Chapter Three: Introductions
Despite all of his misgivings, JC found himself agreeing to visit the Castle home and mostly the children. He had the idea they might be more welcoming than Lisa. During the hospital visit where Greg revealed his plan not once had Lisa unbent enough to acknowledge JC beyond their initial greeting. It was apparent she had been as shocked by Greg’s solution to their family dilemma as he had been. He might not know Lisa now, but the Lisa she had been didn’t take kindly to nasty surprises. He had no idea why Greg had chosen to spring it on both of them at the same time.
Discovering Lisa had indeed waited for JC to contact her since she was unable to get a message to him made JC sick. Someone had been playing God to keep to couple apart. The powers-that-be had probably decided a married boybander who was about to become a father was not as sellable. And he bore his own responsibility for the lack of communication. He had blindly trusted others instead of Lisa, the one who trusted him. Certainly he could have tried harder and made more attempts to reach her. Hell, he’d practically handed her back to Greg on a silver platter!
And Greg…Greg had readily forgiven Lisa and accepted Scott wholeheartedly. JC didn’t know if he would have done the same if roles had been reversed. Didn’t that make Greg some sort of saint? JC was far from sainthood. He considered himself a good guy, but Greg had gone above and beyond for the love of Lisa. Here Greg was dying and he was still putting Lisa and their children first. Hell, Greg had practically ordered JC to marry Lisa! What kind of mortal man could do that? A selfless guy whose love was stronger than anything JC had ever seen or could even imagine. He’d always suspected Greg was a decent guy – now he was forced to respect and admire the man for his devotion to his family – and to Lisa.
Lisa…beautiful Lisa with her sightless eyes…how could God let that happen? She had always been one to explore and experience life through her eyes. She saw beauty everywhere – even in the simplest things. Lisa had been the light and color in JC’s world once upon a time. Now her world was devoid of those very same things. How did she manage her role of mother without sight? Especially if Digger was as advertise. How would Lisa survive without her devoted husband?
All this thinking was giving him a headache. He would contact the Castles after Greg was released. That was all anyone could expect from him personally. If they wanted him to kick in money to hire extra help for Lisa, he was definitely willing to help defer the cost. If they wanted him to acknowledge Scott, he’d get the necessary paternity tests done to confirm he was indeed the boy’s father. He would readily claim his son and provide for him financially. That was only fair and reasonable. He was truly sorry Greg was dying, but he was not about to let it ruin his life.
“Hello.” A young girl’s voice answered the telephone the afternoon JC called.
”I—um—hi. Is this the Castle residence?”
“Uh-huh.”
“May I speak to Greg Castle, please?”
“Daddy is resting.” The way she said it told him she would not bother her father for anything less than an earthquake.
“Then can I speak to Lisa—um—Mrs. Castle?” JC inwardly cringed. He was sure speaking with Lisa would not be pleasant.
“Hold on.”
JC heard the girl call for her mother and tell Lisa the call was for Greg.
“Hello, this is Lisa Castle.”
“Lisa, it’s JC.”
After a moment of icy silence, she said, “Hello, JC.”
“Greg asked me to call and set up a time to stop by.”
“It really isn’t necessary.”
“I promised Greg.”
“Oh, yes, I recall how dependable you are,” she scoffed.
“Believe it or not, I don’t like to break my promises.”
Lisa rubbed her forehead to ease the sudden throbbing. “When do you plan to stop by?”
“Give me a time and day that works for you. I’ll work around it.”
JC took a deep breath as he got out of his car in front of the Castle home. Though he had told Greg his idea was crazy JC wanted to see Scott. He was curious about the child Lisa had born of her teenaged love for JC. Other than that the whole thing was surreal.
He studied the house. It was large and sprawling with well-tended gardens and a white picket fence in the front. It wasn’t any new fangled, modernistic house. It had the look of a warm, noisy home. Nothing designer. The wide, covered porch was an element he could see Lisa enjoying, right down to the swing and flower pots. Stepping up to the front door, he rang the bell.
