*
After giving each of them bear hugs, Sheppard gazed into the eyes of the three men he was proud to claim as his sons. When he’d left them in the care of their grandfather fifteen years ago, they had been young—too young to fully understand the impact his incarceration would have on their lives. Unfortunately, they’d had to learn the hard way that some people they had thought were friends truly weren’t, and that when the going got tough, those fake friends were the first to get going. But through it all, they had survived. They had bright futures ahead of them, and he couldn’t risk anything happening to those futures just to prove his innocence.
“Dad,” Jace said in a soft tone, filled with emotion. “It’s good seeing you.”
“Yeah, Dad, it’s always good to see you,” Caden tacked on.
“Dad, I—”
He held up his hand to stop whatever words Dalton was about to say. “Doesn’t matter, son. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters to me. It’s good seeing all three of you. Come, let’s sit down. We need to talk and agree on a few things.”
“We’ll talk, Dad, but we’re not sure we’ll agree,” Jace said, moving forward to take the first chair.
Sheppard waited until all three sons were seated before taking the chair across from them. As usual, Ambrose Cheney stood at the door. The man was more to Shep than just a prison guard. Over the years, they’d become friends. Ambrose had three sons who were the same ages Shep’s sons had been when he’d been sent away. Ambrose never enforced the “no touching” policy whenever Shep’s sons came to visit, because he fully understood the need for bear hugs.
“I guess you know we’ve met your new attorney,” Dalton didn’t waste time saying. “She’s a very nice-looking woman, and it’s obvious she’s smart.”
Sheppard smiled. “Yes, Carson is very attractive and a superb attorney. She’s also intelligent and trustworthy.”
“She’s also in love with you,” Dalton said, ignoring the kick to the leg he received under the table from Caden.
Sheppard stared across the table at his sons, who were staring back. “I’m in love with her, as well.” As if his relationship with Carson was a closed subject, he quickly moved on to the next. “I understand you’ve met Striker, Stonewall and Quasar.”
Caden nodded. “Nice guys.”
“No-nonsense types,” Jace chimed in.
“Real badasses,” Dalton added. When his brothers frowned over at him, he raised his chin. “Well, they are.”
“They’re good men,” Sheppard said, his gaze moving from one son to the other. “I would trust them with my life, though I wish I didn’t have to trust them with yours.”
Dalton thought that statement said a lot. “You should have told us about them.”
“I couldn’t. I needed to keep the three of you safe.”
Caden shook his head. “We aren’t kids who need protecting, Dad.”
Sheppard nodded. “Not kids, but you do need protecting.”
“Why?” Jace asked. “Because of some email you received?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll protect ourselves. Thanks to you and Granddad, we’ve gone hunting enough times to know how to handle firearms.”
“That might not be enough. You have no idea what your mother was involved in.”
Dalton lifted a brow and met his father’s gaze. “Do you?”
Eleven
The entire room grew quiet, and all eyes were on Sheppard, studying his expression to see what sort of reaction Dalton’s question had engendered. Sheppard drew in a deep breath, deciding to be completely honest.