by Jena Wade
“Okay.” Jackson seemed to file that information away for later.
“You know how to dial 911, right?”
Jackson nodded. He held on to the dog’s leash and stroked his fur. “I don't want to give him back. I like him.”
His soft voice tugged at my heart. “I know buddy. He seems like a real sweetie, but if he belongs to someone else, then we have to give him back. His owners will be missing him.”
He sighed. “I know.”
We made our way to the front porch and I lifted my hand to knock on the door, but it flew open before I could. My eyes landed on the naked, broad chest of the one man that I would never forget.
Jackson's father.
Turner Jeffries.
Chapter Two
Turner
I should not have been surprised to find Cole at my door. Kayden. That’s the name he was going by now. Ever since he’d left me nearly six years ago, I’d been half-heartedly looking for him. At first it been a whole-hearted effort, but then I realized that he obviously didn't want to be found. I’d found evidence that he’d changed his name and moved halfway around the country. From there, I’d lost his trail and instead of digging farther I took the hint and stayed out of his life. Though it had pained me to do so.
It wasn't until a few months ago that I learned of Jackson and that was completely by accident. I’d worked on a kidnapping case and by some cruel twist of fate, the kidnapped boy's father was Kayden’s best friend, and now Kayden was here.
In the two months since that case, I'd spent an inordinate amount of time looking up information about him, and Jackson. It seemed as if my little Omega had done quite well for himself and our son.
I knew that our paths would cross sooner or later here in Millerstown, which had stopped me from pursuing Kayden. I’d wanted to storm over to him and demand answers, but I couldn’t risk him running again. But now it seemed fate had finally brought him to my doorstep. Literally.
“How can I help you?” I said smoothly. Thank God for my poker face. I didn't get a chance to unpack all my feelings around Kayden, his disappearance, and what he'd obviously kept hidden from me for the past several years.
One thing was for certain, those six years had done nothing to douse the flame of desire that I had for him. He’d always been able to drive me wild, and time had not changed that.
Jackson spoke up. “Are you a police officer?”
I looked down at him and smiled. “Yes, I am Officer Jeffries, Millerstown PD.”
“My name’s Jackson. We found this dog. He came into our yard. He looks like he's been missing for a while. So, we’re visiting our neighbors to see if anyone owned him. Does he look familiar to you?” The boy spoke so clearly and without a hint of shyness. I knew that he was quite obviously Kayden’s. Seemed he’d acquired that directness from his Omega dad.
I looked at the ball of fur sitting by Jackson’s side, swishing his tail back and forth.
“Can't say that I recognize him. He's not mine. You can call Animal Control and they'll pick him up, take him to a—”
I didn't get a chance to finish. Jackson's eyes widened and he put his hand on the dog's head. “I don't think he needs to go to the shelter right away. I don't want to have him youth—youth—" He looked to his father for assistance.
“Euthanized.”
“Yeah, that,” Jackson said. “If he's not yours, we can go around to other places. And Dad says I can keep him if we don’t find his owner.”
I stood staring at him. Stunned.
Kayden giggled. I recognized it as his nervous laugh.
“Jackson's very grown up,” I said.
“Yeah.” Kayden reached a hand and scratched the back of his head. “I've always called him an old soul.”
Kayden had said this same thing about me more than once. That I was born after my time. An old curmudgeon in a young man's body.
“Would the two of you like to come in?”
“No,” Kayden said quickly. “We better get going. See if we can find anyone else who recognizes the dog.”
“All right.” I stepped out the door, entered my code to lock it, and then walked down the sidewalk with the two of them.
“Are you going to work right now Officer Jefferies?” Jackson asked me.
“Nope. Just going for a run. It's important to stay in shape.”
“That makes sense,” he said. “So, you can chase bad guys, right?”
“Right.”
“Is it illegal to not feed your kids?”
The question caught me so off guard I nearly tripped. My gaze flew to Kayden and his eyes widened in shock.
“Jackson, what makes you ask that?” Kayden knelt down so he was looking at Jackson eye-to-eye.
“Riley’s dad never sends him with a lunch, and Riley says he doesn’t get much to eat at home. I’ve been giving him half of my sandwiches at lunch. I wondered if it was illegal to not feed your kids.”
“Uh, well…”
I cleared my throat. “That’s something that Child Protective Services looks into. How about I talk with your dad about it, okay?”
“Okay. Maybe some time I can come and ride in the police cruiser?”
“Jackson,” Kayden said.
Jackson turned to him with soulful eyes. “Sorry, Dad, did I overstep?”
Kayden took a deep breath, and I marveled at the change in him. He was a good dad. I'd never put any thought to the kind of dad he would be. Kayden was always fun, adventurous, and just immature enough that we had a good time without breaking the law. My heart ached with old memories of when I walked out of the shower that day and realized he'd left me.
“You can come and ride in the squad car anytime you want. I'm sure that you and I and your dad will be seeing more of each other very soon.”
“Because we're neighbors?” Jackson said.
“Yeah,” I smiled and flicked my gaze over to Kayden “Because we're neighbors.”