The children had been told to expect a visitor that day, so when the doorbell chimed, the two boys raced to the door.
“I get!” Digger insisted.
Young Scott rolled his eyes as his grasped the door handle. Digger couldn’t even reach that high. Swinging the door open, he saw a slender man with a mass of curly dark hair and a solemn expression.
JC was frozen in place. His son. This was his child. The resemblance to the child he had been was apparent. The hair. The eyes… Shaking his head, he smiled at the boys. “Hello.”
The smaller boy stared up with big blue eyes. “Who you?”
“I—umm—I’m JC. Who are you?”
“I Digger.”
“You’re Mom and Dad’s old friend, right?” Scott asked the stranger.
He was an old friend? Well, JC guessed they couldn’t tell the children he was ‘the guy who knocked up your mother when she was a girl’. “Yes.”
“Dad’s in the family room.” Scott indicated JC should follow him as he pushed the door closed.
“Dis way!” Digger reached for JC’s hand to pull him along.
JC laughed. “Whoa, little dude, don’t pull my arm off.” He looked around the house. It had an easy, mellow charm with lots of natural wood. It just quietly declared ‘I am a home for children!’ It smelled of wood polish and sugar cookies. How did Lisa manage a big house and four young children when she was blind?
The family room was large and sunlit. The wooden floors gleamed and the furniture had been chosen for comfort and durability.
Greg sat on one of the matching sofas facing each other across the coffee table. The youngest girl sat on her father’s lap and the dark-haired girl sat on his right. Young Krista showed every sign of being a beauty like her mother.
“JC! Come on in.” Greg greeted the other man warmly and waved him to the sofa across from him. “I see you’ve met the boys.”
“Digger introduced himself.” JC said as he sat down. Promptly the youngest boy crawled onto his lap. JC extended his hand to Scott. “Scott, I presume. Pleased to meet you.”
Scott briefly shook the stranger’s hand then went to sit on his father’s left.
Greg stroked Krista’s cap of dark hair. “This is the new princess in my life. As you recall Lisa was my princess when she was younger. Since Krista is the image of her beautiful mother, she is my princess now.”
Krista beamed at her father.
Greg jostled the little girl whose face was buried in his shirtfront because of the stranger. “And this sweet flower is Bess. Guys, this is JC. He knew Mom and I before you were born.”
Digger peered up at JC. “Old,” the boy pronounced him.
JC chuckled. He supposed next to Digger he did seem old. “I’m the same age as your mom.”
“Old,” the boy confirmed.
“Digger,” Krista scolded.
“I see the Shasta influence,” JC remarked.
“You knew Shasta?” Scott asked, his interest in the strange peeked.
“Very well in fact. She got a piece of me any number of times.” It had been as if the little dog knew Lisa didn’t belong with JC.
“Shasta was the grande dame around here,” Greg told him. “She was very watchful of the kids.”
“I still miss her sometimes,” Scott said.
“That’s understandable,” JC assured him.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, JC asked, “Where’s Lisa?”
“She’s in the kitchen. She was in the mood to bake cookies this afternoon.”
“She still…I mean her sight…”
“Lisa adapted very quickly to her loss of sight.” Greg answered. “She had to. She had four children who needed their mother.”
“That’s fantastic. So very Lisa.” It didn’t surprise JC that Lisa hadn’t let an inconvenience like blindness interfere with her being a mom. Having a family of her own had always been her dream. “How did it happen?”
“She was in a car accident when the twin’s were about six months. We almost lost her.”
The news made JC’s stomach lurch sickly. A world without Lisa? And with Greg getting sick a year and a half later…the poor kids. “I’m glad you didn’t,” he said quietly.
“Thank you.”
More awkward silence.
