If only she knew! And it all concerned her. He was racking his brain, trying to come up with ways to make their affair not only workable now, but something that would continue to growand blossom in the future. There was a lot that he wasn’t ready to reveal quite yet, but he would in time. So instead, he decided to tell her something that Quinn had shared with him.
Crossing the room, he came to sit down on the sofa beside her. “I learned something tonight about Kenneth Masters.”
“Your grandfather? The same one we were discussing on our way to Quinn and Alexia’s?”
“Same one.”
“What about him?” she asked.
“Well… It appears his first wife had a child he never knew about. I remember hearing the marriage only lasted less than six months.”
“How did you find this out about the child?”
He leaned back against the sofa. “Quinn got a call from social services in Philadelphia. A twelve-year-old boy named Hayes Masters’ parents were killed when the store they owned was robbed. It appears Hayes’ father, Sonny, was Kenneth’s grandson, which makes Hayes Kenneth’s great-grandson from his first wife. Her son, Isley, was born after the divorce, and she didn’t tell Kenneth she was pregnant. I guess she didn’t like it much that he’d remarried six months after their divorce. Obviously, he didn’t like staying single too long.”
“Considering he had five wives, I’d say he didn’t like staying married long, either,” Kelly said, shaking her head.
“Seems that way. Our grandmother was his fourth wife, and he’d been her third husband.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, they weren’t role models in the marriage department. That’s why their offspring vowed not to marry until they were certain they had found the perfect mate.”
“Smart move.”
“Anyway, social services told Quinn that unless some family member comes forward to take Hayes in, he will be placed inthe foster care system. But one of Sonny’s employees recalled his boss claiming he was some kin to the man who was married to the singer Alexia Bennett-Masters. The authorities reached out to Quinn to see if that was true. When they sent Quinn a picture of the kid, Quinn knew it was. He looks too much like a Masters to be anything else. Quinn says the kid could be a triplet to Blake and Bennett.”
“So, what is Quinn going to do?” Kelly asked.
“Hayes is one of ours. We’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”
“It has to be hard on him, losing both his parents,” she said.
“Well, he’s about to discover that he’s inherited an entire village. The ‘Brothers Four’ are all flying to Philly tomorrow with the necessary paperwork. Quinn will get full custody. It will be easier, since Hayes is the same age as Idella and they are in the same grade. We’re holding a family Zoom meeting Sunday night to let the rest of the family know what’s going on.”
Kelly reached out and took his hand. “It sounds like the Masters are just as special as I found the Bennetts to be. Hayes might have lost his parents, but like you said, he’s now inherited a village.”
Later that night, after they’d made love, Colton held Kelly in his arms, studying her while she slept. She’d tried wearing him out with more new positions, but ultimately, she was the one who’d fallen asleep from exhaustion. He smiled remembering that.
It pleased him to know that she thought well of his family. Because he was determined that before long, she’d claim it as hers, as well.
CHAPTER 16
“Well, there it is,” Kelly said, sliding the report across the table to Colton. They had been back in Boston a week and the majority of that time had been behind closed doors going through what seemed like an endless amount of paperwork, comparing everything the cities had offered, and finally coming up with the document she’d just given him.
He picked it up, although he didn’t have to read it to see what city had been selected. It had been a joint decision, one they had both agreed on. The final decision had been tough--either would have been an excellent choice. Kelly’s team had done research on several vacant lots that she had noticed on their tour of Harlem, ones that hadn’t been recommended by the private company the economic agency had hired to give them the tour. That was when they’d discovered that there’d been some shady dealings going on.
It seemed the private touring company had deliberately not shown them that land because they were in cahoots with some land developer.
The economics agency claimed they knew nothing about it. And to prove they had operated in good faith, they had thrown even more perks into the deal. A vast number of them had been too good to turn down.
“And you think Lake will accept our recommendation to select New York?” she asked.
“Yes. The end result is too good to be true. Only a fool would turn it down, and Lake Masters is not a fool,” he said, standing to stretch.
“When will you meet with him?”
“I’m flying to Orlando in the morning. Will you have wrapped up everything in this office by Friday?” he asked.
