The Saintwood Series

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Oh, Sh*t

Carrington

Have you ever learned a truth, not expecting to learn it? Well, I found out the fact, and it wasn’t how I expected to learn it.

I returned from a business trip to speak to Charles about a business associate of Mason’s. The guy was a certifiable i***t, and I didn’t understand why we associated with him.

I strolled into Charles’s office to discuss the situation. While we spoke, Ryan came home with someone. We finished our meeting and came out of the office to find Ryan with a kid. Ryan talked to his dad while I stared at the kid. Then I noticed the eye color and studied the kid.

Charles introduced Ryan’s friend as Dylan Frazier. The kid told me it was nice to meet me as he shook my hand, and I informed him likewise. Ryan and Dylan left the foyer, and Charles walked me to the door.

That’s when I asked Charles to do some digging on Ryan’s friend. “Find out anything you can on that kid.”

“Carri, why is Frazier so important to you?”

“Charles, I’m not proud of some things from my past. But I need to confirm my suspicion.”

“What’s that?”

“To figure out if Dylan’s my child.” I walked away, leaving Charles stunned. My dirty little secret would bite me in the ass, but I didn’t care.

I left Charles’s house and had to talk to Nikita. If this kid turns out to be my child, I have to figure out my next move. I arrived home, and Nikita greeted me with a Nerf gun, shooting foam pellets at me.

“Nikita!”

“Welcome home, Carri.” Nikita smiled, then blew across the tip of the Nerf gun.

I shook my head and walked over to Nikita.

“How was the trip?”

“The trip was okay, but I have a bigger issue now.” I walked into the kitchen.

“What issue?”

I opened a kitchen cabinet, pulled out a bottle of vodka, grabbed a tumbler, and poured a drink. I don’t drink, but I needed something to calm my nerves. I gulped the contents and cringed. Okay, that was nasty.

“Carri, you’re worrying me.”

I stared at the countertop with my palms resting on it. “Remember when I told you about a woman from my past?”

“Yes, you said it was over.”

“The affair is over, but something might have resulted from it.”

“What?”

I lifted my head. “A child.”

Nikita’s eyes expanded. I wasn’t confident what would happen between us.

“Are you positive?” Nikita asked.

“No, but I asked Charles to find out information about Ryan’s friend.” I stepped towards Nikita. “The boy resembles me, including his eye color. I need the truth whether he is my child.”

Nikita knitted her brows.

“We agreed about not having kids, but if this boy is mine, I can’t turn my back on him. The worst part was that I didn't know.” I leaned against the counter, wondering why. If Ryan’s friend was my child, why didn’t Gloria tell me?

Nikita put her hands on my cheeks. “Carri, I understand you want the truth. But if the boy turns out to be your child, then what?”

“I don’t know.” I furrowed my brows. I had an affair with a married woman. A child might have resulted from the affair, which I knew nothing about for years. I didn’t plan on any of this happening, but it did. I wasn’t proud of my behavior.

“I do.”

I glanced at her.

“If he’s your child, then spend time with him. Carri, we can’t have children, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a chance to become a father.”

I couldn’t love Nikita more than I do now. Most women wouldn’t understand if a kid came from your past, but Nikita wanted me to spend time with this kid. That’s if he is my son, and I prayed the boy was. If he were, then I would visit Gloria since she’s in Saintwood.

*****

3rd person

While Nikita and Carrington discussed the possibility of him having a child, Joseph showed up at Charles’s place. Charles handed Joseph a freezer bag with two plastic bottles in it, and Joseph took the bag.

“Those are water bottles that Dylan Frazier and Carri used today.”

“Who’s Dylan Frazier?”

“Does Gloria Frazier ring a bell?”

Joseph did a double-take. “No!”

Charles gave Joseph a knowing glance as Joseph sighed. “What?”

“Remember when Carri returned home and took correspondence courses to finish his degree?”

“Yes.”

“Before Carri came home, he planned to leave town with Gloria. She didn’t show, and now we realize why.” Joseph held up the bag. “This DNA test will confirm the truth.”

“It doesn’t matter because Maurice mentioned he had something belonging to us. It’s not something, but someone.”

That’s all it took, and Joseph left to dig. Joseph sent the bottles to a lab to have a DNA test run three times. He also conducted an illegal activity and scoured for information on Dylan Frazier. It would take time to hack through firewalls to confirm their suspicions.

If Dylan Frazier were Carrington’s son, Carrington would confront Gloria for keeping Dylan from him. Carrington wanted to learn why she didn’t tell him. He would have done anything for his child. The worst part was Maurice Frazier had his hands on the boy, and Carrington hated that family. His hatred would escalate into an unfortunate event and set issues in motion for the kids.

While Charles and Joseph were trying to find out about Dylan Frazier, the Frazier boys turned on Frank Shaw, ending their alliance with Frank. Did you ever poke a rattlesnake? The snake attacks and kills its prey with its deadly venom. Frank was the rattlesnake, and everyone had poked him.

Frank made his old lady disappear because he had other plans involving his niece and sons. No one knew what happened between Henry’s kid and Frank, but everyone would discover that later. The other issue was Frank needed to put his plan in motion and enlisted his oldest son Jordan to help him. The problem with this scenario was Jordan hated his dad, and the kid had a good reason.

Jordan came home from school with his brother Josh to discover his dad packing. “What’s going on?”

“We’re moving,” Frank said.

Jordan furrowed his brows. “Where?”

“Saintwood.”

Jordan and Josh glanced at each other.

“Saintwood has better opportunities for us, boys.” Frank pretended to care, but he didn’t.

Jordan shook his head and walked away. “Good, then I won’t have to play sports.”

With Frank Shaw heading to Saintwood with his boys, it set in motion with events to come. Jordan will prove he’s not his father’s son, and it’s an alliance that no one will see coming.