The Discovery - 28. Chapter 28

David smiled slightly as he carefully snipped a leaf off of a tree. Gently, he placed it in the palm of his hand and lowered it to show his companion. “Well,” he asked the young boy. “What do you see?”

Matt stared thoughtfully at the leaf and went over everything he could remember his grandfather had taught him. “Well… I don’t see any spots…”

David nodded. “Right. So that rules out, what?”

“Then… it’s not rust or scabs,” Matt replied.

“Right again. But what do you see?”

Matt scrunched his face as he tried to find the answer. “I don’t know. It’s just a leaf.”

David grinned at his grandson. “You’re right. Nothing wrong with this tree so we can move on.” He dropped the leaf into a small bag on his belt which held sample bags and his trusty snips.

Matt gave an exasperated groan as he followed behind David. “Then why did you act like there was something you wanted to show me?”

“Because I wanted to see if you saw what I saw. A perfectly, normal, healthy apple tree.”

Matt trotted alongside to keep up and look up at his grandfather’s playful grin. “I don’t get it.”

“Matthew, you got it right. That means you know what to look for out here. You didn’t make it up or guessed there was something wrong when you could see that everything was fine.” He paused his stride to look down at the boy. “You know what blight looks like?”

“Fire blight looks like the stems and flowers were burned,” Matt replied by rote. “Black rot starts with frogeye spots on the leaves and then spreads through the tree. If you catch it early, you can use the sulfur spray. If not, then you have the remove the whole tree, stump and all.”

“You make me so proud,” David said with a grin before he resumed walking. “You’re gonna be great at this someday.”

“How come dad doesn’t show me this stuff? Did he never learn any of it?”

David barked out a laugh. “By the time your dad was your age, he could recite every fungal infection in his sleep. And I could blindfold him at the other end, and he’d find his way back home in no time. He doesn’t do it because I want to do it. I love spending time with you, and I want to pass down to you what my grandpa taught me.”

Matt hadn’t considered his grandfather having a grandfather before. Sure, he obviously had one at one point, but it felt special hearing about someone he never knew. “What was he like?”

David’s smile softened as he replied. “He was the best person I ever knew. Taught me everything he could about the trees and how to be a good person.”

“He did a good job then,” Matt replied with a grin.

The older man was about to say more when his eyes noticed something. He pointed in the direction of another tree and walked over. “See anything on that one, Matt?”

Matt frowned slightly as he moved closer to look. “I see…” His frown deepened. “Mildew.”

David nodded in agreement. “So, what do we do?”

Matt looked around the rest of the tree and then to other trees nearby before saying, “it looks like this is the only spot. So, we cut it off.”

“Right.” He reached into his belt and pulled out his snips and a larger plastic bag than the last one. With a thoughtful look at his grandson, he smirked and held the clippers out to him. “How about you do this one?”

Taking the tool, he nervously looked up into David’s eyes. “You sure?”

David nodded. “Yeah. I trust you. Do you know what you need to do?”

The boy looked back at the infected leaves and said, “I cut down to here.” He pointed to a place where the infected area met the rest of the branch.

“And hold the piece in place as you cut so it doesn’t shake the mildew off onto anything else in the process. Here, I’ll hold the bag for you.”

Matt carefully held the twig between his fingers on his left hand while his right hand guided the snips to the right place. Carefully, he cut off the infected area from the rest of the tree and then gently placed it into the bag. He noticed with a little pride that none of the white powder fell to the ground as David closed the bag. “How’s that?”

David sealed the bag and put it away. “Couldn’t have done it better myself. Now, what’s next?”

“Oh!” Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellow plastic ribbon and gently tied it to the spot on the tree near where he cut.

David checked to make sure it was secure so the wind wouldn’t pull it off. “Then we come back in a week to make sure we don’t find any more. Meanwhile, we keep an eye out for it in other spots. That’s why once the leaves have sprouted every spring, you need to start looking around for trouble. Better to solve it now with a couple snips rather than have to start cutting down whole trees.”

