Home is Where the Heart is (11 page)

As he stared out at the familiar surroundings, he contemplated if he was doing the right thing, or if his decision to make this call had been made too quickly.

Jordan knew he needed to do it at some point. One way or another, it needed to be done, and the sooner, the better. At least if he filled his agent in on the son he never knew he had, he was taking control of his own life, rather than waiting for the news to spill out into the public on its own. Paul couldn’t be mad at him this way.

He scrolled through his phone contacts until Paul’s name and number showed up, and breathing in and out a deep breath; he pressed the call button and waited. It felt like a very long time before Paul picked up, even though it was really only a couple of seconds. His agent was usually attached to his phone, despite his wife being not-so-happy most of the time that he was constantly working.

“Hello? Paul Synods speaking—”

“Paul, it’s Jordan.” He cut Paul’s introduction off. “We need to talk.”

He cut to the chase, knowing he had to get it off his chest before he changed his mind and backed down from telling him. Jordan reminded himself he was doing the right thing by being upfront with Paul about his latest revelations before he found out the hard way. This way, he couldn’t get pissed at Jordan for not informing him of the issue from the beginning.

“Okay, what’s up?” Paul said, sounding unsure of where the conversation might go.

Jordan took in a deep breath, anticipating the next part of their conversation. “There’s no easy way to say this…”

“Then I usually just say it. That’s often the best way,” Paul said, trying to calm his best athlete.

How did one confess life-changing news to somebody? Jordan saw no easy way to tell his agent, other than to simply blurt it out in less-than-subtle words. Paul was a simple man. He was a husband and father, so he would have to understand how Jordan was feeling right now.

“I’ve recently discovered that I’m a dad,” he said in a rush.

“You’re what?” Paul could barely make out the words, stunned by his client’s explosive response.

“I’m a dad. I have a son with my high school girlfriend. He’s five years old,” Jordan said again, speaking more slowly into the phone receiver.

How much simpler could he put it? It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Sure, it was a surprise even to him, but it took guts for Jordan to actually admit to his agent his surprising news about becoming a father, but he didn’t think he could say it any more clearly.

“Are you one hundred percent positive he’s your son? There isn’t a chance he’s not yours?”

Jordan pulled the phone from his ear for a moment and scratched his head. Of course, he should have seen this coming. Paul was a virtuous agent, and always got the job done with a constructive attitude. Jordan knew he could always count on him to be there as both his confidante and paid employee when imperative decisions needed to be made regarding his career and personal life.

He was hard and tough as nails when he needed to be, but these attributes were only two of the many reasons why Jordan still employed him as his agent. He always found a loophole to everything going on in Jordan’s life, but this time, there was no loophole. He was, in fact, Jake’s father. There really was no denying it, and he had no intention of ignoring his child either. He couldn’t do it to Jake, or to Cassie. They deserved far better than what they had previously been through.

“Yes, he is mine. I have no doubt in my mind that he’s my son. I just thought you should know so we can spin the story to the press in a positive light before the tabloids get ahold of the story first.”

He had seen firsthand how tabloids could taint your career with their own little twist by using words just big enough to cause a scandal around the globe, and then it was blown out of proportion. He couldn’t risk exposing Cassie and Jake to the dangers of tabloid life. It wasn’t fair to them, and they didn’t sign up for that.

“Did you take a DNA test to confirm your findings?”

“Not exactly, but that doesn’t mean he’s not my child. He is mine. He looks exactly like me when I was his age.”

“That doesn’t mean you are the boy’s father either. Without a paternity test, we might be fabricating a story to the press that is not even necessary. One way or another, we need evidence to prove you are, in fact, this boy’s dad.”

After an agonizing conversation with his agent, making Jordan wish he had never called Paul in the first place, Jordan ended the phone call, agreeing to ask for a paternity test to reveal the truth once and for all. Only then would they really know whether Jordan was a dad or not, despite him knowing deep down the results already.

Now he just had to find a way to ask the hardest question of all—for a test from Cassie. Something he wasn’t looking forward to doing at all.

A
couple of days later, after time was given to process Jordan’s desire to be a father to Jake, Cassie invited him over to her house Monday morning so they could sit down together and tell their son the truth. Cassie hadn’t wanted to rush straight into telling Jake, worried Jordan would change his mind again and say he couldn’t do it, which would break her son’s heart into a million pieces. She wanted to make sure being a father was what he truly wanted.

After Cassie told Jake the news, he looked at Jordan, and then back to his mother strangely.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Cassie asked, placing a hand on his knee. “Are there any questions you’d like answered?”

“Is that why I don’t look like Mommy? Because I look like you?” Jake asked Jordan, and then turned to his mother. “Some people at school thought you weren’t my real mommy because I don’t look like you.”

Cassie felt like sweeping her little boy into her arms and never letting go. People could be so cruel.

