It wasn’t until Jesse was eight and came to them with some simple addition and subtraction that they told him the truth-at least, part of the truth. That Carson wasn’t his biological father, but he loved him as much as if he were.
Madison put her hand to her stomach. She felt sick. She should never have told Jesse that his father hadn’t wanted him. She should never have told Jesse that his father was a wild college boy and she’d had a lapse in judgment. That it had been a one-night stand. She didn’t say that, exactly-she had to phrase it so an eight-year-old would understand-but Jesse got it.
She just hadn’t expected that Sean and Jesse would ever meet.
Her phone rang. It was a blocked number, but she answered it immediately.
“Hello?”
“Mom?”
“Jesse! Oh God, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom. Sorry I didn’t call sooner, we couldn’t get a signal. Dad wants to talk to you.”
There were muffled voices, then Carson came on the phone. He said to Jesse in the background, “Go grab me a bottled water, will you please, Jess? Then you can talk to your mom again.”
A second later Carson said in a low voice, “Madison, what have you done?”
“What have I done? You disappeared with our son! I waited at the airport, thinking you missed your flight, but you didn’t call, didn’t text. You weren’t on any plane and you checked out on Saturday. I have no idea where you’ve been for three days! What the hell is going on, Carson? Why haven’t you returned my calls?”
“Stop. Please, Madison. Just calm down.”
“Calm down?”
“You panicked. You’re putting us all in danger. Someone has been sniffing around, a PI making calls. Did you hire someone to find me?”
“Yes! Yes I did because I thought you were kidnapped or… or worse.”
“Dear God, Madison, you’re going to get us all killed! Call them off.”
Madison sank down into the hotel desk chair. Killed? Killed? This could not be happening. What was her husband doing?
“Are you being held? For ransom? Do they want money? I have money-my dad-”
“No, Madison, nothing like that! Jeez, girl, your imagination is out of control. This is just business.”
“This is not just business! Carson, tell me, or I swear, I’ll send an army after you.”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle. Just a little money problem. I’m fixing it, and then we’ll be on the next flight home. But you have got to call off the dogs. Right now. You’ll freak out people we don’t want to freak out. You’re lucky I found out about it before my employer did.”
“I cannot believe this, Carson.” Madison was going to hyperventilate. She could feel it building and tried to force herself to calm down. Panicking was not going to get her son back. “You have my son in the middle of something this dangerous?”
“It’s not dangerous! Just someone else’s mistake I need to fix. Trust me, Madison. I love you, I love Jesse. This is just a small glitch and I’m the only one who can fix it. Nothing is going to happen to him, but you’re panicking, and that’s not good for any of us.”
“You should have told me from the beginning. You should never have brought Jesse down there.”
“I’m taking a risk calling you now. If everything goes right, I’ll be done here by Thursday, Friday at the latest.”
“Where are you?”
“Honey, I’d tell you, but right now you’re not thinking straight, and the last thing I need is you showing up here. Or sending a damn PI after me. Call him off. I mean it. I love you, Maddie.”
He hung up. He hung up on her!
She was torn. Carson was obviously in the middle of something potentially dangerous, which put Jesse in danger. But she’d just spoken to both of them, and they sounded fine. They were alive, they were healthy, Jesse didn’t sound like anything was wrong. She wanted Sean to bring her son back… but she didn’t want to get her husband hurt.
“How could you do this to me?” she screamed in the silence of her hotel room.
She had to trust Carson. They had celebrated their tenth anniversary in April. She loved him. Her father respected him. He’d provided for her, took another man’s son as his own, helped her build her own business-antiques, something she loved and was good at. She had a life and Carson and Jesse were a part of that life. They were her life.
Coming to Sean Rogan was a mistake. Carson was right, she’d panicked. Why had she even come here? What had she hoped to gain?
Because you hadn’t spoken to your husband and son in three days and Carson lied to you.
Damn damn damn!
Why hadn’t she called her father?
She knew why. Her father would know then that Carson was moonlighting. He would know they had financial problems that Carson had taken a second job to remedy. And Carson wouldn’t forgive her. He may never forgive her for talking to Sean. Why had she called Sean? She could have found someone else…
Punishment. You were mad at Carson for scaring you, for taking Jesse when you really didn’t want him to go… and then lying to you. So you went to the one person you should never have seen again.
“It’s okay,” she told herself, as if speaking out loud would make it true. “Jesse is my son, I would do anything to protect my son.”
Carson and Jesse were safe. For now. She had to call off Sean. To keep them safe.
She grabbed her purse and cell phone and ran out of the hotel.
Jesse brought his dad the water bottle. He’d already drunk half of another on the way back from the kitchen. “Here,” he said. “Where’s Mom?”
“The phone cut out-cell reception is terrible here.”
“She sounded really worried. I thought you said she was fine with us staying longer.”
His dad drank some water. “I thought she was, but she worries, you know that.”
Jesse shrugged and sat down on the couch. His mom was moody all the time lately. His dad said it was girl hormones, but Jesse thought it was something else. She’d seemed sad when he left last week. “I should call her back-or maybe we can just go home? Do we have to stay until Friday?”
“This is important, Jess. You’re right-I should have left you at home, but I thought this would be good for us to have some guy time. You have straight A’s, it’s not like you’re going to miss anything if you miss school for a week. And I talked to Dom, they have season tickets to the football team here. They’re playing tonight.”
“Really?” Jesse loved soccer. He’d been playing since he was six. But he’d never been to a professional game.
“I may be able to wrap up everything by Wednesday. We’ll leave as soon as I’m done.”
“Sure. Whatever.”
“You’re having fun, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Just bored. I wish we didn’t have to leave Acapulco.”
“I can’t let you just go out and explore-it’s pretty safe here, but you know how Mexico can be. We need to be smart.”
“I know.” Jesse finished his water bottle. “Can I go swimming?”
“Of course. You can go anywhere on the property-Dom has forty acres to explore. But come in before noon, the sun can be murder.”
“Okay.” Jesse put his DS on the charger and left the suite of rooms Dominick Flores, his dad’s boss, let them use. He already had his swim trunks on-he’d been swimming every morning and night since he got here. But he was bored. There were no other kids, everyone was serious except for Gabriella.