Matt nodded as they continued on their walk through the orchard. “Grandpa, my dads are going to be alright, aren’t they?”

He stopped short at the sudden question. “Of course. What makes you think they aren’t?”

With a concerned frown, Matt elaborated. “I asked them both the other day what was going on with dad’s court case. They said it wasn’t something they could talk about.”

Feeling that what Matt said was slightly confusing, David pressed for more information. “That’s all they said?”

Matt nodded. “They’re not still fighting like they were?”

“No,” David replied with a smile as he knelt closer to the boy. “They patched things up. People sometimes, no matter how close they are or how much they love each other sometimes have arguments. Sometimes they even yell at each other. Yeah, they probably shouldn’t, but it can’t be helped from time to time. That’s what happened with your dads, and I know it scared you. That’s on them and I told them as much. But they’ve worked through their problems, and they are doing just fine.”

“What was their problem? And why was Dad so mad about this Josh guy?”

He looked into Matt’s eyes and sighed. “Their problem was… well, they stopped listening to each other. And they were scared of saying what they were feeling.”

That made no sense to the young boy. “Why would they be scared?”

David smirked ruefully. “It’s something you’ll probably come to understand when you get older. But for now, just trust in your dads and know that they’re going to be alright.”

“But what about the guy Dad is defending? That Josh person.”

With a thoughtful look, David said simply, “that’s a question only your father can answer.”

Matt took a moment to think about his grandfather’s words before asking, “was it what started their fight?”

David sighed. Being an inquisitive boy seemed to run in the family. “In a way, yes. But what’s important is that they have put all of that behind them.”

“Okay.” Hearing that gave him an uncomfortable sense of guilt. All of the fighting in the house between his fathers was the result of him asking about Josh.

A concerned frown marred David’s bearded face. “Baby Boy, what’s wrong?”

“It was me,” he said with a lump forming in his throat. “I told him about Josh.”

David quickly knelt in front of Matt, putting his hands on Matt’s shoulders. “No, no no. That’s not your fault. That was their fault.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” David knew then that Matt needed to be told the whole truth. “Let’s go find you dad.” Rising slowly to his feet, David took the boy’s hand and led him back to the house. “You’re not in trouble, son,” David assured him.

Matt didn’t say anything, opting to just nod his head as he was led into the house and towards his dad’s room. Trying to shake the feeling that he was about to be disciplined, he squeezed his grandfather’s hand only to feel him squeeze back gently. David knocked on the door and waited to hear a response. “Come in,” came Kyle’s muffled voice through the door. David opened the door with Matt in tow as Kyle looked up. With a smile and a cocked eyebrow at the unexpected visit, he sat up a little on the couch he had been lounging on. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“Where’s Jacob,” David asked before answering the question.

Kyle tilted his head slightly curiously. “He’s in Pittsburgh. Why?” His eyes went from David to Matthew.

David understood the unsaid implication of that as he put his hand on Matt’s back and pushed him forward a little. “You need to have a talk with your son. About Josh.”

His eyes went from his father to his son thoughtfully. With a slow nod, Kyle said, “yeah. Come here and have a seat, Baby Boy.”

Matt looked up at David looking uncertain before he slowly stepped over to his father. David smiled softly. “I’ll leave you two to it.” He turned and left the room, quietly closing the door. As he went down the hall, he felt confident that Kyle would handle this moment with his growing boy.

Kyle looked into Matt’s eyes and smiled reassuringly before patting the spot on the couch next to him. “Get comfortable, kiddo.” Once Matt sat down, Kyle put his arms around the boy and pulled him close. “So… Do you have questions?”

The boy was uncertain how to answer. His father’s arms around him made him feel as safe as they ever did, even as he wrestled with his feelings of guilt. “Well… When you and Dad were fighting… was it about Josh?”

“Not really,” Kyle said honestly. “Your dad was mad at me for hiding things from him. And he had every right to be. Only, it turns out he wasn’t being totally honest with me either.”

Matt frowned in confusion. “I don’t get it.”

