look like him, Mom?
Cade winced at the sudden flashback, a ten-year-old boy excited and desperately eager for information.
Quickly, he pushed the memory away. “Yes.” It took a lot for him to admit even that much.
Zach smiled as if this was the greatest news in the world. “I knew it. He’s my dad, too. That means we’re half brothers.”
“He’s not my dad.”
Zach’s smile faded. “But you just said—”
“Biologically, Noah Garrity may be my father, but I don’t have a dad .”
Zach nodded, looking embarrassed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean . . . I don’t, like, know the whole story between you guys.”
“It’s a pretty short story. I met him once when I was ten, then I never saw or heard from him again.”
Zach stared awkwardly at the ground. “So that probably makes this extra-weird for you.”
Cade ran his hand over his mouth. Noah Garrity . Christ, he hadn’t thought about the man in years. And, frankly, he would’ve preferred not to have thought about him for many more.
Given the sudden appearance of the teenager sitting across from him, that plan had just been blown out of the water. “I think we can safely classify this as extra-weird, yes.” He took a moment to look Zach over, more carefully this time. The boy’s hair was a lighter brown than his, but when it came to the eyes he could’ve been looking in a mirror. “How did you find me?” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Don’t tell me Noah sent you.”
“No,” Zach said quickly. “He and my mom don’t even know I’m here. My dad . . . doesn’t like to talk about you.”
Glad to hear it’s mutual . “Then how did you figure out who I am?”
“He told me once, a long time ago,” Zach said. “I was four years old, and we were watching your Rose Bowl game. It’s the first time I can remember watching a game with my dad. He was cheering and shouting at the TV, and in the last play, when you threw that awesome pass and won the game, he grabbed me and did this stupid little dance around the coffee table.”
Zach had been smiling at the memory, but then his expression turned serious. “Then everyone realized you were hurt, and the sportscasters were talking about how you’d taken a bad hit and it could be a broken shoulder. I remember that the entire stadium was on their feet, clapping for you as the coach and trainer helped you off the field. And I looked over at my dad, and there were tears in his eyes. It was the first time I’d seen my dad cry, so I asked him if he was sad because the man on TV had gotten hurt. And then he turned to me and said, ‘That man is your brother, Zach.’”
Cade stared at him, just . . . unable to understand any of that. The kid might as well have walked into his office and told him that he was a time traveler from the future who’d been sent to save the planet from evil cyborgs, it was that surreal. He had one memory of Noah Garrity, and it ended with Noah walking out of his life for good. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Noah Garrity? From Hoffman Estates, dropped out of Conant High School?”
Zach seemed surprised by this. “He never told me he’d dropped out. I just knew that he’d played wide receiver and was some big star in high school.” He switched gears, finishing his story. “I don’t think he meant to tell me you were his son, because anytime I asked about you after that, he would change the subject. But it stuck with me, the fact that I had a brother out there. I always wondered what you might be like, and, you know, whether we might get along and stuff. Then I saw your name in the papers last week with the Senator Sanderson case, and I . . . guess I just wanted to finally meet you.”
Cade ran his hand through his hair.
He had a brother .
Since Noah had written him off, Cade had never allowed himself to speculate about the rest of the Garrity family—especially since none of them had ever reached out to him.
Until now,
Cade winced at the sudden flashback, a ten-year-old boy excited and desperately eager for information.
Quickly, he pushed the memory away. “Yes.” It took a lot for him to admit even that much.
Zach smiled as if this was the greatest news in the world. “I knew it. He’s my dad, too. That means we’re half brothers.”
“He’s not my dad.”
Zach’s smile faded. “But you just said—”
“Biologically, Noah Garrity may be my father, but I don’t have a dad .”
Zach nodded, looking embarrassed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean . . . I don’t, like, know the whole story between you guys.”
“It’s a pretty short story. I met him once when I was ten, then I never saw or heard from him again.”
Zach stared awkwardly at the ground. “So that probably makes this extra-weird for you.”
Cade ran his hand over his mouth. Noah Garrity . Christ, he hadn’t thought about the man in years. And, frankly, he would’ve preferred not to have thought about him for many more.
Given the sudden appearance of the teenager sitting across from him, that plan had just been blown out of the water. “I think we can safely classify this as extra-weird, yes.” He took a moment to look Zach over, more carefully this time. The boy’s hair was a lighter brown than his, but when it came to the eyes he could’ve been looking in a mirror. “How did you find me?” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Don’t tell me Noah sent you.”
“No,” Zach said quickly. “He and my mom don’t even know I’m here. My dad . . . doesn’t like to talk about you.”
Glad to hear it’s mutual . “Then how did you figure out who I am?”
“He told me once, a long time ago,” Zach said. “I was four years old, and we were watching your Rose Bowl game. It’s the first time I can remember watching a game with my dad. He was cheering and shouting at the TV, and in the last play, when you threw that awesome pass and won the game, he grabbed me and did this stupid little dance around the coffee table.”
Zach had been smiling at the memory, but then his expression turned serious. “Then everyone realized you were hurt, and the sportscasters were talking about how you’d taken a bad hit and it could be a broken shoulder. I remember that the entire stadium was on their feet, clapping for you as the coach and trainer helped you off the field. And I looked over at my dad, and there were tears in his eyes. It was the first time I’d seen my dad cry, so I asked him if he was sad because the man on TV had gotten hurt. And then he turned to me and said, ‘That man is your brother, Zach.’”
Cade stared at him, just . . . unable to understand any of that. The kid might as well have walked into his office and told him that he was a time traveler from the future who’d been sent to save the planet from evil cyborgs, it was that surreal. He had one memory of Noah Garrity, and it ended with Noah walking out of his life for good. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Noah Garrity? From Hoffman Estates, dropped out of Conant High School?”
Zach seemed surprised by this. “He never told me he’d dropped out. I just knew that he’d played wide receiver and was some big star in high school.” He switched gears, finishing his story. “I don’t think he meant to tell me you were his son, because anytime I asked about you after that, he would change the subject. But it stuck with me, the fact that I had a brother out there. I always wondered what you might be like, and, you know, whether we might get along and stuff. Then I saw your name in the papers last week with the Senator Sanderson case, and I . . . guess I just wanted to finally meet you.”
Cade ran his hand through his hair.
He had a brother .
Since Noah had written him off, Cade had never allowed himself to speculate about the rest of the Garrity family—especially since none of them had ever reached out to him.
Until now,
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