Page 70 of Jonny’s Redemption

So fuck Tony. Fuck Dick.

Jonny had my back.

23

Jonny’s gaze went from his sister-in-law to her husband Alec. Macy had tears in her eyes, Alec’s did not. His were hard and assessing.

It was shit timing. But that was life, or at least it was Jonny’s. A series of shitty events that ended in heartbreak.

Last night when Macy called and said she wanted to talk, Jonny readily agreed. It was time for him to come clean, well past time. But at the time, Jonny had no idea he’d wake up to Dick Dillinger banging on his door. He hadn’t known the little fuckstick Tony would call and give Bobby shit.

He had no way of knowing his day would be waylaid and he’d have to pay Sheriff Baker a visit. Today’s talk with the sheriff had been enlightening and he finally opened up about shit that should’ve been talked about when he was cleaning up the department. In Jonny’s opinion, Baker had made a poor choice keeping it hidden. It was a gamble seeing as Baker was the face of a department that had been tarnished, and if anyone found out he was covering something up—even something that happened a long fucking time ago—it wouldn’t look good for him.

So by the time it was quitting time and he and Bobby left the office—Jonny to go home and meet with Macy and Alec—he was mentally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to take his woman to bed and sleep until they had to catch their flight to Nashville.

But he couldn’t cancel on Macy. So he hadn’t. Then he wasted no time laying it out. From start to finish Jonny told Macy everything. Throughout this, Macy cried and his hatred for Doug and his father grew with every tear that spilled. Alec knew, of course; Jonny had told him and the rest of the guys weeks before. Another reason Jonny could no longer put off telling Macy the truth, it wasn’t right for Jonny to ask Alec to keep secrets from his wife.

Bobby’s hand tightened around his, pulling his attention back to the room.

Macy and Alec were sitting on the smaller of Jonny’s sofas, Bobby and Jonny on the bigger of the two facing the couple with the coffee table between them. Alec’s arm was around his wife, Macy was leaning heavily into her husband. And that was what he’d always wanted for his sister-in-law—a good man to share her life with. A man who would help shoulder the burdens and not create them. A good father for her children, not one who would gamble away the family’s savings.

As much as it was a cop-out Jonny was glad he’d waited to tell Macy the truth until she had someone at her side who would see her through.

So now Macy knew.

There were no more secrets.

“I knew,” Macy hiccupped. “I’m so sorry, Jonny, I knew.”

“Come again?”

Macy buried her face into Alec’s chest and sobbed a muffled, “I’m so sorry.”

Jonny froze. A cold dread crystalized in his lungs making it impossible to breathe.

She knew?

What did Macy know? That Jonny had been withholding the truth about her children’s father? Had Alec told her? On that thought, Jonny looked at Alec. In return, Alec seemingly read his mind and jerked his head in the negative.

The sound of Macy crying twisted in Jonny’s gut. Suddenly it didn’t matter what she knew, when she knew it, or who told her. All he cared about was making the horrifying tears stop.

Fucking Doug.

“Macy, you got nothing to be sorry for.”

It took a moment but Macy gathered herself then she dried her tears and sat up straight. Steely determination replaced the sadness and that fucked with Jonny’s head. He’d seen it too many times over the years. Macy breaking down because of something Doug had said or done then Macy having no choice but to swallow the shit flung at her and move on. Be strong for Caleb and Aurora. Pretend everything was okay to protect her children. Jonny didn’t ever want to be the cause of Macy having to pull herself together. He’d taken great pains over the years to hide his anger from her, to keep all the fucked-up secrets locked away when really all he’d ever wanted to do was come clean. It might be stupid but some part of him wanted Caleb and Aurora to know they were his niece and nephew by blood. Which was selfish on his part and wouldn’t have made a bit of difference. Jonny long since understood that blood didn’t make a family, yet he still felt the self-serving desire.

“He…told me,” Macy stuttered. “Doug did. Remember when Rory was born and she had jaundice?”

Jonny remembered the weeks after Rory was born vividly. She was so tiny and yellow. God, she was yellow even after days under special lights in the NICU.

“I remember,” he confirmed.

“Well, when her bili levels weren’t going down the doctor suggested a blood transfusion. Doug freaked out. It was the only time I’d ever seen him cry. The truth is, I didn’t think he cared enough about any of us to get that upset, but he was beside himself and was carrying on about how he didn’t want Rory getting a stranger’s blood. Doug was insistent we call you and have you donate blood in case Rory needed it. He was adamant that she got your blood, no one else’s.”

Macy paused and looked down at her lap. “Jonny, he told me he wasn’t adopted, that your dad was his biological father, that the two of you were half-brothers. I think he was in such a panic after the doctor explained that if Rory’s bilirubin count got any higher it could cause permanent damage to her brain that he just lost it. He wasn’t thinking clearly. We were talking about a transfusion. My parents’ blood was incompatible, we didn’t have another blood relative to donate, and he was out of control and ranting about you being the only one who could save Aurora.”

Fucking hell.