Kyle smiled at his son. “Don’t feel like you’re the only one.” Thinking he wasn’t being entirely clear, he went on. “See, when you love someone, sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you end up misunderstanding each other and that’s what happened with me and your dad.”

“Okay,” the boy replied with a little uncertainty in his voice. “What did it have to do with Josh?”

“Ah,” Kyle chuckled. “Yeah… well, this is the part where you should be sitting down before I tell you.”

“Dad… I am sitting.” Matt looked up at him with a crooked smile.

“Good.” Seeing the smile on Matt’s face made Kyle smile brighter. It was not the kind of smile he or Jacob had which meant Matt had been influenced by Andy over the years. Children who loved and trusted the adults around them were rarely bound to only follow the manners and affectations of their parents. To see a glimmer of his friends emulated in his sons reminded him of the unique life he had been blessed with. “Matt, last year, your father and I discovered that he has a younger brother.” He watched his son’s eyes widen slightly in surprise before he continued. “I did some digging and I found him. And that little brother is Josh.”

Matt listened with rapt attention and still struggled to comprehend all of what Kyle was saying. “So… why was Dad so mad at you?”

Kyle sighed and explained, “because he was upset about having a brother he never knew. He didn’t want us to do anything. But I was stubborn and thought it would really make him happy, so I found Josh and when I found out he was in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, I started working hard to get him out.”

“That’s a silly thing to be mad about,” his son observed. “I asked him about his dad before and he acted like he didn’t want to talk about him.”

“That’s not surprising,” Kyle said with a slow nod. “He and his dad didn’t get along very well. When he was younger, Jacob’s dad hurt him a lot.”

Matt looked at Kyle with a mixture of surprise and empathy for his other father. “Why?!”

Kyle wondered if this was something he should tell Matt or wait for Jacob to tell him. “I think it’s best to wait until we talk to Jacob. He should be home soon.”

“What’s he doing in Pittsburgh?”

“Visiting Josh,” Kyle replied with a smirk. “He came around and has been visiting him and getting to know him better.”

“Dad, I’m sorry for messing it all up.”

Kyle was a little surprised and concerned hearing that. “What do you have anything to be sorry for?”

“Well, if I hadn’t been wanting to know what you were doing, I wouldn’t have asked Dad about Joshua Carter.”

With a shake of his head, Kyle swiftly quashed that idea. “You didn’t do anything. Jacob and I are the ones to blame. It was unfair of us to you and your little brother for being so stubborn and unyielding with each other.”

Matt smiled a little in relief. “So, you’re not going to get divorced?”

Kyle’s eyes bulged in shock at the question he was just asked. “Divorced?! Oh, hell no, Baby Boy. I wouldn’t last a minute without him. This is a team effort we have in this house. Jacob and I love each other and no matter what we might fight or argue about, we are always going to be together.” Kyle mentally kicked himself, knowing that he had his own doubts not too long ago. But that was not something he felt his son needed to hear right now. “Matthew, is that why you were so scared?”

Having said it out loud and hearing his father’s response, Matt suddenly felt a little foolish. “Maybe a little.”

“Well then, I owe you another apology. Sweetheart, sometimes adults fight. We don’t see eye to eye on everything. This wasn’t our first fight, but it was probably our loudest and longest. We were both just so hellbent on being right we didn’t realize we were hurting each other and our boys at the same time. But that’s all over now. We started talking and listening to each other and we reached an understanding.”

Relief prompted Matt to relax and settle into Kyle’s arms. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to just enjoy the moment with his father. It wasn’t often that he got to have long talks with Kyle without someone else around, so it felt good to be able to have time alone with him. “So, Josh is Dad’s brother…”

Kyle nodded. “Yup. And once I prove his innocence, he will likely be coming to stay with us for a while. He wasn’t as lucky as you and Aaron are.”

Matt leaned his head back to look up at Kyle. “What do you mean?”

“He never had a family growing up,” Kyle explained. “His adopted mom and dad died when he was younger than you are now. After that, he never had a home or a family to love him. He never had someone he could turn to when he was in trouble or was scared or needed someone to hold him.”

