Lynda was in shock, she'd assumed that her brother had been visiting friends in Georgia when he was killed. She closed her eyes and settled back into her chair again. It was a lot to take in, now she had not one but two nephews. There was a sense of understanding slowly creeping into her bones as if she finally understood the connection and concern she'd had for Lightning since the first time she saw him. It was all because he was family, yes, that explained the need she'd felt to keep him safe and the extra concern of him being alone.
"I want to know why I wasn't contacted." Lynda fixed the judge with a stern look.
"The mother wanted no ties to the family. She had full custody of the child."
"So she skipped town with my nephew in tow." Her voice grew quiet. "Do you think he knows that we're related?"
"I can't say Lynda. It's hard to tell what he knows, but you need to approach the subject carefully. If you don't he'll run. He sounds like a runner already."
"I'll keep that in mind. Why didn't you contact me about all this?" She looked hurt.
"Lynda, you know how busy my practice was sixteen years ago, and papers and cases were shuffled together. There are more Storm families out there than just yours." His voice was gentle. "If I had known more information I would have contacted you. I assumed that you knew. If I had been sure that Jacob hadn't informed you of his wife and child, then I probably would have told you."
"Thank you Gene." She stood on slightly unsteady legs and offered him a hand. "May I borrow these papers? I'll mail them back."
"Nonsense, I'll just run some copies for you." He took the folder and marched over to the printer in the room and proceeded to copy the entirety of the file.
She watched him with her mind trapped in a surreal world. How was she going to broach the subject of Lightning's lies and his relation to them? The man…she paused, no the boy, gave no indication that they were related. Perhaps he didn't know. The vacation was becoming far more revealing that she had assumed it would. With thoughtful silence Lynda waited on the papers that changed everything. It was painful to think that an extension of her family had been under her nose all of this time.
A haze of questions buzzed in the young woman's head as she drifted out of the courthouse. The car was crowded with specters of the past as she drove back to the hotel. Memories of her brother raced back to her with extreme clarity. It was as if he was sitting next to her and taunting her like he did when they were children. Jacob was the trickster of the family, always surprising people on their birthdays or anniversaries. She never thought that he would surprise her with a nephew and after sixteen years. Lynda swallowed hard at the thought. Only sixteen years old. The thought made her slam on the brakes as she pulled up to collect the boys.
Her eyes watered as she contemplated her teenage nephew speeding around the race track at breakneck speed. She wanted to grab him by the scruff of the neck and lock him in the house with Cal. The thought of Cal and Lightning becoming best of friends and causing mayhem made her smile to herself. As she watched Strip and the boys walk towards the car she silently thanked her brother for the new family member she'd just discovered.
"I'm telling you that I won!" Cal was scowling directly at Lightning.
"I got the most points!" Lightning grinned and caught Cal in a firm headlock and dragged him towards the car where Lynda was waiting with a smile.
"Boys!" Strip sounded beyond exasperated and his hair looked as if he'd ran his hand through it multiple times.
"Uncle Strip!" Cal squealed like a stuck pig. "HELPPPPP!" He drug his heels as Lightning tugged him to the back doors of the station wagon.
"Well, he's suddenly become quite social." Lynda called out to Strip with a laugh in her voice.
"Yeah, I don't know what got into those two." Strip sounded lost. He glanced at Lynda with a question glistening in his eyes. "You okay?" He leaned against the side of the car and leaned down to kiss her through the open window.
"Yeah, I'm good." She smiled thinly.
"How about the two of us go out for dinner and leave Cal with Lightning at the hotel?"
"I suppose…We need to talk."
"Please, Lynda, you're making me nervous," He slid into the passenger seat beside her. "Boys get in the car!"
The sound of clambering of teenage boys caused Lynda to smile. Her family was growing by leaps and bounds it seemed and she had no problem with gaining new charges. However, it seemed that Strip was a bit flustered; she couldn't wait until she saw him as a father.
