But even though she’d come to know this caring and gentle side of him, she knew that he still had an adventurous side. Would that mean he would leave the baby with her?
There were still so many unanswered questions. But as the paramedics made their way inside the bungalow, she knew any answers would have to wait until much later.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL.
Home. The word felt so strange.
Apollo opened one of the ominous oversize black doors with bronze fixtures. The Drakos estate had staff to open doors and such, but he’d been fending for himself for so long that he was no longer used to being fussed over. He knew that would change by moving back into this gigantic mausoleum of memories.
He hadn’t alerted any of the staff of his exact arrival. He’d wanted his return to be low-key. He wasn’t sure how he would feel first walking in here. While Popi had been in the hospital, he’d stayed in a hotel close by, not wanting to be far from her or the baby should they need him. And perhaps a tiny part of him had been relieved to have a legitimate reason to put off his return.
He glanced around the grand foyer with its gleaming marble floors. He recalled as a boy running into the room in his socks and sliding across the floor. His gaze moved to the grand staircase, where his father used to stand at the top with a glass of bourbon in one hand, while with the other hand he’d point an accusing finger at Apollo for one offense or another.
He recalled one specific instance when his father had stood at the top of the steps and glared down at Apollo like he was master of the universe. Apollo would get blamed for misdeeds he’d done and sometimes for misdeeds that were not his. And as he grew older, his attitude toward his father became more hostile.
There was a specific day when his father had blamed him for something that was clearly not his fault and called him worthless, and Apollo had shouted that he hated his father. His outburst had been rewarded with his father raising his hand and launching his still-full glass of bourbon down the steps at Apollo. The vivid memory caused Apollo to flinch.
Popi’s hand touched his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
He glanced down at the marble floor, where he’d been standing that day. If he hadn’t moved, the glass would have hit him. He choked down the lump in the back of his throat. But when he spoke, his voice had a hoarseness. “I’m fine.”
Looking back now, he wondered if that was the day his father wrote him out of the family business, or had that already been a forgone conclusion from the tragic day when he was born? Not that it mattered to him. He could take or leave the business world.
He’d learned a lot about the world and himself when he’d been off on his adventures. He was no longer the kid filled with rage over his crappy childhood, where he’d never known his mother, and his father had said one abusive comment after the next.
He shoved the dark memories to the back of his mind. Things would be different for the baby. Apollo would make sure their precious little boy never had to run from hateful words or flying glasses. The only time he would run from Apollo was when he was threatening to tickle his nephew.
Apollo turned to Popi, who was holding the sleeping baby in her arms. “Let’s get you and the little guy situated.”
“Thank you for letting us stay here while my parents are recovering from the flu.”
“Not a problem.” In truth, it had all worked out the way he’d wanted. He just didn’t realize after all these years that this place would still get to him.
Just then Anna, the housekeeper, entered the foyer. Her face lit up with a big smile that made her warm eyes twinkle with genuine happiness. “Mister Drakos, you’re home. It’s been too long.”
“Hello, Anna.”
It was then that she broke with protocol and gave him a hug. It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, that she bent the rules that had governed the Drakos estate for as long as Apollo could remember. Maybe that’s what the place needed—a break with the routine of the past.
He hugged her back. She was the closest thing that he’d ever had for a mother. And it was only now that he realized how relieved he was that she was still here for him to come home to. Between Popi, the baby and Anna, he would do his best to make peace with living here amongst the ghosts.