Page 40 of Shuttered Hearts

“Sure, be home before dinner, and clean your plate before you go.”

“Okay.” Max jumps up from the table and hurries to rinse his plate and put it in the dishwasher before rushing out of the room.

“That boy never slows down.” Scott shakes his head, and we all laugh. We hear the front door slam behind him, and are all quiet, likely thinking about the tough conversation we’re about to have.

“Do you want to talk about it now or wait?” Ava asks gently. “I plan on sticking around for a while, so whatever you want to do is fine with me.”

“No, let’s get it out of the way,” Scott says before anyone else can talk.

“Do you have the papers you were served?” she asks him.

“I’ve got them,” Quinn says, standing from the table and going to the drawer in the kitchen where she placed them last night. I stand to clean up as everyone else gets situated around the table. “What are you doing?” Quinn reaches for my arm as she comes back to the table.

“I’m going to clean up while you all talk,” I tell her quietly.

“Declan, you can be here for this conversation,” Caleb says when he notices me standing.

“I’m not going anywhere. I can still hear you from the sink. I’m just going to clean up.” I don’t wait for his response and move to the sink, placing the dishes in my hand on the counter before going back to clear more away.

“Okay. Declan filled me in on a bit of the history, but I’d like to hear about it from you, Scott,” Ava says as she reaches into her bag hanging off the chair she’s sitting in, and pulls out a notebook.

“What do you need to know?”

“You’re not Max’s biological father, correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“But until recently, he thought you were?”

I turn to the sink and begin rinsing the dishes I’ve piled around me before loading them into the dishwasher while listening to them.

“Correct.”

“Was that solely your decision, or was Nicole part of that conversation?”

“Does that matter?” I hear Caleb ask.

“Everything matters, but I’m trying to understand the history right now.” I look over and see Ava put her pen down to give Caleb and Quinn her full attention. “Based on what I know, there’s not a chance in hell a judge grants custody to Nicole, but I have to be able to present them with the evidence to support that decision. To do that, I have to know the facts.” She’s quiet,allowing them to absorb what she’s just said. “I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you all, but I promise I will do everything in my power to get this done as quickly as I can.”

“It's okay if you two need to step away so Ava can ask these questions,” Scott tells them.

“No, we’re fine,” Quinn says, glancing at Caleb before focusing back on Ava.

“Okay. Scott, who decided not to tell Max about his biological father?” Ava asks, picking up her pen. I turn back to the dishes.

“It was Nicole who asked we not tell Max. She didn’t want anyone to know the truth. We never directly addressed who his father was. We let the entire town think whatever they wanted. It wasn’t their business to know.”

“Did Nicole ever tell you who his biological father was?”

“No. She was afraid of what he would do if he found out she was pregnant with his child.” He pauses. “She thought the fewer people who knew, the better.”

“Did you sign the birth certificate?”

“No. I didn’t want to lie on a legal document. She entered unknown on the birth certificate.”

“Okay. But you’ve since legally adopted him?”

“Yes. After Nicole left, I reported her for abandoning Max. I went through all the appropriate channels and applied for emergency foster placement for Max. They didn’t fight it since he had been living with me since he was born. It was a few years after that when I was able to officially adopt him.”

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