Enduring all of that must have been hell. Jake couldn’t help but admire Ace for making his way through it so well.
“Are you ready?” Ace asked. “They’re all eager to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Jake replied, pretending his stomach wasn’t clenched into knots. As if she knew, Fiona slipped her arm through his, offering her physical support.
Then the introductions started. An older man with silver hair moved slowly over, leaning on a cane. “Damn bandages,” he muttered. He stepped forward, his gaze intense as he shook Jake’s hand. This must be his father, Payne, with his latest wife, Genevieve, standing slightly behind him, her expression both concerned and friendly.
His father. Jake had never figured he’d even know his father’s name, never mind meet him. Wary, a bit uncertain, Jake eyed the older man, not sure what to say or how to act.
Before Jake and Payne could even exchange words, the older man enveloped Jake in a gruff, partial hug. “Sorry, I’m still a bit sore,” Payne said. “We’ve known about your existence a good while now, though we had no idea who you’d turn out to be. You don’t know how good it is to finally meet you.”
“Same here,” Jake replied.
Ace clapped both men on the back. “First we all got an anonymous email, letting us know I was switched with another infant in the hospital. Next, some guy named Jace Smith claimed to be the Colton baby that was switched.” Ace shook his head. “This must have infuriated Micheline, because she eventually waltzed into our office and announced she’d been the one to do it and she alone knew who was the missing Colton heir.”
Spoken without a single note of rancor or bitterness. Again, Jake couldn’t help but admire the man.
“I’m almost glad I was in a coma for most of this,” Payne said. When he raised his head to look into Jake’s face, Payne’s eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “She’s a piece of work, that Micheline. I wish you could have met Tessa,” he said, his voice breaking. “Your mother. You look so much like her. She died from lung cancer years ago, when all three of her children were young. She was kind, loved animals and had a big heart. She was an amateur photographer, always with the camera. Pretty damn good at it, too. She would have been thrilled to meet you.”
Rummaging in his pocket, he pulled out a wallet and extracted a creased photograph. “This was her, holding who we thought was Ace in the hospital. She had no idea any of this ever happened.”
Accepting the snapshot, Jake’s breath caught in his chest. His mother had been beautiful, with long, dirty-blond hair and a kind, expressive face. Tessa. The woman who’d carried him, birthed him and lost him, had never known her baby had been switched. And now she never would. Jake couldn’t believe she was dead. Ace must have forgotten to mention that. Jake nodded, struggling to find the right words. To his surprise, tears stung the backs of his eyes, too. “She’s lovely,” he managed, passing the photograph back. “I would have loved to meet her.”
“I would have liked that as well,” the old rancher said. Turning slowly, he eyed Ace and beckoned him over. “You’re both my sons, no matter what. Please understand that.”
Ace smiled. “Thanks, Dad.” He raised his head and sniffed the air. “That food smells insanely good. When are we going to eat?”
“Let Jake meet the others first,” Payne chided, seemingly oblivious to the way his current wife continued to glare at his back. “Come on, Jake. Let me introduce you and your lovely friend to the rest of the family.”
Grabbing Fiona’s hand, Jake followed his father. He met his full sister Ainsley, an attorney for Colton Oil, and her fiancé, fellow lawyer Santiago Morales. Next his brother Grayson, a first responder who kept his arm around his date, Savannah. Then his younger half sister, Marlowe, a pretty blonde who said she was the current CEO of Colton Oil, her fiancé, Bowie, and their baby son, Reed. Her twin Callum, a muscular man who said he worked as a bodyguard, appeared with his live-in love, Hazel, and her daughter, Evie. Hazel was a chef and had prepared their dinner this evening. Ace’s daughter Nova, visibly pregnant, smiled shyly while her beau, Nikolas, shook Jake’s hand. Rafe Colton, Payne’s adopted son, was there with his fiancée, Detective Kerry Wilder, and so were Marlowe’s and Callum’s brother, Asher, and his love, Willow, with their baby daughters. Jake also met a petite, slender woman with reddish-blond hair named Sierra Madden, Ace’s girlfriend. Triplet cousins Spencer, Bella, and Jarvis Colton—along with their respective partners, Katrina, Holden, and Mia, plus Mia’s son, Silas—were also in attendance.
Selina, Payne’s second wife, had apparently declined to attend, as Jake saw no sign of her.
By the time the introductions had finished, Jake felt better. He’d give himself a fifty-fifty shot at remembering the names, but everyone seemed kind and easygoing.
“Time for dinner,” Genevieve announced, her soft voice matching her large, kind eyes. They all traipsed after her to a large formal dining room. Inside, an amazing Western-style, cedarwood table had been set with plates of every color. The decor seemed like a mix between Western and a Mexican fiesta. Elegant, yet homey. He liked it a lot.
“Fiestaware,” Fiona breathed. “My favorite.”
“There are place cards on the table,” Genevieve continued, her formal tone softening some as she looked at the twins. “I know Hazel has prepared an amazing meal for us tonight.”
With much scraping of chairs, they all sat down to eat. Looking around at his new family, a sense of peace settled in Jake’s heart. These, he thought, were his people. Someday he might be able to sit at this table and feel as if he belonged here. Tonight would be the start of something good.
Chapter 8
“You know what? I don’t want to go back to the AAG center,” Fiona murmured, her head resting comfortably on Jake’s broad shoulder, after dinner. “That was some seriously good company. And the food...” She rolled her eyes, even though he couldn’t see. “Wow. Just wow.”
“Better buckle up,” he advised, smoothing her hair away from her face. The husky note in his voice heated her blood. “You know as well as I do that we both have to go back.”
He was right. After all, they couldn’t sit in the Colton ranch and make out like a couple of horny kids in the front seat of his truck. With great reluctance, she slid back into the passenger side and fastened the seat belt. “Did you enjoy yourself?” she asked.
“Yeah, I haven’t tasted carne asada that good outside of a pricey restaurant,” he replied.
She glanced up at him. He stared straight ahead, his concentration on the road as he drove, but there’d been a hint of remoteness in his voice. As if he’d shut down to avoid dealing with what surely had to be a tangled web of emotions.
Her phone pinged, indicating a text. Can you talk? Holden texted.
“I need to make a call,” she told Jake. “Work related. It’ll just take a second.” Then, instead of texting Holden back, she punched in the number to call him.