Always in My Heart. Kayla Perrin

of an angry man. One who had been deceived. “But if Kwame is my son…” He paused, once again feeling the gravity of the situation.

       He was a father.

       “Then you’re gonna accept him,” Marshall supplied.

       “Yeah.”

       “Of course. I knew that for you there would be no other choice. You’re not the type to turn your back on your child, even under these circumstances.” Marshall paused, his eyes widening as he shook his head. “But it’s gonna be hard, man. To not have been in the kid’s life all this time… He might reject you.”

       Marshall knew him too well. He’d been a friend of Nigel’s for twelve years, ever since they’d met at college. They’d both gone on to become police officers, following a similar path within the police force. Nigel had become a sergeant in six years, Marshall in seven. Nigel became a detective three years ago, and Marshall followed him a year later. The best friends were now partners.

       So Marshall knew there was no way that Nigel could walk away from his son, whether or not he’d known he existed. Nigel was the kind of man who, if he had fathered a child during a one-night stand, would’ve been in the child’s life as a full-time father.

       This child, however, had been born out of love.

      Love, he thought sourly. He had loved Callie, but how did a woman who had claimed to love him lie to him for all these years?

       “No matter how hard it will be, I have to be in his life,” Nigel said. “Take it slow. Day by day.”