Chapter 12 - What Grant Owed.
Grant did not ask Savannah to forgive him.
That was the first thing he did right.
The second was showing up the next morning with no lawyer, no gifts, and no speech.
He sat at the rental house kitchen table while the five children ate pancakes.
No one had invited him to eat.
He did not complain.
Rose watched him for several minutes.
“Are you rich?”
Savannah nearly dropped her coffee.
Grant blinked.
“I have more money than I need.”
Rose nodded seriously.
“Then why didn't you buy a stamp?”
Ethan looked down to hide a smile.
Grant did not.
“That is a very fair question.”
Rose waited.
Grant took a breath.
“Because I believed something that made me angry, and instead of checking whether it was true, I stopped trying.”
Rose frowned.
“That was dumb.”
“Yes.”
Savannah expected Grant to add an explanation.
He did not.
Caleb stared at him.
“Are you my dad?”
The room changed.
Savannah set down her cup.
Grant looked at the boy he had never met until a funeral.
“Yes.”
Caleb's eyes filled with questions he could not organize.
“Did you know me?”
“No.”
“Did you know Mom had me?”
“No.”
“Would you have come if you knew?”
Grant looked at Savannah.
She gave him no rescue.
He looked back at Caleb.
“I want to say yes.”
Caleb waited.
“But the truth is, I don't know what the man I was then would have done.”
Savannah's breath caught.
Grant continued.
“I know what I should have done.”
Caleb stared at his plate.
“What?”
“I should have come to your mom's door and asked her to tell me the truth herself.”
Ethan's expression shifted.
It was not forgiveness.
It was the first sign that he was listening.
Grant reached into his coat and placed five envelopes on the table.
Each had a child's name on it.
Savannah's eyes narrowed.
“What are those?”
“Not money.”
He looked at the children.
“They are letters from me.”
Lily picked hers up but did not open it.
“What do they say?”
“Different things.”
Ethan folded his arms.
“Why not just say them?”
“Because some of what I owe you should not be performed in front of everyone.”
Savannah studied him.
That answer sounded like the Grant she had once loved.
Not the polished executive.
The man beneath him.
Her phone rang.
Martin.
She answered.
His voice was tense.
“The audit found another account.”
Savannah stood.
“How much?”
“That isn't the problem.”
Grant looked at her.
Martin continued.
“The account is in Ethan's name.”
Ethan froze.
Savannah's face hardened.
“He was a child.”
“I know.”
“What was it used for?”
Martin hesitated.
“To guarantee a loan.”
Grant stood now.
“For whom?”
Martin answered.
“Vanessa.”
Savannah looked at Ethan.
The boy's face had gone pale.
Grant's expression changed from grief to something steadier.
Responsibility.
“Send me every document.”
Savannah looked at him sharply.
Grant met her eyes.
“I am not asking you to trust me.”
May you like
He pointed to the phone.
“But I am going to help fix that.”
