Page 16 of Emergence: Prequel
Dad came up and stood next to me, “This is my dad, Red; he’s either your grandfather or father. Same goes for me; I’m either your father or uncle. Even if you weren’t related to us, we’d still want to offer you a place to stay if you wanted out of here.”
“Ford,” Dad held out his hand to shake Ford’s, who was looking more and more shaken.
Ford shook it, “There’s nothing I’d like more than to get out of here, but I can’t. It’s not just me.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded, just as a cry went up. Looking tiredly at me, Ford replied, “That’s what I mean,” before turning and disappearing into the trailer, leaving the door open. I took that to mean that we were invited in, so I walked up the steps and into the small space that was kept clean and tidy. In the back, towards the bedrooms, we could hear Ford talking to what I assumed was his baby.
Dad and I exchanged a look. “No matter what, he’s coming home with us,” he uttered quietly.
I agreed. There was no way I was leaving him here by himself, not with an infant. I wondered where the child’s mother was.
Ford walked down the hallway carrying the baby, and my heart took another tumble. Seems I was a sucker for girls because I seemed to be collecting them. She was perfect: dark hair, rosebud lips, plump cheeks, and bright blue eyes.
He stopped when he realised we were in his house. Jostling the little girl in his arms, he explained, “This is why I’m not sure you’ll want me to come with you. This is Poppy; she’s my sister. Nobody knows about her because Mom had her here when nobody was home. I came home from school to find my mother dead on the bathroom floor and Poppy crying weakly.
“The trailer park might not look like much to most, but we look after each other. I knew that if social services found out, they’d take her from me, so my neighbours and I buried Mom over in the far corner, and we’ve all been looking after Poppy so that I can still go to school. Well, the ones I trust with her have been helping,” he explained.
Holding out my hands to Poppy, she came to me with no hesitation, just a great big smile.
“Sounds like you have a pretty great big brother,” I told her as I watched Ford go to the kitchen and expertly get a bottle ready for her. I took it from him as soon as he was back and offered it to Poppy. It had been a few years since my nieces were little, but it was a bit like riding a bike; it all came back naturally.
Dad was enviously eyeing Poppy in my arms as I fed her. “You can have her next,” I told him with a smirk.
“I should have her now and you can sort Ford out; you need to get a prospect here with a cage so we can get them home and phone your Old Lady,” he grumbled, holding out his arms for her. Ford was watching us with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape as we argued over who got to hold his sister.
But the old man was right; I had things to do, even if cuddling babies was preferable. “Here,” I transferred Poppy to Dad, not that she seemed fazed at being passed around.
Turning my attention back to Ford, I clasped his shoulder, “I’m giving you an option to come with us to the clubhouse. We’ll look after you both. I don’t want to leave you here, especially knowing you are family. Poppy is welcome. But it’s your choice; I won’t force you, but know that we’ll be checking on you constantly because not only did you save my Rosie yesterday, you’re our blood and we don’t turn our back on family no matter what.”
For the first time since we’d arrived, Ford looked like the kid he was as he sank down on the couch and stared at us in disbelief.
“Really?” he asked shakily, his eyes straying to his sister, who was happy as a lark in Dad’s arms. “Both of us?”
“Really,” I reassured him. “The first thing to do is get you back to the clubhouse; my Old Lady already told me before we left that I was to bring you home with me. So that’s what I’m doing. We’ll sort the paperwork for Poppy out as soon as I can speak to our tech guy, Hard-Drive. If you want, we can do a DNA test, but I have to be honest—I think you’re my nephew because my dad didn’t mess around on my mom and I was careful with who I spent time with. Either way, you’re our family,” I waved my hand between Dad and me, who nodded in agreement. “And we’d really like it if you came home with us.”
He thought hard about what I’d offered, his eyes continuously moving towards Dad and Poppy. Finally, he looked at me, “Is my dad going to have an issue with us coming with you?”
Sighing, I squatted down in front of him, laying my hand on his knee, “I’m sorry, Ford. I know you didn’t know my brother, but he died a few years ago. It’s just me, Dad, and my sister, Lizzie, now and you have three cousins.”
Disappointment crossed his face when he heard about Chains, but then he sat up straight. Even without growing up around us, he was an Ivor through and through, just from the way he seemed to pull himself together. Here I’d been worrying about who was going to take over from me when I retired as Pres; now it seems like that was one worry I didn’t need to have. He may not be my son, but I’d treat him as such if that’s what he wanted.
“Cousins, huh?” he smiled at me.
“Yup, you probably know them as you all go to the same school. There’s Maura, Chrissie, and RJ, although he’s a bit younger so you may not know him. Then Stacey, my Old Lady, has two children: Rosie, who you know, and her brother, Kyle, who’s outside. He says you know him.”
“Yeah, I do. Is Rosie okay? You need to speak to the girls; things could have gone really bad yesterday if those four had got the upper hand. They’d have been better calling for help.”
Giving him a pat on the shoulder, I stood up, “I know, and I’ll be having a chat, but not just yet. For now, I’m just glad they’re safe, and from what I understand, we have you to thank for that. So, son, are you coming with us or are you staying?”
Again, he studied me seriously, “Check with your Old Lady about Poppy; if she says it’s okay, then we’ll come.”
“Boy,” Dad interrupted him, “even if Stace didn’t want you in their house—which I know won’t be the case—my grandchildren will always have a home with me.”
“What about Poppy?”
This kid, all his worry was about his sister, not about himself. I couldn’t have been prouder of him than if he’d been my actual son.
But Dad wasn’t finished giving him a lecture on family and what it meant; it didn’t always mean blood either.