The idea of not having any of his friends or his fathers, his grandfather and Colt, all around him and taking care of him left Matt feeling sad for this person he never met. “I don’t know what I’d do without Dad or Carter or Blake.”

Kyle smirked. “Do you remember when we didn’t live here?”

Matt got a confused look. “We didn’t always live here?”

“No,” Kyle confirmed. “A long time ago, you and I lived somewhere else far away.”

Matt frowned as he concentrated, trying to remember being in a different place. A brief flash of a memory came to him, but it felt vague. “I remember being really little. I had a small bedroom and yours was next to mine.”

Kyle smiled even as he was slightly surprised his son could remember back that far. “Yeah. A long time ago, it was just you and me. No Jacob, or grandpa or Aaron or Blake…”

Matt shook his head. “I wouldn’t have liked that. I’m glad we live here.”

“Me too,” Kyle added before kissing the top of Matt’s head. He sighed, feeling contented, holding onto his son for as long as he could. The perfect moment ended when Kyle heard the sound of the doorknob turning. He looked up from his spot and his smile brightened slightly as Jacob walked into the room.

Jacob wasn’t expecting to see Kyle and Matt cuddled together on the couch when he came in, but it was a welcome sight. He returned Kyle’s smile with his own. “Hey. How’s everything going?”

“Oh, pretty good,” Kyle answered as Jacob walked up to them. “Matt knows about Josh.”

Jacob’s smile turned curious, and Kyle was pleased to see his body didn’t stiffen or show any sign of displeasure. “How much does he know?”

“I know that he’s your brother,” Matt responded before Kyle could. “I was worried about you and Dad fighting again.”

“I see.” Jacob knelt on the floor near them and looked Matt in the eyes. “So, now that you know, how do you feel about that?”

Matt shrugged, unconcerned. “I think it’s cool. Dad said you were mad about it. Because of your dad.”

Jacob’s eyes went to Kyle’s who just shrugged in a sign that said he didn’t tell Matt everything, but enough. “What else did he tell you?”

“That your dad hurt you. He didn’t say why.” The boy looked at his other father with the unspoken question in his eyes.

“Wow…” Jacob looked at Matt with loving eyes and a deep sigh. “Sometimes, I keep forgetting how grown up you’re getting. What I’m going to tell you is serious stuff, okay? Your dad, me, your grandpa and most of our friends already know this. But this isn’t stuff you’re supposed to talk about with the other kids. Alright?” Matt nodded in understanding and Jacob decided it was best to just be totally honest. “Yes, my father used to hurt me. And it started when I was about Aaron’s age. The reason why is because he was sick.”

“Sick?” Matt frowned slightly.

Jacob nodded. “Yeah. You see, he had a disease in his head. When he would get drunk, he could get violent. You understand what that means, right? When I say ‘drunk?’”

Matt nodded. “Yeah. Dad, we watch TV. I know what alcohol is.”

“Good. He was an alcoholic. So, drinking beer and stuff like that affected him differently from normal people. And it was something he… really didn’t get cured from.” Jacob watched Matt’s face carefully to make sure he understood before he continued. He hesitated for a brief moment, out of some odd fear that it would change his life and his relationship with his son. But if he was going to be honest with Matt, then he had to be completely honest. He sensed more than saw Kyle’s encouragement which lent him the courage to continue. “The thing is, Matt… Alcoholism is something that you can pass on to your kids. Like your nose or hair color. And I know this because I’m an alcoholic like my dad was.”

Matt sat up a little and felt Kyle’s arms tighten around him to remind him that he wasn’t alone. “So, you’re sick too?”

Jacob nodded. “Yeah. But the difference between me and my dad is that I know not to drink. So, I don’t. That’s why I can be a father to you and Aaron, and I can be a husband to your dad.”

Matthew gently released himself from Kyle’s arms and hugged Jacob. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

With a soft chuckle and a heart that felt it would burst in his chest from how much love he felt for his boy, Jacob held Matt and gently patted his back. “It’s okay, Baby Boy. There’s nothing for you to be sorry about.”