“Oh, baby, that’s not true at all. I am your mom and I always will be,” Cassie assured him while swiping away a tear before he could see it.

Jake nodded his head gently, leaning into his mother’s warm hug and turning his attention to the man he now knew was his father. “Does that mean I can call you Dad?”

“Only if you want to, buddy,” Jordan answered. He wasn’t going to force something Jake wasn’t ready for.

Dad
. It still felt weird to know he was a father. He guessed he would get used to it eventually.

“Okay,” Jake replied. There was long pause, silence entering the room, and then Jake asked if Jordan could take him to school this morning.

“I don’t know. If it’s okay with your mom, I would be happy to take you to school.”

Jake turned to Cassie. “Please, Mommy? Can he take me to school?” he pleaded. She looked into those big brown eyes of his and she knew she couldn’t say no to him, even though her mind wasn’t completely sold on the idea that Jordan was all in when it came to being a dad. She just hoped her little boy wouldn’t be disappointed later on. It wasn’t something she wanted to deal with, and she hoped she had made that clear with Jordan.

“Of course he can, if that’s what you want.”

Jake bounced up and down on the spot, giddiness and excitement radiating from his small body. “Cool! You can see my classroom.”

Cassie told him to go brush his teeth, and when they were alone, Jordan made sure he thanked her, though Cassie was simply grateful she’d raised such a cool and resilient little boy who didn’t seem fazed by the news.

“Don’t break his heart. He’s not eighteen like I was. You can’t go and toy with his emotions; he’s only a little boy who deserves his father present in his life. You can’t be here one day, and then gone the next. Being a dad doesn’t work that way. If you’re playing dad today, then you have to be here for him for the next thirteen years—and beyond too. You can’t just pretend you’re not his father whenever you feel like it, or when your career gets too stressful.” Her words were cold and grew serious.

“I would never do that. I want to be a part of his life. I know it’s going to take some time for you to believe me, but I’m going to make you see you did the right thing allowing me to be here. You won’t regret it.”

“I hope so, but actions speak louder than words.”

Cassie hoped he was right. The last thing she wanted was to regret letting him back into her life to play daddy to their son, like he should have been doing the day Jake was born. She would believe it when she saw it; she needed to see his authenticity with her own eyes.

When Jake ran out with his bag and hat, ready to show off his newly discovered dad to his little school friends, Cassie let Jordan know she would inform the school of who was dropping him off today, and when she wished him good luck, Jordan wondered why.

He didn’t need good luck. He was just taking his son to school.

Jake had never been more excited to go to school than he was today, knowing his dad was the one taking him. With his backpack strapped to his back, Jake marched into the classroom mighty pleased with himself, and ready to share his big news with his fellow classmates.

From the doorway of the classroom, Jordan watched the way Jake put his bag away and mingled in with the other children already in the room. Waving back at him, he heard Jake say to his friends with a big smile on his face, “That’s my dad.”

Jordan felt a grin form on his own face, which didn’t go unnoticed by other parents dropping their kids off too.

“Excuse me?” One mother approached him. “You’re new to the school, aren’t you? I’ve never seen you here before, and I’m here every morning and afternoon with my daughter.”

Jordan turned and noticed a woman with auburn-colored hair speaking to him. She appeared to be looking him up and down, giving him the once-over like she didn’t know if he was good or bad.

“I am. Jordan Castillo.” He held out his hand, and it seemed as soon as he spoke his name, a small crowd of parents—mostly women—formed around him.

Obviously, they all knew him as the town’s golden boy football player.

“Oh, so you’re the infamous ex-boyfriend of Cassie and father of her son. We were beginning to wonder when you would make a return to town,” another mother with straight blonde hair and thinly framed glasses said. “We thought maybe she had made up that she once had a thing with you. At one stage, there was rumor going around she had adopted that sweet little boy. Of course, we know it’s not true
now
. Jake just takes after you.”

Jordan knew what she meant by that comment. Gossip spread like wildfire in Yellow Valley, and it was something he certainly did not miss while he was away. They just assumed Cassie couldn’t possibly be Jake’s birthmother because he looked nothing like her.

Jordan couldn’t keep up with everyone surrounding him. So maybe his popularity right now had nothing to do with his sudden rise as football player in the NFL. Did everyone know he was Cassie’s ex-boyfriend? Did no one in his hometown have anything better to do than gossip about people’s personal lives?

While they huddled around him, waiting for any kind of response to come out of his mouth, another arm quickly pulled him from the group.

“Okay, ladies, there’s nothing to see here. So we haven’t seen a real-life football player hail from Yellow Valley and suddenly make a return to his roots before—big deal. Move on. Let’s leave the poor guy in peace,” said the woman coming to Jordan’s defense. He was suddenly grateful for this woman, whose short brown hair fell into a neat little bob just below her shoulders.