need a paternity test to know that Liam was his.
It had only taken one look, maybe five seconds, and the facts were right in front of him.
That and Joyce and he had done everything they needed to do in order to produce a child.
For months.
The relationship hadn’t been long, but apparently, that didn’t matter.
As all those things ran through his mind, over and over, as Joyce and Athena talked, slowly, eventually, he started to get used to the idea that the kid was his.
Started to wonder about his life. The things he’d missed and the things that he might have been able to provide for the boy, if he’d been around.
Who was he kidding? He couldn’t even take care of himself. What would he have provided for a child?
Joyce had been before the accident, and he certainly hadn’t been serious about her.
To his shame.
Joyce had the same coloring as Athena. Her eyes weren’t quite as golden, they were just brown, but her hair had been the same color, and she’d been about the same height.
Their personalities were completely different, and that probably contributed to the brevity of their relationship.
Even back then, he’d been a jerk.
He hadn’t been thinking about long-term relationships, or children, or anything remotely associated with responsibility.
No wonder Athena never looked twice at him.
She’d been so serious.
So driven. So bossy.
He had liked it. He needed someone who wasn’t afraid to boss him a little and give him structure.
But not someone like his mother, who passed the line from bossy into controlling.
Athena was very much like his mom, commanding and sure, a take charge kind of woman, but she differed from his mother because she had compassion and a kind, caring soul that saw what no one else could.
At one point, he thought she saw good in him.
Not anymore.
Because there was nothing good to see.
He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. Way too long. He needed it cut. If he was going to be an example to his son, he needed to get cleaned up.
Shane had been raised by a single mom. He’d always joked about being jealous of Andrew’s and Preston’s two-parent families and of Preston’s family’s wealth.
Liam’s life so far could have been exactly like Shane’s life.
He couldn’t think of his friend without pain surging through him.
Taking responsibility for his son wasn’t a choice to be made. He was going to do it.
And in doing so, he could somehow honor Shane by making sure that another child didn’t have a life where he never knew his dad and grew up with his poor single mother.
“Try not to get a big head about it, Sergeant Princess, but I think you’re right.” He waited to see if Athena would gloat.
She didn’t.
He hadn’t thought she would. That wasn’t the kind of person she was.
Athena did exchange a glance with Joyce. He felt like a heel, because when Joyce looked back over at him, she had tears in her eyes.
He’d been a jerk. He’d pretty much been a jerk his entire life.
Had a son. He had a real live son.
He didn’t want that boy, the child that carried his genes, to grow up to be a jerk. He wanted him to be someone who contributed good things to society.
He wanted his son to be everything he had never been.
Sure, maybe his son would be brave, a daredevil, a risk-taker, but he should also be kind, compassionate, willing to give up his rights, his time, his resources to help other people. To be a blessing. To reach out and cheer someone up.
His eyes crawled on their hands and knees over to Athena, who was leaning toward Joyce, looking straight ahead as Joyce whispered in her ear. Her face was serious, but she nodded.
And as far as he knew, Athena didn’t know Joyce, hadn’t known her until she’d been assigned to be her caretaker.
She wasn’t being paid for today most likely, and she definitely wasn’t getting paid to be treated as badly as he treated her.
When Athena had a patient, she put her entire heart and soul into that patient and their family.
He remembered seeing her at Mr. Hudson’s funeral standing with Mrs. Hudson beside the casket. Athena was a rock.
No one paid her to do that. It was just what Athena did.
When he said he wanted his son to be kind and compassionate and a blessing to others, he didn’t want his son to be like him.
He wanted his son to be like Athena.
Chapter 4
The bell jingled