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Instead, he turned to look at his daughter. “Is he treating you well, Pep?”
Pepper looked at their father and nodded. “He is, Daddy. I know he has quite a reputation, but he isn’t at all what I expected. He’s funny and thoughtful and brave . . . Did you know he got hurt in the fire after saving a puppy? I think it’s pretty hard to find fault in a man willing to risk his life for a defenseless animal.”
Logan wasn’t exactly thrilled with his sister dating a Chamberlain, but he had to admit that she did seem happier lately. Her house was finally coming together, and as much as he hated to admit it, she and Grant did make an attractive couple.
He would bite his tongue for now, but the minute Grant hurt his sister, Logan would see to it that he got to break a second Chamberlain’s nose in his lifetime.
“He’s still a Chamberlain,” Kate noted, as though that explained everything.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a Chamberlain, Kate,” Vince snapped, tossing his napkin on the table in irritation. “Just like there’s nothing wrong with being an Anthony. Your family and your blood don’t dictate who you are or what you’ll be. It’s just a name.”
Logan’s fork paused in midair. His parents rarely, if ever, argued. Their father was extremely laid-back; a feature that made it possible for peace in a household with a high-strung woman like their mother. Normally, their dad just let things roll, but for whatever reason, their father was irritated with their mother tonight.
“I don’t think that—” Kate started, but he cut her off.
“You know, Logan was right. He said secrets can destroy a family. I, for one, have had enough of them.” Vince got up from his half-finished plate and reached for his cane. “Logan, could you help me with something in the garage, please?”
Putting down his fork, Logan got up from the table and followed his father out into the garage. He wasn’t entirely sure what his father was talking about or what was going on, but he knew better than to question his dad when his tone was so sharp. When they got to his father’s domain, Logan shut the door. He was surprised to find his father choosing to sit on his rolling seat.
Logan glanced around, looking for a project in process, but the room was amazingly clean. “What did you need help with, Dad?”
“I need you to sit down and have a chat with me.” His father pointed to another seat nearby.
Logan sat down. “What’s the matter, Dad? You seem awfully irritated with Mama tonight.”
Vince shrugged. “I’m not irritated with her. Your mama is the same as she ever has been, especially where the topic of the Chamberlains are concerned. I’ve just got a lot on my mind tonight and I need to get a few things off my chest.”
“To me?”
Vince nodded. “I’ve never had a problem with the Chamberlains. Personally, I never had a lot of interaction with them. I put gas in their cars, changed their oil, and rotated their tires. Most of them tip well. We don’t exactly hang out in the same social circles, as you know. But your mother . . . she’s always had problems with them, or at least, with Norman. She let her prejudice spread to the whole family unfairly, I think. I’ve sat back and let her go on about it. I let her teach you and your sister to dislike their family. It didn’t seem to really impact your lives in one way or another. But that’s changed, and I’ve finally got to say something about it.”
In Logan’s mind, he’d somehow assumed that the family hatred of the Chamberlains was universal. But as he sat there thinking back over the years, he realized he’d never heard his father say a bad thing about them. Vince Anthony was a man of few words. When he had something important to say, he would speak his mind, but otherwise, he was happy to sit quietly and let Kate prattle on.
Vince leaned his elbows onto his knees, hunching over to press his fingertips together thoughtfully. “Your sister seems to really like Grant, but she’s conflicted about it. She’s resisting the idea of being happy with him because you and your mama are giving her a hard time. You’re competing with Norman at your practice and I’m sure things will heat up between you, but this dislike of the Chamberlain family as a whole has gone too far. So I want to end it. Right now.”
Logan frowned. How did he intend to end something he had no real control over? It wasn’t like his father could suddenly make Norman less of a prick. “What do you mean, Dad?”
“I mean, no more secrets. You were right, they slowly undermine a family and erode the trust that should be the bedrock of every good relationship. All of this was my idea, so I guess all of this is my fault. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I didn’t figure the truth would ever be relevant to anyone but your mother and me. But I was wrong, it matters. You’re a grown man now and you need to know the truth.”
Logan swallowed hard and looked into his father’s green-gold eyes. As a little boy, he’d always wanted green eyes, like his daddy, just the way Pepper had dark brown eyes like their mom. He hated that he had blue eyes. In that moment, with his father’s words hanging in the air, that difference seemed more significant somehow.
“I am not your biological father, Logan.”
The words were like a wrecking ball, swinging in and striking him in the center of his chest. For a moment, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. He just sat there wheezing like an asthmatic as the panic swept over him. Vince wasn’t his father. How could they lie to him like that? Who the hell was his father, if it wasn’t Vincent Anthony?
His father . . . or whoever he was . . . reached out for Logan’s knee. The concern lining his face made the answer to that question painfully clear. Vince had just said that his mother had issues with Norman Chamberlain. The blue eyes. Did that mean . . . ?
“You can’t hate all the Chamberlains, because you are one. You’re Norman’s son, Logan.”
He couldn’t respond. He couldn’t think of the words to express how he felt in that moment. All he could do was listen as the words rushed at him.
“I have been by your mother’s side since she was three months pregnant with you. When Norman . . . stepped back from the situation,” Vince said as delicately as he could, “your mother came to me, so distraught. I had been in love with her for years, but for many reasons, it was never the right time for us. I decided this was our chance and I took it.
“I took care of your mother. We got married the next day at the courthouse and when we told people she was pregnant, everyone assumed the baby was mine. I never gave anyone a reason to think otherwise. I held her hand while she gave birth to you. I held you in my arms and gave you my name. I raised you as my son, because you are my son in every way that’s important to me. But you needed to know the truth and to know why your mother wanted to poison you against that family. I’m sorry that I’ve lied to you. We should’ve told you sooner, but your mother was afraid that you’d hate me and that the town would start gossiping about our marriage. She was trying to protect me and you, just as I protected her all those years ago.”
Protect him? They’d lied about something so fundamental in an attempt to protect him?
“Don’t hate the Chamberlains, Logan. Norman is a flawed man, but he is your father. And as for the rest of the family, none of them know the truth. They’ve never done anything to deserve the ire from our household. When you’re ready, I hope that you’ll embrace the Chamberlains as an extension of your family. And I hope that one day, you’ll have it in your heart not to hate me for lying to you, although you have every right to.”
