“It’s complicated,” he hedges.
Yeah, that dodgy behavior isn’t going to work. Deacon won’t let me skirt around my truth. No way does he get to skirt around his own.
“Try me.”
He exhales a loud breath before licking his lips. “Friends don’t backstab. They don’t share each other’s secrets.” He throws my words back at me.
“We pinky-swore,” I remind him.
“This is one of those things you’re going to want to tell people about but you can’t. Not for any reason. Alright?”
“Unless you murdered someone and are about to tell me the coordinates for the body, we’re good. I won’t share your secrets.” I make a gesture of zipping my mouth closed and tossing away an invisible key.
With a deep breath, Deacon shifts to face me again, his eyes holding my own, as he says six words I never would have expected to hear today.
“Dominique Price is my half brother.”
TEN
KASEY
Dominique’s dad is a dick. For the next half hour, I quietly sit and stare with what I’m sure is a dumbfounded look on my face, listening as Deacon explains how Dominique Price, of all people, is his half brother.
It’s a sordid tale. I wish I was making it up. The manipulative bullshit his father put Deacon’s mom through.
Richard Price had an affair with his then secretary—Victoria Hunt.
The relationship lasted over a year. He used his position of power as an authority figure to worm his way into her good graces. Then he manipulated the impressionable girl she was back then, leading her on and making her believe he loved her with promises to leave his wife so they could start a new life together, just the two of them.
She was young and naïve and he was ten years her senior. He painted her a picture-perfect fairytale.
“When she’d get restless,” Deacon adds, “He’d always reassure her, telling her things like ‘the only reason I haven’t filed for divorce is because I need time to get my affairs in order.’” His lip curls in disgust. “He told my mom his marriage was over and he begged her to be patient with him. To give him time. And she did. The way mom tells it, he’d break down, eyes glassy and face twisted with fear anytime he thought she was going to walk away. He was so convincing.”
I place my hand on his arm and give it a squeeze. It’s obvious this is hard for him.
“She believed him when he said he was afraid he’d lose his business—which even back then was already a million dollar organization—as a part of a settlement to his divorce. Sounds legit, right? And she believed him when he’d say he couldn’t lose her. That he loved her.”
God. What a bastard.
“She comforted him when he told her his biggest fear was that his wife would keep their son from him after he left her.” He barks out a humorless laugh. “What a joke. You know, she thought he was a great dad back then. Thought he’d be a terrific father when the two of them had kids of their own.”
Hanging his head, he shakes it. “When she found out she was pregnant,” he says, “she was excited. She was only twenty-one, but she was excited to have me. I wasn’t some burden or mistake to her. Not ever.”
My heart clenches. The way he talks about her, it’s clear they’re close. Emotion clogs my throat and memories of my mom come to the surface before I shove them away. This isn’t about me. It’s about him.
“What happened?” I ask, knowing he needs to get this all out. How long has he been keeping this to himself? Protecting this secret? Deep down, I know what happened. Dominique doesn’t know he has a half brother. If he did, I’d have heard about it. Which means, Richard Price chose not to play a role in Deacon’s life. He might have contributed half of Deacon’s DNA, but he didn’t father him.
“What you can probably guess.” His shoulders slump forward. Right now, he looks like a lost and confused little boy, and seeing him like this breaks my heart. Scooting closer, I lean my head on his shoulder, offering what little comfort I have to give. I can’t relate to what he’s feeling right now. Mom wanted to be there. She might not have known how to be a mom, trying too hard to be my friend instead of my parent, but she never once rejected me.
Dad has his own issues, too. But he’s around and he helps, in his own way. Not always in the way I need. He likes to throw money at Aaron and me to get us to go away, but it’s also how he shows his love. Every financial need of ours is met. Every opportunity is available to us. There’s no warmth or comfort with my father. I can’t remember the last time he hugged me or offered me any molecule of affection, but that’s just how he is. Cold. Distant. But never indifferent.
“When she told him the good news, he lost it and demanded she get an abortion. She refused.”
I suck in a breath and grimace. Good for her. Ending a pregnancy is a personal choice. No man gets to dictate that decision. Knowing Richard Price tried to pressure her into getting one makes me dislike the man even more.
“He threatened to leave her, but by then, the writing was on the wall.” He shrugs. “She wasn’t surprised when less than a week later, Peretti and Price let her go and terminated her position as his secretary. They gave her a severance package—fifty grand.”
I whistle.
