at the letter on the table in front of him. He had no idea what was going on. Nothing about this made sense.
April walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. From the woman who’d seemed so shut off, it was such an unexpected move. But the warm feel of her palm on his shoulder sent a wave of pure comfort through his confused state.
Ms Cummings stared at April for a second then continued. ‘It’s apparent that your name wasn’t on the birth certificate. I’m not quite sure why that was. But because Isabel didn’t have you formally named as next of kin, Finn has been in temporary foster care for the last few days.’
Riley shook his head. ‘Who?’
She stared at him. ‘Finn. Your son.’
For the first time he was glad of the chair. If he hadn’t had it, his legs might have made him sway.
‘My son?’
Ms Cummings glanced at the Colonel again. ‘Yes, Dr Callaghan. That’s why I’m here.’
‘I have a son?’
She stared at him again. ‘Finn. He’s five. Isabel never told you?’
He shook his head as his brain just spun. Not a single rational thought would form. ‘No. Isabel never told me.’
Ms Cummings pushed the letter towards him again. He noticed it was sealed. The social worker had no idea of the contents. ‘Well, maybe that’s why she left you the letter.’
Riley looked at the cream envelope in front of him. He picked it up and ripped it open, pulling out a matching cream sheet of paper.
Dear Riley,
I hope you never have to read this. But if you do it’s because something’s happened. I’m sorry I never told you about Finn. You’d already left for Afghanistan and it just seemed pointless. We already knew our time was over and I didn’t need to complicate your life.
I hope I’m not about to spoil things for you. I hope you’ve managed to meet someone, marry and have a family of your own.
Finn and I have been great. We haven’t needed anything at all. He’s a funny, quirky little boy and I can see traits of us both in him every single day. I love him more than you can ever know, and I hope you’ll feel that way about him too.
He knows who you are. I only had a few pictures, but I put them in his room and told him you worked away and would meet him when he grew up.
Please forgive me, and love my darling boy for both of us.
Isabel
He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t breathe. His life had just been turned upside down and on its head. He had a child. He had a son.
And he’d never been told. Rage filled his brain, just as April’s fingers tightened on his shoulder. She could probably read every word of the letter over his shoulder.
April leaned over and spun the letter around to face the social worker, giving her a few seconds to read it. Her face paled.
Ms Cummings looked at him. ‘You didn’t even know that Finn existed?’
He shook his head. The firm touch by April was dissipating the rage that was burning inside. Isabel had been quirky. She’d been a little chaotic. This didn’t seem completely out of character. He just hadn’t had a clue.
‘Where is Finn now?’ April’s voice cut through his thoughts.
Ms Cummings looked up. ‘And you are?’
April leaned across and held out her hand. ‘I’m April Henderson. I’m a friend and colleague of Dr Callaghan’s.’ She said the words so easily. A friend. It almost sounded true.
Ms Cummings shuffled some papers. ‘Finn’s been in temporary foster care in Birmingham.’
Panic started to fill Riley. ‘My son is in foster care?’ He’d heard about these things. Wasn’t foster care bad for kids?
Ms Cummings nodded. ‘We have a few things to sort out. As your name isn’t on the birth certificate, you may want to arrange a DNA test. However, Ms Porter named you as her son’s guardian in her will. Pending a few checks, I’ll be happy to release Finn into your custody. You will, of course, be allocated a local social worker to help you with any queries.’ She lifted something from her bag. ‘As you’ll know, in England we have a number of legal procedures. Isabel left everything in trust—via you—for Finn. But probate takes some time. I can only let you have these keys to the house for a day or so—to pick some things up for Finn. Although ultimately it will come to you, the keys have to be returned to the lawyer in the meantime.’
‘When do I pick up Finn?’
‘Do you have somewhere suitable for him to stay?’
His thoughts went immediately to his temporary army lodgings. He was only supposed to be here four weeks. ‘I’m supposed to leave for Sierra Leone on Monday.’ The words came out of nowhere.
The Colonel interjected quickly. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that. You have a family emergency. Your son obviously takes priority here. Do you want me to arrange some other accommodation for you?’
He nodded automatically. He didn’t own a property. He had money in the bank but had never got around to buying a place as he’d no idea where he’d eventually end up.
His eyes caught sight of a box in the corner of the room. Red tinsel. It was stuffed full of Christmas decorations. Christmas. It was only six weeks away. His son had lost his mother, six weeks before Christmas.
‘I’ll give you an address. I can meet you at the foster parents’ house tomorrow if that suits.’
‘It suits.’ The words were automatic.
Ms Cummings gave a nod. ‘There’s one other thing.’
‘What’s that?’
She licked her lips. ‘As Ms Porter had no other next of kin and you’re the only person named in the will, it will be up to you to organise the funeral.’
‘What?’
Ms Cummings’s eyes narrowed. ‘Will that be a problem?’
He shook his head. ‘No. Of course not.’
Ms Cummings pushed some papers towards him. ‘Here’s a copy of the will. A note of Ms Porter’s address and her lawyer’s address to drop the keys back. And a copy of the address for the foster family tomorrow. Let’s say eleven o’clock?’
Business obviously concluded, she gathered her papers and stood up. Riley glanced at the clock. In the space of ten minutes his life had just turned on its head.
‘Do you have a picture?’
She looked startled. ‘Of Finn?’
He nodded. Of course of Finn. Who did she think he wanted to see a picture of?
She