Strip smiled as he pulled out the chair for Lynda. She was more beautiful every single day and he couldn't keep the grin that found its way onto his face when he saw her. He still felt giddy at the news of their impending parenthood, but the day of spending time with Cal and Lightning had made him a bit nervous. If they ended up having more than one child along with Cal, he could only imagine the chaos that would consume their house. He couldn't wait for that chaos. The racer thought he was ready for everything.
"Thanks." Lynda smiled up at him as he kissed her cheek and joined her at the table.
"So…what is it that we need to talk about? You aren't dumping me are you?" He grinned at her lazily.
"You're stuck with me, you old coot." Lynda rolled her eyes and glanced down at the menu.
"Is everything alright with the…baby?" Strip sounded so worried it made Lynda smile softly. "You're okay right?" He grabbed her hand and squeezed gently.
"Are you going to be a worry wort for the next six months?" She teased gently, "Or should I have waited till the baby was here to tell you?"
"I'm pretty sure I would have noticed."
"You Weathers men can be a bit oblivious." She chuckled. "Everything is alright. I go for a checkup when we get home."
"Good, good. You need to take it easy." His eyes glistened. "No overworking yourself."
"No need to baby me, Strip. I'll be alright."
"I mean it." He fixed her with a firm look.
"Alright, I'll be careful." She shook her head in exasperation as the waiter took their order before disappearing.
"So…what did you need to talk about?"
"This." She pulled the papers she'd collected earlier from her purse and handed them to Strip. "I went to visit an old friend in Atlanta today and I found this."
She watched Strip as he leaned back in his seat and his eyes darted across the paper. Confusion danced across his face and his brow furrowed, that's when she knew he was putting everything together. His brown eyes were a plethora of emotions as he caught her staring.
"Lyn…" His voice was hushed and he gripped the papers tightly. "Jacob? Lightning?"
"He's two years older than Cal."
"Two?" Strip's shoulders slumped. "Lightning is our nephew? He's sixteen?"
"Only sixteen and he's been racing!" She whispered through clenched teeth and leaned forwards. "How did he pass himself off as an adult? I want to know if his mother is alive and if she is she has a lot of explaining to do."
"If she isn't? I hate to think that…our nephew." The words felt foreign on his tongue in reference to the redhead. "I hate to think he's an orphan too. But it's possible and if he is…"
"We adopt him, just like we did Cal." There was no hesitation in her voice. Strip smiled softly, she'd already decided what to do. His heart swelled as he realized once again that his wife's heart was bigger than the state of Texas. She was amazing and without trying she constantly reminded him of how lucky he was.
"Of course, I'll have Tex look into it. Maybe we can track down where she is."
"I don't want him running." She looked worried.
"Then we'll have to keep him from knowing we know how old he is. I don't think he'd hang around if he knew we were related."
"He's became rather social with Cal though."
"Probably because of the closeness in age…That sounds so strange to say out loud."
"A sixteen year old beat you in a race." Lynda's eyes twinkled merrily.
"Well, as soon as we can we're getting him off of that track. And he won't get back on until he's at least twenty." Strip shook his head and frowned. "Reckless teenagers."
"At least he didn't joyride like you did when you were sixteen!"
"I only did that once!"
"And got your hide tanned for it."
"I still remember that whoopin'."
The two chatted quietly for the remainder of their meal but their new family member was never far from their mind. As they entered the hotel room they found themselves drenched with a bucket of cold water that was rigged above the door. The sounds of snickers from the bathroom filtered to their ears.
"I never would have guessed their ages." Lynda muttered as she rolled her eyes. "It's obvious now. Please make sure you call Tex."
"Will do," He smiled and pecked her on the cheek. "Boys! Come clean up your mess, then get ready for bed." The older racer dried off and changed clothes before slipping outside to make a phone call that would hopefully put them on the road to finding more answers.