Kayden squirmed. I had no intention of making his life miserable in any way, seeking any sort of legal repercussions from him for taking my son away from me. If I remembered our conversation from the day he left correctly, I could see exactly why he’d done what he had. But he didn't need to know that right now. Watching him squirm was half the fun. I just needed to make sure that he didn't turn tail and run this time.
“Here.” I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and handed a business card to Kayden. “Why don't you give me a call later? Fill me in on what you've done with the dog. Putting up flyers is a good idea, to see if anyone owns him.”
“Dad says we can keep him if no one claims him,” Jackson reminded me.
I smiled. “A dog is a real big responsibility.”
Jackson stood up straighter and puffed out his chest. “I know, I've been doing a lot of reading about it, because when we moved out to the country, Dad said we could get a dog, but we haven't gotten one yet. This might be our chance.”
“Sounds like you'll be a great dog owner.”
Jackson nodded.
I turned to Kayden. “Give me a call later or swing by tonight.”
He nodded. He held out his hand for Jackson. “Come on, buddy. Let's go home. We can give this guy a bath and make flyers.”
“Okay.” Jackson grabbed his hand and the two of them walked off my property.
I waved and smiled when Kayden turned around and looked at me. I looked forward to his visit later this evening. I knew he'd come, and I would be waiting for him.
Chapter Three
Kayden
I ushered Jackson back to the house with the mangy dog in tow. I dodged a million questions about Officer Jeffries.
Ollie, Philip, and Christopher were home when we arrived. Ollie knew right away from the look on my face that I needed to talk.
“Hey, before we take a picture of this dog for a flyer, why don't the two of you and Philip go out and give him a bath with the hose?” he said to the two boys.
Christopher and Jackson
jumped at the chance and then grabbed each other's hand and ran out the door. The dog followed behind them. Philip looked between me and Ollie.
“How did I get roped into this?”
“Just go,” Ollie said. “Kayden needs to talk.”
“All right,” he said.
Once he was outside, Ollie turned back to me. “Man, it's awfully convenient having a third adult around, usually we'd have to wait until after bedtime to have adult conversations and by then we'd be too tired for it.”
“No kidding,” I said.
“So, what’s up?” Ollie asked.
“He’s here.”
Ollie looked at me, eyes wide. “Who’s here?”
“My ex. Jackson’s dad.”
If possible, his eyes grew even wider. “What? How did he find you?”
“I don't think he did, I think it's just a very odd, crazy coincidence.”
“Who the hell is it? Where did you see him?”
I collapsed onto the sofa, and Ollie sat down next to me. From the living room we could see outside to the back deck and the yard. “He's literally one door down. He's our neighbor.”
“That doesn’t make sense, the only person who lives on this road is Officer Jeffries,” Ollie said.
“Yeah, exactly. Turner Jeffries. My ex.”
“Oh,” Ollie said. “That explains a little bit.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the night that Christopher was taken by Philip’s dad, Officer Jefferies came over and he was really interested in the picture I had of me, you and the two kids. I didn't really think anything of it. I guess I should have…”
“You were a little distracted about the fact that you were newly pregnant, and your son had just been kidnapped.”
“Yeah, that. Holy shit. His mom is the principal at the school.”
I groaned. This couldn’t possibly get any crazier. “The school that the kids go to right now?”
“Yeah, she's the one who told me about Officer Jeffries.”
“It’s so weird to call him that,” I said. “His name is Turner. And he's an FBI agent.”
“What in the hell happened that he became a small town police officer?”
“I don’t know.”
“Him being FBI doesn't surprise me. I always got that vibe from him.”
I shuddered. “Turner does give off vibes.”
“What are you going to do?”
I put my head in my hands and shook my head. “I have no idea. What am I supposed to do?”
“Well, I don't know,” Ollie shrugged. “It kind of worked out for Philip and me.”
I lifted my gaze and glared at him. “This situation is a little different.”
“I know,” he said. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Whatever you decide, I'm here for you, all right? Whatever you need.”
“I'm supposed to go over there tonight and talk to him. What am I supposed to say?”
“The truth? You had very valid reasons for doing what you did. He can't fault you for that.”
“I kept his son from him for several years.”
“He wanted to terminate the pregnancy, right? That's why you left.”
“Sort of.”
Ollie pushed away from me and looked me in the eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I never told him I was pregnant. He was just talking about wanting to terminate a pregnancy because he didn't want to bring children into this awful world. I ran. I was scared. I was so immature then. I didn't think that he would let me have a child. He wouldn’t think I was ready for it. But I was. Obviously, I've done just fine taking care of Jackson. I'm a good dad.”
“You are,” Ollie said. “And he'll see that. Just talk to him, all right? Don't run.”
I rolled my eyes. “Where am I going to run to? My business is here. You're not going anywhere. I'll talk to him, if he doesn't like it, he can leave. I doubt he's happy being a small town police officer considering he was on the fast track to becoming some bigwig in the FBI.”
“Do you want to go now? Philip and I can put Jackson to bed for you.”
“No,” I said. “I want to talk to him. He had a few concerns about Riley.” Riley was one of the kids that attended the daycare. He was also in the first grade with Jackson and Christopher. The three of them had become fast friends since Riley had started at the daycare.