How did one go about acquainting himself with children who seemed to be closing ranks around their sick father? With the exception of Digger, whom JC suspected would climb on anyone’s lap, the children kept their distance.
“Why don’t you guys go to the kitchen and get Mom to release some of those cookies,” Greg suggested to the children. “Tell her JC and I have some guy stuff to talk about.”
Krista rose and took Bess’ hand as Greg set her on her feet. Scott came over to retrieve his little brother. “C’mon, squirt.”
“I not skirt,” Digger protested.
Both men watched the exodus.
Greg waited until they were out of earshot before he spoke again. “So what do you think?”
“That Digger is the only one who remotely wants me here,” JC said bluntly.
“You have to remember the older two remember their mother as sighted. We all had adjustments to make. It was hard on them. They’ve become very protective of family. They tend to circle the wagons. And they know I’m sick. It is another thing they’ve had to deal with.”
“Bet they’ll need therapy,” JC murmured grimly.
“That’s why I want another male they can bond with around before I die. I don’t know if they can take one more blow.”
“You have to know how ridiculous this is, Greg. Plus the fact Lisa hates my guts.”
“I sincerely doubt that. She was hurt at your desertion – scared, alone and pregnant. And now she probably thinks anything she might feel for you betrays me.”
“And you don’t.”
“I don’t have the luxury of ego here. Don’t think for a minute that if I weren’t dying, I would let you within a mile of Lisa or our kids. But I am dying and I believe you’re the one who needs to be here for them.”
“What makes you so sure I’ll agree to all of this?”
“Scott is your blood. That means something to you. I saw the way you watch him. You still feel something strong for Lisa. I watched your face the other day. You were jealous when she kissed me. When you realized she was blind, I could see your heart break for her.”
JC wanted to deny Greg’s observations, but he couldn’t. Taking on a blind Lisa was one thing. Acknowledging Scott was doable. But adding three more kids to the mix? “How do you know I’m father material?”
“Lisa is a born nester. She wouldn’t have fallen for any guy incapable of being a dad.”
Another thing JC could not refute. He did like children. He wanted a wife and family. That had been one of his far off, someday goals. A blind wife and a ready-made brood hadn’t been part of that equation.
“I realize I can’t make you do this things, no way that is legally binding. I’m trying to appeal to the decent guy in you. I’m asking you to try it on for size. So come around. Be part of the family. Make amends with Lisa.” Greg showed a brief flash of pain before he continues quietly. “Court Lisa. Win her over.”
This surprised JC. “Greg, I can’t just—”
“Yes, you can. You do it. For Lisa, for the kids, for my peace of mind. Hell, if you wanted to marry her right now, I’d get a quickie divorce—”
“No!”
Both men looked up to see a pale, shaken Lisa in the entryway of the room. “Lisa…” they both said.
“Gregory James Castle, how could you say such a thing?” Lisa wanted to know.
Rising Greg went to her. He put an arm around her trembling shoulders and guided her to the sofa. “I can say such a thing because I have been handed a death sentence,” he told her bluntly. “I love you enough to let you go.”
“I don’t want you to let go,” she whispered tearfully
“Neither of us has a choice,” he reminded her grimly.
JC watched them, his heart aching for them. He didn’t know if he could be so selfless if faced with Greg’s plight. In spite of the fact he had played his own part in nearly destroying the couple in his youth, he could plainly see the love and devotion between them. Instead of denying his fate, Greg was trying to insure his family’s future emotional stability.
Uneasy, JC rose and announced. “I think I’ll say goodbye to the kids and head out.”
“Thank you for coming by today, JC.” Greg stood and walked the other man to the kitchen. “Hey, guys, JC is leaving.”
For the most part, the children mumbled their farewells around cookies – except Digger. He hopped down from his chair and grinned up at JC. “Come soon?”
With a smile, JC ruffled the boy’s curls. He could get used to this kid. “Sure, little dude.”
Digger beamed. “I dude!” he proclaimed.