No Shame (Book 2 - No Regrets)

Chapter Twenty-Three - Keep At Bay

KATIE'S POV

Sawyer sits at the desk, I watch as his eyes scan, reading each line. My hand clutches tightly to the back of the chair, my heart pounding and my head feels light. He has not said a word. I was rendered speechless when the email arrived last night and a majority of the shock still lingers. I had not even planned my breath, let alone planned who with or when I would share the news, when Sawyer called. This past week both of us were left with little time to talk. The call was Sawyer wondering if I could and wanted to come over. He had found himself free for the rest of day.

In that moment, the sound of his voice was the small crack required to break the dam. The words flooded out, everything. I told him all about finding Cason Aplin's email address and about contacting him. Sawyer was shocked and slightly hurt that I had chosen to keep this secret from him. However, he was also understanding of my need to process and handle this in my own way. I brought my laptop over with me, once I arrived the two of us made a beeline straight to his room.

This reply, though not lengthy enough to require Sawyer to spend over ten minutes reading, is longer than his first reply.

"Katie, I am glad to hear from you again. I am still recovering from the surprise of hearing from you. I am currently living in Cedar City, UT, my wife is a professor at the college. We are approaching our 8th wedding anniversary. Together, she and I have 2 boys together. Kyle is 5 and started preschool last fall. Jordan is 2 and stays at home with me.

Haper Judson, your mother, and I met in '96 and got together soon after. We both worked part-time at the same grocery store. She was a cashier and I stocked the shelves. She and I lost touch over 10 years ago.

I am glad to hear you are doing well. Keep on top of your studies, that's one regret I have is that I never took advantage of my free education. Feel free to ask any more questions you may have."

He answered each of the questions I asked in my response to his first reply. I have an ocean of questions I want to ask, but I am still dipping my toe in to test the waters. At the bottom of the email is attachment, a photo he sent. The photo features Cason with his arm extended to hold the phone, smiling with a blonde toddler in his other arm. A bit more in the background of the photo is a light brown-haired woman with fair skin and freckled-arms pushing another blonde haired on a small bike. Though I had seen pictures of him before during my search, seeing this photo still nearly knocks me over. He is undeniably Dominick's father, his hair is now darkened to be brown. He has Dominick's green eyes and even his smile is eerily identical to Dominick's.

"I can't believe this." Sawyer says tilting his head back.

"Neither can I." I reply.

Sawyer gets up from the chair and lays down on his bed. "There's no question he's Cason, he's a middle-age version of Dominick. But, he still could be lying."

"I don't think he is." I say sitting next to him on the bed.

"How so?" Sawyer asks.

"The information about Harper, was all correct and true." I answer. I had my doubts about how trustworthy Cason would be, after all nothing I knew about him painting a flattering portrait. That's why I asked him a question I already knew the answer to.

  Mom and Dad, after several discussions and searching through the attic, showed me my original birth certificate, before the adoption and they had a new birth certificate issued to me. On the birth certificate, Cason Aplin was listed as my father and Harper Judson as my mother. A couple details about their relationship prior to my birth were provided from Ezibel, who did not have many kind words to say about her ex or the woman he left her for. However, what she did tell me alligns with what Cason said in his email. That Harper and he were coworkers, got together during the time Ezibel and he were still together, and then he left.