“Oh?” Ollie said.
“Yeah, apparently Tom doesn't send Riley to school with food. Jackson was asking Turner if it's illegal to not give your kid food for school lunches.”
“Holy shit.”
“I knew the dude was a sleaze ball. He definitely gave me the creeps, but I didn't think he was starving his kid. We'll have to keep an eye on it.” Tom was an Alpha, but he didn’t have a wife or Omega at home. He’d never said what had happened to Riley’s other parent.
“For sure. If we have any reason to suspect that the kid isn’t being taken care of then we'll call Protective Services.”
“Agreed.”
Ollie and I had had this conversation before about what to do if we came across a child not being taken care of properly by their parents. It wasn't something we looked forward to having to do, but we were prepared to do it. Thankfully, in the four years we'd been in business we'd never had to call for anything serious. Just a few misunderstandings.
“So, do you need help picking out something to wear to go see Turner?”
“What? Why?” I asked.
Ollie shrugged. “Wouldn't hurt to put your best foot forward.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know, I do still have my uniform from when I was a waiter at that go-go bar.”
“I've seen ribbons thicker than that piece of fabric. Make sure you wear a coat.”
“Oh yeah, that's true,” I said. “Probably wouldn't fit in it anymore anyways, not after having Jackson.”
Chapter Four
Turner
My doorbell rang at eight-thirty that evening, which was about the time that I'd expected Kayden to arrive. I surmised via driving past their house throughout the past few weeks, that bed time for the kids was around eight, factor in a little bit of time for Kayden working up his nerve to come over and eight-thirty was the time I’d assumed he’d be here. He didn't disappoint.
I opened the door without saying a word and stepped to the side. Kayden came in. He walked into the house and looked around. Then he stood in the foyer looking at me expectantly.
I didn't say anything, just let my gaze roam over his body. The body of a man I had never been able to forget, had even let myself fantasize about a few times over the years. Okay, more than a few times over the years.
Cole—Kayden as he was known now—was definitely my one that got away. And now I knew why.
“Say something, Turner.”
“I don't know what there is to say, Kayden.”
He rolled his eyes, stomping his foot like a petulant child. It was a move that I'd seen him do before and if we were in the middle of one of our games right now, it would earn him a smack on the ass. Still might. I didn't let that possibility die and made a mental note that he had earned one spanking thus far.
“I'm not going to apologize for running. Yes, I will admit that's what I did. I ran. But I wasn't going to let you make me terminate my pregnancy.”
“You knew? That night that we talked, the last time I saw you, you knew?”
He nodded. “I’d just finished taking the test when you came home that evening. I was going to tell you in some cutesy way, I hadn't quite figured it out yet. I wanted to go to the doctor first. But then you said the things that you did, and I got scared.”
“Do you really think I would have made you terminate the pregnancy, Kayden?” His new name felt odd on my tongue, but I figured I could get used to it.
“I don't know,” he said. “Do you?”
“I don't know either. That day was honestly one of the worst of my life. The details of the case we closed that day made the press some mon
ths later, when the trial was going on. But even then, a lot of the more grotesque details were left out. I’ll spare you, because it's quite disgusting. But I carried out three bodies after that sting operation, all of them were children under the age of three. Brutalized in ways that you couldn't even imagine. I was not in a good headspace that day, Kayden. You have to know that.”
He nodded. “I'm sorry. I should’ve—”
“No,” I said. “Don't be. I don't think it's worth our time to dwell on what could have been done differently.”
“All right,” Kayden said. “I don't expect anything from you. The fact that you and I are both here in this random small town, I never would have guessed in a million years. What are you doing here anyways?”
“I was undercover doing an investigation for the FBI into the mayor and his money laundering scheme. But that case got busted wide open two months ago. I'm sure you remember.”
“Yeah, just a little bit. But why this case? Seems pretty low key for you.”
I shrugged. “I got shot two years ago, lost a kidney. I don't make the cut for the level of field work anymore.”
“Oh fuck, I’m sorry,” he said.
I shrugged. I’d been disappointed at the time, pissed was more like it, but I’d accepted it now. “It is what it is. I'm on leave right now, taking a sabbatical.”
He narrowed his eyes. “But you're still working for the Millerstown Police Department?”
I nodded. “The plan was to leave as soon as the case was closed and the mayor was arrested, then I found out about you and Jackson. So, I stayed.”
Kayden’s brow lifted. “You knew that I was here with Jackson, and I assume you knew he was your son? Why didn't you confront me? What do you want, Turner?” His defenses were raised again.
I lead him in to the kitchen and I sat on a barstool. “I'm not sure,” I said. “I don't want to interfere with your life, but I want to get to know Jackson. I want him to know me. I'd like him to know that I'm his father.”
“He knows,” Kayden said. He said it so quietly I almost didn't hear him.
“He knows that I specifically am his Alpha dad?”
Kayden shook his head. “He knows your first name. He knows you're an FBI agent. I never… I didn’t have a picture of you from when we were together, so I couldn’t show him what you looked like. He just thinks that you can't be with us because of your work. I've left it at that, but I've always spoken highly of you to him.”
