’s voice was like a knife to his heart. He opened his eyes. “Nothin’ I’d want more.”
“I can find a place to stay nearby, maybe get a summer job while I’m here—”
“Yeah, got you covered on all that. You can help me in my business, got a bunkroom downstairs with only a couple prospects in it. Got plenty of room.”
He didn’t think an eighteen-year-old boy staying under the same roof with an unrelated eighteen-year-old girl was smart. Letting him stay in the bunkhouse was smarter. Ry could still be close, but independent.
Judge took another step closer and their eyes locked. Ry had green eyes just like his old man. Fuck, it was almost like looking in the mirror when he was that age.
But his kid seemed smarter and better looking.
Thank fuck.
He needed to touch his kid. To make sure he was real. Even if it was just a fucking handshake.
Or a fist bump.
Something.
Anything.
Jesus fuck, his son was standing just out of his reach. His fucking son.
Fuck the handshake.
Judge took two long strides to Ry and the last thing he saw was the kid’s eyes go wide as he grabbed him and pulled him into his chest, enveloping him in his arms.
And fuck the burn in his eyes. Fuck the tears that came.
Fuck them. He didn’t give a shit.
If there was a time to cry, this was it. And fuck anyone who thought differently.
He swore he stood there for at least ten minutes, refusing to let his son go.
Afraid if he did, he’d just disappear.
But when he finally let Ry loose, his son still stood in front of him. His kid’s eyes and nose appeared a little redder as he swiped at his cheeks.
Yeah, this was worth crying about. For both of them.
Hell, he heard Cassie sobbing softly behind him, too. Shit.
“You good?” he asked Ry.
His son nodded and sniffled.
“Yeah, me, too.” Judge stepped back and held out his hand to Cassie. She moved closer and when she reached him, she placed hers in his. “This is my wo— ol’—your future stepmother, Cassie.”
Cassie bumped her shoulder into him and laughed through her tears. “Hi, Ry, it’s great to meet you. I’m so glad you came. Sorry for crying like a baby.”
“Me, too,” Ry said with a laugh, rubbing his forearm over his eyes.
“Have you eaten?” Cassie asked him.
He shook his head.
“Why don’t we get you boys some food and you can start catching up while you eat? You two have plenty to talk about.”
“Sounds good, baby,” Judge told her. He turned to Ry. “Why don’t you go on out? Need a sec with Cassie.”
His son’s eyes slid from her to him, then he nodded and headed toward the door.
“We’ll just be a second, Ry,” Cassie assured him.
As soon as the door closed behind his son, Judge said, “Waited seventeen years. Never thought this day would come, so another second shouldn’t kill me, but it is.”
Cassie smiled up at him. “I know. But he’s here. He came to you, Judge. That’s huge.”
“Yeah.” Ry seeking him out gave Judge a lot of hope for the future. That maybe they had a chance to build a relationship between them.
“What did you need to say to me?”
“Just wanted to thank you for bein’ here. For bein’ a good woman. For lovin’ me. Today had already been a great day and it just got better.”
Cassie nodded, her lips trembling. She was struggling with her own emotions. “The future might not always be easy, but we’ll get through it. We can work on fixing the past and building a stronger future. All of us. Together.” She reached up and stroked the length of his beard, giving him a shaky smile. “Now you can cut it all off.”
He jerked his head back. “Bite your fuckin’ tongue.”
“I’ll borrow some clippers.”
“Woman…”
“Hey, let’s go show him how great you are.” As she moved away, he grabbed her arm to stop her. She tipped her face up to him again. “You know, I was walking through a parking lot one day and I came across a whole bunch of bikers. And one in particular was huge and scary looking…”
“Your girl wasn’t scared.”
“No, she wasn’t. She knew better than her momma.”
“Yeah, took you a bit to catch on.”