“I know,” Matt said with more sympathy in his voice than any eleven-year-old should have. “I just feel sorry for you.”

Jacob couldn’t suppress the grin that came to him as he laughed. “Hey, I’m fine. No different than who you’ve known practically your whole life. But it makes me feel good that you care so much.”

Matt leaned back and looked at Jacob’s face before asking, “so why was it so hard for your dad to not drink?”

With a shake of his head, Jacob answered, “I wish I could tell you. There are some things about my father that I’ll never understand. But what I do know is that I don’t drink because I have a lot of reasons not too. And one of those reasons is you. Matthew, I love you and Aaron more than all the stars in the sky. Seeing you grow up with Aaron and all your friends and our family makes every day I stay sober worth it.”

Matt turned to look at Kyle whose face was filled with pride. “Dad, what about Aaron?”

Kyle knew there was no reason to lie to him at this point. “We don’t know yet. He’s still just a little boy. Eventually, we will find out if he has the same problem as Jacob and we’ll do our best to help him. We’ll talk to the doctors and see what they can tell us. But there’s a very good chance he’ll be an alcoholic too.”

Jacob didn’t want to dwell on that idea. That was an issue that could wait for many more years. “Matt, it’ll be okay. Right now, the only thing that matters is that you’re happy and healthy. So is Aaron and there’s nothing for you to worry about. But I’m very proud of you for how well you didn’t freak out about me.”

“And you don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen to you or your family,” Kyle added. “We are always going to be here for you.”

Matt smiled slightly with renewed confidence. “Okay.”

Kyle smirked. “Feel better now?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” He leaned over and kissed Matt’s head. “Now, go see what your grandpa is up to while I spend some time with your dad.”

Matt gave Jacob one last hug before getting up and leaving the room. Once the door closed, Jacob moved to join Kyle on the couch, wrapping his arm around him. “What brought all that on?”

Kyle shook his head. “No clue. My guess would be he had some lingering fears about us fighting, expressed them to Dad and he brought Matt to me.”

Jacob frowned slightly in concern. “And Josh?”

“Well, I think he asked Dad first and he didn’t want to answer him, so he brought Matt to me to be the one to tell him.”

That sounded odd to Jacob for some reason. “Why didn’t he just tell Matt himself?”

“He probably figured that as his parents, it was our job,” Kyle replied. “It’s not like we didn’t handle it. Which, by the way, I am very proud of you for being so honest to him about your alcoholism.”

“Thanks.” Jacob smiled and kissed him softly. “So, other than that, how was your day?”

“Uneventful. I stayed home most of the day. Read a few emails, but other than that, nothing remarkable.”

“So, were you bored all day?”

Kyle tilted his head in thought as his lips lifted slightly. “Not really. I took the boys to school, came home, and did the emails. Hung out with Colt and Dad. Brought the boys home and did some reading while Dad took Matt into the orchard for a couple hours. It was actually kind of relaxing. What did you do?”

“Started on a new order for a table. Took me about a week to figure out a design that would satisfy the client. It’s gonna be a huge table that’ll take me months to do right.”

Kyle smirked. He could see the light in Jacob’s eyes even while he complained about the new challenge ahead of him. “I’m sure you’ll do a great job.”

“We’ll see. Then I went to see Josh.”

“How is he?”

Jacob smiled a little before answering. “He said something really weird today.”

Kyle wasn’t sure if he should be concerned or not. “Oh?”

“Yeah. When we were talking about after the trial, he said, when he gets out. It’s only my third visit with him, but he seemed more optimistic this time around.”

“Really?” Kyle didn’t hide his surprise. “I don’t think I heard him say that before. At least, not when he was just humoring me. I think that’s more your doing than mine.”

“Me?” Jacob chortled. “I’m not the one defending him.”

“No. But it’s because of you, being his brother, that caused us to cross paths.” Kyle thought about it a little deeper before shaking his head. “I’d almost call it fate, but that seems trite.”

