Perpetual Devotion (Book 4 in the Original BOC Series) ✔

Chapter Thirty-Three

The moment Nathan turned into his driveway with Jennings and Van in the backseat, he heard the couple's chatter cease. He glanced in his rear view mirror to see both looked in awe... or at least that was part of their expression. Another part of them looked almost... shocked... or something close to reminiscent. It was hard to distinguish without asking the pair.

When he did ask if they were alright, Van was the first to speak.

The man's eyes were still trained on the house, but he mumbled something close to an apology for acting so strange. The blonde woman beside him was no different. Her brown eyes were tearing up; exactly as they did with her visits from Max and Van. Again, Nathan received an apology before Jennings sat closer to the edge of her seat with a hand on his seat's shoulder while the other kept her mouth company.

The Sergeant faced his home, examining it for anything in particular that would stand out. But there wasn't, other than it being a three story.

"It's our home."

Nathan's head whipped around, his brow lifted and his green eyes wide.

"S'cuse me?"

Van nodded in confirmation to Jennings' claim, his eyes not meeting the other man's. He swallowed, his own eyes becoming blurry with long ago memories. He then began to explain to Nathan that he'd began building the house a month after Jennings had admitted about her pregnancy. There was a special basement built in case of an emergency that had a secret compartment of his and Jennings' weaponry.

"This was where Max was born." Jennings whimpered, her turn to explain.

She spoke of the time Van was a wanted criminal so Jennings couldn't have her baby in a hospital without her son's father being turned in because of his name.

She nodded, sighing shakily, "And he's been kept in his own home all this time... and didn't even know it."

Without another word, Jennings scrambled out of the car while Van hurried out to catch her before she could make it all the way to the front door. Nathan remained in the car, staring silently at the couple; one of them trying to comfort his blonde woman sobbing into his shirt.

What were the odds of Nathan having raised his family in a house that belonged to none other than his former co-worker?

The place had been abandoned for years; information Nathan got from the Realtor in the city. No one had wanted it because of the long drive out, but he and Mara had thought it was perfect to raise Darla and her brother. It just couldn't stop amazing him that Max had been home all this time.

Once he had managed to remove himself from the car, Nathan walked over to the couple with a small smile. He side glanced at the vehicles parked in the drive; seeing that Graham was still here; and was going to have to be relieved to head back to the facility.

Placing a hand on his old friend's shoulder, Nathan asked her if she was alright. She nodded, saying how much she needed to see her son. She needed to be with him.

Van glanced at Nathan who did the same to him. They both knew that Max wouldn't have a problem with Jennings seeing him... it was Van they had to worry about.

Max basically never knew his father. At two years old, the kid would vaguely remember a face. Now at twenty-three, Van was going to be a stranger to Max. He only had the story that was told about his father. They pondered if the younger Ivers would be so forgiving to his father who, technically, set off a chain reaction because of who he was.

Sadly, Nathan had a feeling that Max wasn't going to be so welcoming as he was with his mother.

"Sigh... let me... let me go in first," he suggested.