While Kai shook his head in disbelief, Mason stood at his desk. Slowly walking around it, he quietly said, “I am your biological father, Kai. That is what Nate wanted you to know.”
The world started shifting, spinning on its axis in a different direction. Lights darkened, and all Kai knew for sure was that he needed to get out of here before everything imploded. He started backing up, away from Mason, this complete stranger…who was nothing to him. Nothing! “No…you’re demented.” He pointed a shaking finger at Mason. “Nate Harper is my father!”
Mason took small steps toward him, palms beseeching. “Not by blood, Kai.” Kai backed up until he hit the door; he was still shaking his head. Mason sighed. “I know this is hard to accept. I only recently found out myself. But it’s true, Kai. Genetically, I am your father.”
Pressing flat against the door, feeling like it was the only thing holding him up, Kai whispered, “No…there’s been some mistake…”
With a sad smile on his face, Mason put a hand on Kai’s shoulder. Kai flinched away from his touch, and Mason dropped his fingers. “I thought so too at first, Kai. But Nate had you tested when you were younger.” Mason shook his head. “I’m sorry, but you’re not his. And to the best of my knowledge, that leaves only me.”
Kai opened his mouth to protest, then he shut it. Arguing without proof on either side was pointless. And what he’d just said, struck a chord and opened a painful memory. His gaze drifted to the floor. “When I was younger…” When he looked back up to Mason, moisture was heavy in his eyes. “Is that why my parents got divorced? He found out the truth?”
Mason paused, then nodded. “Yes. He couldn’t forgive her for what she’d…for what we had done. But know that her love for you never faltered, Kai. And…if it makes any of this easier for you…you were conceived with a great depth of love, on both sides.” His hand once again reached out for Kai, but dropped before connecting.
Kai let his head rest against the door behind him. He was shaking. He couldn’t stop the reaction. Everything he’d known, everything he’d believed…was a lie. Quiet filled the room, and when Mason spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion.
“I didn’t want to tell you this, Kai. Honestly, at first, I didn’t even want to be bothered with it.” Kai’s gaze snapped to Mason’s, and he shrugged. “I’ve spent the bulk of my life alone. I know nothing about kids, and I have no clue how to be a father. My work is my life…and I like it that way.” He smiled warmly at Kai, and Kai could again see tears brewing in the older man’s eyes. “But meeting you, working with you. Seeing your passion and integrity…I have grown to deeply respect and admire you, Kai, and I would be proud to call you son.” His voice broke after he squeezed that out.
Kai blinked, and a tear almost escaped his eye. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Up was down, down was up. “But you hate me,” he whispered.
Now Mason blinked. He took a step toward Kai, but again stopped himself from touching him. “Oh, no, I never hated you, Kai.” He shrugged. “You were just…thrust on me, and I didn’t know how to deal with the…situation.” Looking down at the floor, he sighed. “I had a hard time dealing with what I had been asked to do. I knew it would change you, hurt you, and regardless of what I’ve done in my past…I’m not a cruel man.” Mason returned his gaze to Kai. The regret in his eyes was clear. “I was torn, but I never blamed you or hated you. Ever. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. It was not my intention.” Smiling he added, “You’re an incredible asset here. Improbable as it sounds, I hope you stay.”
Kai couldn’t even ponder the possibility of staying. He couldn’t ponder much of anything at the moment. His entire world was wisp and smoke, intangible. “I don’t believe this…” His hands came up to run through his hair, then an idea struck him. He pushed away from the door. “Did you see the test results?”
Mason blinked in surprise, then shook his head. “No…but, I don’t really need to.”
Kai narrowed his eyes. Why would a man of science not need proof? “Why?”
Mason gave him a wry smile, as he pointed to Kai’s eyes. “Let’s just say that I see a lot of similarities.”
Kai shook his head, he couldn’t accept that limited connection. “Because of our eye color? That’s not good enough.” Stammering a bit, he looked around the room, searching for something to make his world solid again. “I need proof. I need a test.”
Mason’s smile turned prideful. It was an expression Kai wasn’t used to seeing on him. “Always the scientist. Yet another way we are alike.” Before Kai could comment, Mason shrugged. “We have the machines here. I could test us now, Kai, if that would ease your mind.”