“Well, whatever.” Jacob settled back against Kyle and sighed. “He is a nice guy, though. A little too quiet. But you probably said the same thing about me twenty some years ago.”

“Twenty-two years, two months,” Kyle stated with a smirk. “It was two months before the end of our junior year.”

Jacob looked up at him and grinned. “But who’s counting?” Kyle looked at him sweetly before they shared a kiss.

There was a small detail he left out of his talk with Matt that he felt he should share with Jacob. “Matt was afraid we were going to get divorced.”

Sitting up and turning to look into Kyle’s eyes he exclaimed quietly, “what?!”

Kyle shrugged. “That’s what he said. When we were fighting and yelling at each other, that’s what made him so scared.”

Jacob frowned in frustrated anger that he knew could only be directed at himself. “Damnit. We really fucked up.”

Looking down into his lap, Kyle confessed, “he wasn’t the only one who was worried about that for a while.”

Stunned silent from the unexpected admission, Jacob stared at him for a moment. Even though they had been in therapy for weeks now, hearing Kyle say that made him feel even more guilty for how his own pride and fear had nearly ruined the life that he had longed for since he was a teenager. “Kyle.” Their eyes met before he leaned closer to give his lover and best friend the kind of kiss he deserved. When their lips finally parted, he stared loving into his eyes. “Always and forever.”

****

Chase stood there at the bottom of the stairs, looking at the back of the couch in front of him where his parents were sitting quietly. He felt a small sliver of nervousness inside him, but he knew he was going to have to do what he needed to do. Tanner’s words kept echoing in his head as they discussed it at lunch earlier today. It would be nice if it comforted him, but it only served to make him dread what he was about to do.

“Just tell him the truth. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Contemplating the worst-case scenario was not what he wanted to do. He imagined his father was going to blow up. Well, probably not. The number of times Chase has seen his father yell is so rare, he could not recall the last time it happened. It was not yelling or anger he was so afraid of. What he dreaded most was seeing his father disappointed or sad. Chase’s biggest fear was taking his father’s happiness away. The longer he drew this out the worse it would become. He had to do this now, before discussions about high school and college started growing between his parents.

“D-dad?” Chase groaned inwardly, wishing his voice would stop cracking when he got nervous.

Troy and Elizabeth turned their heads to look back at their oldest son standing there looking like he was in trouble. They shared a curious look before Troy spoke up. “Yes?”

“Can… can we talk?”

Liz turned her head to hide the smirk on her face, clearly enjoying the fact that it appeared that Troy was about to have a very serious talk. Troy tempered his face to remain stoic as he rose from his spot and walked towards him. “Sure. Let’s go talk.” Father and son walked up the stairs together and into Chase’s bedroom. Troy closed the door behind them and then turned to his son. “Is everything alright?”

Chase sat heavily on his bed and looked down at the floor. “Yeah. I just… I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Troy had already been through this before and he was well prepared for what was about to happen. “Okay.” He moved to sit next to Chase and put a compassionate arm around him. “Is this about what we’ve talked about before?”

With a grimace, the boy replied, “yeah. In a way.”

“Okay then.” Troy offered him a small smile. “It’s okay, you know?”

Chase raised his head to meet his father’s gaze. “I’m not so sure.”

“Oh, Chase,” Troy said dismissively. “This isn’t a big deal. Not in our family. My God, how many times do you see your uncles together and it’s never been that important. All I care about is that you’re happy.”

“I know you do, but it’s not like that.”

“What’s the problem then?”

Chase sighed, feeling like he might as well go with it. “I just don’t want to disappoint you or upset you.”

Troy had the sense to not openly laugh at that idea. “There is no way you can disappoint me. I love you and you will always be my first-born son and the best thing that ever happened to me.” It suddenly occurred to him that Chase might not just be gay or bi. Maybe he’s trans! Maybe he’s been worried that that would be something so different and out of the ordinary that Chase believed that Troy would reject him. And now, he’s calling Chase “son” as if his gender is what’s important about him. “What I mean is, it doesn’t matter to me who you are, your mother and I are going to love you regardless.”

