Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(151)

That’s what Chase wanted. A lifetime with Ava to learn the ins and outs of love. To be with her every day so they could face whatever curveballs life threw at them together. And he’d do anything and everything to make that happen.
Chase leaned closer to stroke his mother’s arm, the exact same time Quinn and Ben reached out to her too. That made her cry harder and blubber.
No one realized Gavin had stepped out until after she’d calmed down.
Gavin hadn’t gone far. His back rested against the porch support pole. He stared across the field, hands in the front pockets of his dress pants. He spoke without looking at them. “Sorry. Got to be a little much. It’s a lot to take in. I’m still not convinced coming here was the best idea.”

“So that’s the question, isn’t it? What made you seek out your birth parents now?” Ben asked.
When Gavin faced them, Chase was struck by the familiarity of Gavin’s features. Same blue eyes. His build was much like their father’s. His square chin, like Quinn’s. His mouth and nose were the same shape as Ben’s. Gavin’s hair was dark brown like their mother’s, not black like the majority of the McKays.
“I was an only child, and my mother made me promise I’d track down my birth parents after she died.” Gavin briefly glanced down at his loafers. “She wanted me to connect with my family.” His gaze moved from Quinn, to Ben, to Chase. “I hired a private detective to deal with the adoption records and tracing the whereabouts of the man and woman who gave me up. Didn’t take him long to track them since they were in the same place. Never in a million years did I imagine I’d find out my biological parents got married and had three other sons together.”

Quinn asked, “How old are you?”

“I just turned forty-one.” Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. “I live in Scottsdale, Arizona. I’m divorced and have joint custody of my fourteen-year-old daughter, Sierra. My father was a real estate developer and I went to work for him after I graduated from ASU with a business degree. He had a massive heart attack a year after my daughter was born and I inherited the company. My mother passed away a year ago.”

“I hate to be Mr. Obvious, but what happens now?” Chase asked.
“I don’t know. No offense, but this has f*cked with my head in so many ways.” Gavin expelled a quick puff of air. “Don’t get me wrong, your parents seem like nice people.”

“But?” Ben prompted.
“But that’s just it. I see the genetic similarities to them and to you guys, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel when I see it.”

How did any of them respond to that?
Ben, the peacemaker, changed the subject. When they’d exhausted conversation about weather differences and job descriptions, Chase wished they’d brought the bottle of whiskey outside with them.
“Look, Gavin, you wanna come over to my place and have a beer with us?” Ben asked.
Gavin seemed to struggle with his answer, but shook his head. “Thanks for the invite, but I really need to get back to my room and finish some work I brought along.”

“Understood. We’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Most likely.”

Gavin wandered to his car and drove off.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I need a f*ckin’ drink,” Ben said.
Chase returned inside to tell their parents they were leaving. But they weren’t in the dining room and their bedroom door was shut, so he left them alone.
As soon as they’d bellied up to the bar at Ben’s house, Chase said, “A brother.”

Quinn kept sliding his coaster on the bar top. “No shit. Never saw that one comin’. Not in a million goddamn years. It’s like, Christ. I don’t even know Mom. I can’t imagine her just handing her baby over to a stranger and goin’ on with her life.”