Carlos would be by in the morning to take Aaron’s statement, but he did say that Cage had paternal rights the moment paternity was confirmed.
As Angel got Aaron situated on the couch, Cage pulled out his computer and started looking for family lawyers. He didn’t care what it took or how much it cost. He was getting custody of his son.
Conversion camp? What the ever-loving fuck. He didn’t even realized places like that still existed.
“You can’t blame yourself.”
“I sent money to those fuckers yesterday,” Cage snapped. He was sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop in front of him. “I’ve been paying for those fucking bigots to raise my son.”
Angel’s arms came around his shoulders. “I know,” she said softly. He felt her lips against his cheek. “But he’s here. He’s safe.”
“I should have gone after him years ago.”
Angel let out a deep sigh and then moved in front of him. She sat down and took his hand on the table. “You think I don’t blame myself for what happened to Amber? We weren’t close, but she was still my twin. She felt what I felt and vice versa. I will never know what she went through those last two days of her life, but I know she was scared.
“We can’t change the past, Cage. We can only change how to react to it in the present and the future. We are here for Aaron now. We will be here for Aaron tomorrow. Show him your unwavering support and love. Show him the type of man he should aspire to be.”
Cage looked over at Angel for the first time. “You truly are amazing, you know.”
She smiled. “I know.” She stood up. “Come to bed. I’ll make some calls in the morning too. We’ll get custody of Aaron. I promise.”
Cage stood, allowing her to pull him from the table and his computer. “You know, I made good on my end of the deal, but you still never did tell me how you got Bree’s identity faked so quickly and so perfectly.”
Angel smiled back at him. “Fuck me again and I’ll tell you.”
“Oh, yeah?” He pulled her back against his chest. “Should I fuck you right here, right now? I’ll be building up credit then, since you were the one who didn’t hold up your end of the bargain last time.”
A voice came from the living room. “Um, still here, guys.”
Angel’s cheeks reddened but Cage just smiled.
The only downside about spending so much time in Uncle Bulldog’s house was the fact that it didn’t have the amenities her own did. As Bree rolled herself down the ramp to the sidewalk, she wished that Cassie’s room was on the first floor. It wasn’t the end of the world, but she didn’t like having to be carried up and down the stairs. At least they had had a ramp to their front door put in.
Bree didn’t know where Angel and Cage had gone last night with most of the club. But she’d been around the club and was old enough to understand that sometimes, you just don’t ask questions. It was safer.
As she pushed herself up the ramp to her house, Angel opened the front door for her. “Got a surprise for you.”
Bree raised an eyebrow at her mom. “Oh yeah?”
Angel pulled her backpack off of the back of her chair. It had her bathroom supplies, pajamas, and toiletries in it. Bree had to take a daily prescription pill to help her defecate on a schedule in the mornings. She also needed to take supplements like iron, cranberry, and magnesium. Angel pulled her pill caddy out of Bree’s bag before tossing the pack onto the table by the front door. In other homes, items could be tossed around on the floor and picked up later, but Bree needed the floor to be clean and clear for her to get her chair around easily.
Angel led Bree into the kitchen, where Cage and—Bree’s eyes went wide—a miniature Cage sat. Actually, miniature was incorrect. The teenager was huge, but he was a replica of Cage. Bree knew immediately that this was the kid that Cage suspected he’d fathered in high school. As she watched the two men pile pancakes into their mouths in an identical fashion, a wave of unexpected jealousy hit her.
When Angel had told Bree about her miscarriage, she’d been upset for Angel. She didn’t feel like she’d lost out on something herself because she hadn’t known about the baby before she’d been gone. It was sad but not devastating for Bree as it had been for Angel. However, it did make Bree think. She liked the idea of having a younger sibling. It would make their family more whole.
The fact that the first feeling she felt upon meeting Cage’s son was jealousy took her by surprise. She shouldn’t feel jealous. She knew that. She should be feeling excited and happy. Maybe a little nervous and apprehensive about the future, but not jealous.
Except…
Bree loved Angel. She was the first person to stand up for Bree, to fight for her, in her entire life. She had taken Bree in and given her so much, including knowing what it felt like to be loved by a mother. Not a foster mother, but a mom.
Cage, though, had given Bree something that Angel couldn’t. Regardless of how much Angel had fought, it had been Cage who had saved Bree’s life. His selfless actions in giving her one of his kidneys had given her a fighting chance.
But she wasn’t his kid. Regardless that Cage had plans to adopt her, she wasn’t his kid. For some unknown reason, Bree hadn’t felt upset or angry when she’d learned about Cage and Angel’s baby or their plans to try again in the future.
And yet Bree felt displaced by this teenager who looked so much like his father when she didn’t even know his name or how long he planned on staying?
Angel, not noticing Bree’s inner turmoil, put a hand on Bree’s shoulder. “Baby, this is Aaron, Cage’s son. He’s going to be moving in with us. Aaron, this is Bree, my daughter.”