Chase shook his head. “Are you sure?”

Troy was getting frustrated at Chase’s stubbornness. “Chase, just tell me your gay. Or Bi. Or Trans. I don’t care, just tell me.”

Chase froze as his face scrunched up in complete confusion. “What?”

“It’s not like I haven’t been through this before with your uncles. Just say it and it’ll be okay. I promise, if you don’t want anyone else to know, I won’t say anything.”

Chase shook his head. “Dad… that’s not what I’m talking about.”

It was Troy’s turn to be confused. “What? It’s not?”

“No.”

Troy felt like his mental train of thought had just been abruptly derailed and he was having a hard time finding his words. “So, you’re not gay?”

“No,” Chase confirmed with a shake of his head.

“Are you bi?”

“What? No, Dad. Even if I was, I wouldn’t worry about telling you.”

Now his father was really confused. “Well, what about that talk we have a few months back about your feelings about that one guy?”

Chase blushed slightly in embarrassment. “Oh, that? Yeah. I was just pulling your leg.”

“Wait…” Troy felt his hand starting to tremble for some reason he could not quite define. “What?”

Chase managed a small grin as he explained. “Well, you were putting it on a little thick about the sex talk before that and I was telling Tanner about it. He gave me the idea of kind of pranking you about it.”

Hearing that he had been pranked and that Andy’s son was involved seemed like a sort of twisted revisit of previous pranks from his childhood. He could imagine seeing Andy laughing at him for being so gullible. “So… this isn’t about… any of that.”

With a shrug, his son replied, “sorry but no.”

Troy shook his head as if that would help clear his mind. “So, what is all of this about?”

Chase took another long breath and then said in a quieter voice, “dad… I really don’t want to work in the construction business when I grow up.”

As he absorbed his son’s words, Troy came to a number of conclusions. The first was that he was going to find a way to blame Andy for all of this. The second was that Chase was much smarter than he imagined which meant he was going to have to be on his toes during his teenage years. But the third one was the most obvious. “Chase… I don’t care.”

That wasn’t what Chase expected to hear. “You don’t?”

“No.” Troy looked at him incredulously. “What possessed you to think I would care?”

“Well,” the boy said as he groped for an answer. “I figured, since your grandfather and my grandfather and you have all ran it, I figured you expected me to carry on with it when I grow up.”

Troy closed his eyes, amazed at where this conversation went. “And you thought I was going to what? Lose my shit and start screaming and threatening you to do something you don’t want to do? Like when I made you brush your teeth before bed or when to go to bed?”

Hearing it put in that context gave Chase some pause about his concerns. “More or less,” he replied meekly.

“Okay.” Troy put his hands up as if to stop the world from turning for a moment to get all of his thoughts together before he could speak again. “First off, good job on the prank. Just remember that paybacks are a bitch. Second… God, Chase...? I don’t expect or want to control your entire life. Those are decisions you will ultimately make on your own. I would never expect to tell you or your brother or sister who they’re going to marry and when or what kind of jobs they will have.” With a sigh, he put his hand on Chase’s and said, “you’re growing up. And that means… eventually, you’re not going to need me anymore for the big stuff in your life. But that’s not a bad thing. Yes, I love you and Carter and Emily and a part of me wishes that you will always be coming home every day from now until the end of time. But rationally, I know that you will eventually start your own life and start making choices that I will have no say over. And even if it sucks that you grow up on me, it’ll also feel good knowing that I did a good job as your father and that I prepared you for when it’s time for you to go out into the world.”

Chase was having a hard time getting around the fact that his father not only didn’t mind he didn’t want to follow in the family’s footsteps but that he cursed twice in front of him. “You really mean that?”

“Yeah. When I said, ‘all I want is for you to be happy,’ I meant more than just your relationships.” Troy met Chase’s eyes to make sure he knew he was serious. “You will never disappoint me. No matter what you end up doing with your life I know you’ll do a hell of a job.”

All the tension that he had been feeling started to drain out of Chase as he smiled at his dad. “Thanks. I don’t know what I’ll do yet exactly. But when I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know.”

