She shook her head. “Tomorrow just never came.”
No one interrupted. The quiet gave her room to continue.
“My mom's name was Heidi Kellerman. She was a school secretary.” A sad smile came and went. “She was the strongest person I've ever known.”
Her fingers curled around the bourbon glass again. “She'd already been through one relationship that ended badly. My half-brother, Troy, has a different father. He walked away before Troy was born and never looked back. Mom didn't expect much from men after that.”
She met Shane's eyes. “She met your father while she was out with a couple of friends one night. He was in town on business, and they only spent one evening together.” She managed the faintest shrug. “She figured that was the last time she'd ever see him.”
The words grew harder after that. “Several months later, he was back in the area on business again. He looked her up and found out she was pregnant. Mom told him she didn’t want anything from him. She'd already raised Troy by herself and figured she'd do the same with me.”
She drew a shuddering breath. “But your dad wouldn't hear of it. He insisted on helping financially.”
Shane studied the bourbon in his glass for a moment, turning it once before meeting her gaze again.
“That...” He paused, his voice rough with emotion. “That sounds like him. I just wish he'd told me about you... At the very least, after my mom passed. There was time before he died when he could've...” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and shook his head. “Damn it, Dad.”
The words caught Shylo off guard, and a lone tear slipped down her cheek. “Until recently, I never knew his last name. Mom only told me his name was Peter. When I was younger, she said that the money she received every month came from an inheritance left by a distant relative, and I believed her.” She swallowed. “It wasn't until she got sick that she finally told me the truth. The money wasn't an inheritance. It was child support from my father.”
She paused to gather her thoughts. “Your dad died when I was seventeen, and the money stopped coming. I didn't notice because I didn't even know it existed. Mom had saved as much of it as she could over the years and quietly used those savings to help us get by.”
Her voice softened. “Five years later, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Insurance covered a lot, but not everything. Between the treatments, the bills, and the time she had to miss from work, the savings finally ran out.”
Grabbing another tissue from the box, she wiped her eyes and nose. “That was when she finally told me the truth about the money. She still wouldn't tell me Peter's last name when I wanted to contact him for help with the bills. She said he'd built a life for himself and had a family who didn't deserve to have everything turned upside down because of the choices she and your father had made years ago.”
Grief rose without warning. “She went into remission for a while, and we hoped the worst was behind us. Then the cancer came back two years ago.” Shylo stared at the bourbon glass cradled between her hands. “She died four months ago.”
The words seemed to hang in the room.
“Troy couldn't be bothered to visit her before she passed away. He didn't even come to the funeral.” Bitterness crept into her voice. “There wasn't any money in it for him.”
She closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. “After the funeral, I needed answers Mom could no longer give me. I hired a private investigator to find my father. He's the one who discovered Peter Wilson was my dad. He traced the financial records, found that your father had been depositing the child support, and learned he'd died thirteen years ago.”
She looked at Shane. “That was when I found out he had a son... and that you lived here in Hazard Falls. The report included everything the P.I. could find about you and the ranch. And that you'd inherited everything after your father died. I couldn’t afford to pay him for any more information than that.”
She took another sip of the bourbon, welcoming the burn as it slid down her throat. Somehow, it was easier than saying the next words.
“At first... I was angry.”
The admission left her stomach in knots.
“You grew up with a father. I didn't. You had someone who raised you, taught you things, and loved you.” She looked at Shane. “When he died, he left everything to you. All I had were questions my mother never could or would answer.”
She drew a slow breath. “So yes... when I first came to Hazard Falls, a big part of me thought maybe I deserved something.”
No one interrupted.
“I planned to meet first. I wanted to know what kind of man you were before I decided what to do. If you turned me away or acted like I didn't matter...” She hesitated. “Then I probably would've talked to a lawyer.”
A faint smile touched her lips before fading. “But that isn't what happened.”
Shane lifted his brow but said nothing.
“You weren’t what I expected—you were kind. The complete opposite of the brother I grew up with.” A faint smile flickered across her face. “And then I met Seth. He respected you. Looked up to you. And the more he talked about you, the harder it became to picture the man I'd convinced myself you were... someone who'd turn his back on me.”
She glanced around the table. “Then I met Paige... and Tucker... and everyone else. I watched how all of you treated each other. I watched how this family cared not just about one another, but about your friends, the people who work for you, and this whole town.”
Her gaze returned to Shane. “The more time I spent here, the less important the inheritance became.” Her voice grew quieter. “I spent my whole life wishing I'd had a brother who loved me and gave a damn whether I existed. Instead, I grew up with Troy, an entitled jerk who blames everyone else for anything that goes wrong in his life. Growing up, he demanded new clothes, new shoes, and money Mom could barely afford. When she said no, he'd scream at her and break things until she gave in. More than once, he took his anger out on both of us.
