his real father and what kind of person I am. I bet he thought all kinds of shit about me because Gillian chose Buck O’Connor over me. Who knows what she told him? He doesn’t talk about that. And then she died and he was alone with a stepfather who never really cared about him. The amount of grit it took to travel by himself all the way to Lost Harbor, Alaska, it’s pretty fucking incredible. I owe him, Kate. I owe him the best I can give him at this point in his life, now that I’ve found him. Is it fair to make him live surrounded by people who think the worst of him?”
He didn’t need an answer from Kate to know what his own heart was telling him.
Now that he knew about Dylan, he had to make him top priority. He had to do his absolute best for the boy—whatever that was.
A couple of days later, Dylan came home with a bruise on his jaw. He slumped onto the couch and refused to say what had happened.
Darius experienced a wave of so much fury that he stuck his head in the freezer to cool off while he grabbed an ice pack. Sure, he’d gotten plenty of bruises in his life. But his son? This confusing troubled thin teenager who had found a place in his heart so quickly?
He couldn’t bear it. He’d seen enough. The idea that had been percolating through his thoughts ever since the incident at the hockey ring suddenly seemed like the only option.
Darius retrieved the ice pack and brought it to Dylan to hold against the bruise.
“Dylan, I have an idea.”
“What?” he asked indifferently. Sullen, as if nothing was really going to make a difference in his life.
“What do you think about moving to Texas?”
“What?”
Finally, he got the boy’s attention. All his indifference disappeared as he sat bolt upright on the couch. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about us moving to Texas.”
“But—you live here. You’re the fire chief.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not like I’m a statue. I can move.”
“To Texas?”
“I am from Texas, after all.” He gave his son a wry frown. “That’s where you came to exist.”
Dylan adjusted the ice pack, which had gotten dislodged by his sudden movement. “You’re going to quit your job?”
“Yeah. I’m going to quit my job. I’ll find another one in Texas. People do that all the time, you know. I’ve only had this job for a year or so. Nate’s ready, he can handle it. Or the town will do a search for someone from outside. The point is, I’m going to Texas, and I want you to come with me. I want you to live with me. We’d have to work it out with Buck, of course. You have what, one more year of high school?”
“Two, after this year.”
“Right.” God, he should know that. He did know that. He’d just forgotten. He had to do better about staying on top of the details of Dylan’s life. Dentist appointments and hockey games, that sort of thing. Except maybe not hockey. Baseball, football, whatever. This was going to be his life now. Taking the best care possible of this grieving boy. “Don’t you want to be back in Texas for those two years instead of in a strange town with kids you don’t know?”
“I guess.”
“You didn’t intend to move to Alaska, right? You came to find me. What was your plan after that?”
“I didn’t really have one. I didn’t think—” A strange expression came across the boy’s face. “You’d really do that? Move to Texas on my account?”
“Yes,” Darius answered simply, arms folded across his chest. “I would. I will. Right away. They don’t even need much notice at the firehouse. Nate can step in today if needed.”
“I thought you liked it here.”
“I do. But Texas…my family’s there. They’d love to get to know you. Gillian’s family, too. I bet they’d be happier if you were closer.”
Try as he might, he couldn’t get a read on Dylan’s reaction to this plan.
“I’ve been thinking about it the past few days. Seems to make sense. At first I thought you should stay the summer. But when I saw you with that bruise, I changed my mind.”
Dylan looked away, toying with the ice pack. “That doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.” His firm tone seemed to take the boy by surprise.
He stayed quiet for a moment, thinking his own mysterious thoughts. Maybe one day his son would share things with him;