Troy smiled back at him and kissed his forehead. “Good.” He sat back up and instantly took on a more serious look. “Now, as for your little prank you decided to play on me, I think it’s only fair that, just in case you’re still pranking me, we’re going to have a long talk about how sex works and…” Troy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a condom. “… how one of these works.”

Chase’s eyes widened slightly in alarm. “Dad. You really don’t have to.”

“Oh no.” Troy smirked evilly. “I’ve had this talk ready in my head for months now and I’m going to give you a full run down on everything.” His smirk widened as he saw Chase’s expression get very uncomfortable. It was a necessary talk, but now Troy was going to just enjoy watching Chase squirm with every awkward biological word he was going to use.

****

Elizabeth remained rooted in her spot on the couch for an hour by herself while she waited for Troy to come back downstairs. There had been a few moments where temptation had almost gotten the better of her, prompting her to imagine sneaking up the stairs to listen in through Chase’s door. But she remained in the living room, waiting as patiently as she could while listening to the sounds in the house and her family around her.

When she heard Chase’s bedroom door open, she forced herself to stay in place as the sound of Troy’s distinct footsteps came down the stairs before he reappeared in her line of sight and sat heavily on the couch next to her. Liz’s eyes darted towards her husband, noticing his stoic, almost bored expression as he stared at the screen in front of them. She waited for him to say something about what happened in Chase’s room. But after a few breaths, her curiosity could no longer be contained. “Well?”

Troy kept his eyes on the screen in front of him as he spoke quietly. “I handled it.”

“Well, good for you,” she replied as her smile widened. “So, what’s the answer?”

“The answer to what?”

She turned towards him, smiling and annoyed at the same time. “Is he gay or what?”

Troy took a breath and let out an annoyed sigh. “No. He’s not gay. Just a smartass.”

She took a moment to let it all sink in before moving closer to lean against him. “Wow. We’re better at this whole parenting than I thought we’d be.” Troy put his arm around her shoulders and smiled.

****

It was already dark outside his office window as Kevin continued going over the information in front of him. “We may need to call it a night. My eyes are starting to fade.”

Michelle sighed, feeling as fatigued as he did. “Guess so. With Mindy’s testimony, proving reasonable doubt is going to be harder.”

“How can you be so sure?”

She gave him a meaningful look. “You were watching Kyle and Jensen question her. One thing you need to learn about criminal defense is when you’re not the one asking the questions, you should focus your eyes on the jury. When she was up there, they saw her as credible. She had their attention, and their faces were serious. When Kyle was questioning her, I noticed a few of them looking at him and not liking what they saw.”

Kevin sighed. “So, we get them back on our side when it’s our turn next week. Just have to bring out the evidence in the right order. Even if most of what we have points vaguely at someone else with no solid proof.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, I’m done for the night.” He turned towards his computer to turn it off when he noticed a notification about a new email. Curious as to who would send him something this late, he opened his inbox to see the new edition. “What the…?”

“What?”

He was already clicking on the email as he explained. “An email from a DeSean Williams.”

“Who’s that?”

“Just a guy I met a few weeks ago.” He leaned closer to the screen as he read aloud. “’I found some unused footage I never posted. Saw something from the night you were talking about. Let me know what you think.’” He clicked on the file which uploaded a short video file. It was only twenty seconds long, but it was long enough to make him groan and sit back in his seat.

“What the hell was that,” Michelle asked as she started coming around his desk.

Kevin played it again as she moved up behind him to watch for herself. After a third time, he sat back and said, “Kyle needs to see this first thing in the morning.”

“Is this what I think it is?”

Kevin looked up at her and said, “if you’re asking if it’s proof beyond a reasonable doubt that we just saw Sharon’s murderer, I’d say yes.” He sat back in his chair and glared at the screen. “Damnit.”

She blinked in surprise. “You’re upset that we may have cracked this whole thing?”

“No,” he muttered. “I’m mad that I’m gonna have to follow through on my deal with this guy.”