Xavier stayed at the hospital for about an hour. He spent nearly half of it talking with Claire, his voice light and full of warmth. The other half, he sat with Cassidy while Claire was resting, their quiet conversation filling the room with a kind of ease Zeke couldn't bring himself to interrupt.
Zeke couldn't stand watching Xavier share those moments with Claire and Cassidy. But what could he do? The bond they had with Xavier ran far deeper than what he had with either of them.
After Xavier left, Raymond entered Claire's room.
Cassidy was startled to see him, and Raymond, in turn, froze the moment he saw Zeke, Cassidy's ex-husband. The tension in the room shifted instantly. More than that, Zeke's presence seemed to confirm what Raymond had quietly suspected.
Claire was his. His daughter with Cassidy.
Raymond walked over to Cassidy, his voice low but firm. "I just heard about Claire from Georgia. Why didn't you tell us?"
