The Dance

Chapter 152 Eyes of Blue

When the letter arrived by certified mail and requested the presence of Matthew Jeremiah Brown in Juneau, Matt swallowed hard. The envelope was from an attorney's office and indicated he had been named in a will. Matt's mind ran through his mental rolodex trying to imagine who would have named him in a will and just exactly what someone would have left him.

When he and Jill arrived at the attorney's office the following week, they were greeted by a perky secretary who offered them coffee and a seat. She kept smiling, nervously, at the couple as she typed on her keyboard. Her work was interrupted by a phone call signaling her it was time to escort the Browns to a conference room.

They entered a room filled to the ceiling with leather-bound books and high back chairs. The attorney stood and introduced himself as William Townsend and made small chit chat with them trying to make them feel comfortable. After awhile the tone changed in his voice and he became more serious.

"You are probably wondering why I asked you here today. There isn't a very good way to start this conversation so let's begin at the beginning. An acquaintance of yours, Mr. Brown, from Prince of Wales Island has passed away after a short illness."

"Who would that be?" Matt asked inquisitively. He hadn't lived on the Island for four years.

"Are you familiar with the name Samantha Coursey?"

Matt smiled sheepishly and nodded. Jill gave him a sideways glance knowing that she was a name from his past life. "Yeah, I remember Sam." His thoughts raced backwards in time. He remembered her name but he called her Sunshine. It was just a casual affair, nothing serious, just two people who hooked up occasionally when he was in town. She was much younger then Matt and waited tables at a local restaurant. Her boyfriend at the time was a fisherman away for unusually long periods of time so she occupied her free time with Matt's company.

Mr. Townsend shifted in his seat. "Were you aware of her passing?"

Matt's tone changed and he became more serious as well. "No. I hadn't heard about her death. I'm sorry to hear that. She was a real sweet girl."

"When did your hear from her last?" Mr. Townsend scribbled in hid notebook.

"It's been quite awhile. I'm guessing almost over three years ago just before I left Prince of Wales." Matt was mentally clicking through the years in his mind.

"But what does that have to do with me?" Matt asked with a confused look on his face. The question would come to change the course of Matt and Jill's life forever.

Mr. Townsend handed Matt a sealed letter. "Please read it out loud." Now both Jill and Matt were anxious about the contents of the letter. Matt broke the seal on the envelope and carefully unfolded the stationary and began to read aloud.

Matthew...if you are reading this letter today then my illness has run its full course. I had no other choice but to call in this favor. For so long I carried this truth by myself but now you need to know about him.

His name is Lucas.

Matt stopped reading and his steely eyed gaze stared back at Mr. Townsend. "Is this some sort of a joke?"

Mr. Townsend firmly replied, "No, Mr. Brown. I assure you it is not a joke. Please continue to read." Matt felt Jill's grip tighten on his arm.

He is almost four years old now and he is the joy of my life. He's your son. I didn't learn that I was pregnant with Lucas until you left Prince of Wales. Since I was still with Jackson I thought it best to let him think he was his son. There wasn't any reason to find you, or tie you to me. But life is full of changes and soon after, Jackson was gone from our life. I never planned on the course of events that would follow and obviously I never planned on not being here.