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Joey presses his lips together in contemplation. "It could be my Uncle Kaden. His house is on that side of the property. And it would make sense considering."
"Considering what?" Brendan demands impatiently. I shoot him a look, silently questioning his irritation, and he shakes me off. What is going on with him?
Joey pulls out a folded envelope from his pocket. He smooths it out and removes a small stack of papers, along with a photograph. He hands the photo to me.
"That's my uncle," he tells me quietly, like he wishes he didn't have to say it.
In the image, my teenage mother is sitting on a guy's lap. He appears a little older, maybe early twenties. His face is tucked into her neck, kissing her. Her tranquil blue eyes are sparkling and her smile is so bright. She's so ... in love. I've only ever seen her this happy with Nick.
"My mother was dating your uncle?" I ask, trying to digest this. My eyes widen at the unspoken conclusion. "Is he ..." But I can't say it.
"Your father?" Of course Brendan can. Joey flinches. I think I might throw up.
Joey and I stare at each other for a moment. "That can't be right," I gasp, swallowing against the bile in my throat. There's no way I'm related to the Harrisons ... no way.
"Would explain a lot," Brendan remarks. "Except the incest part."
I glare at him. He laughs like this is the most amusing thing he's ever witnessed.
"Maybe not," Joey finally says, but still not sounding all that confident. He spreads out five pages on the coffee table. We bend down to examine them. They're DNA tests, more specifically paternity tests. My eyes flick between them, my brain too freaked to comprehend what I'm looking at.
"I found these in my father's office. I made copies. They were in a hidden locked drawer, kind of like yours." He looks to Brendan.
Brendan picks them all up and shifts through them. "There aren't any names. Only patient numbers."
"And?" I demand, my heart racing and my palms slick with sweat.
"These three," he stacked them on the table, "all have the same father. And these two, aren't a match to the donor."
I swallow.
Brendan lets out a heavy breath, like he's preparing himself. "Was your aunt pregnant at the time this picture was taken?"
Joey does a quick calculation in his head and nods. "She was like, four months pregnant with Lily."
"She's Lily's mother?" I gasp. Joey nods again.
"So, there are five pregnant women in this picture. And five DNA tests. Anyone want to take a guess who the kids are, and more importantly, who their fathers are?" Brendan flips through the pages again. "
The tests were for three boys and two girls." He holds the pages up to the light. "The birthdates have been redacted for some reason. I'll have to search for the originals to tell us when each was born."
"How?" Joey asks.
"You don't want to know," I tell him. His mouth rounds in a silent, Oh, understanding it'll be illegal.
"So the girls are you and Lily. So, unless your aunt was having an affair, we can still assume Lily's your cousin," Brendan says, his eyes shifting to Joey. "And one guy impregnated three women in like, what, six months? What was he thinking not wrapping it up?" Brendan lets out a humorless laugh.
My brain finally starts connecting everything he's saying.
"But if my father is Kaden, then that means Cassandra had an affair with this other guy, making me your cousin" I give Joey a quick glance. My throat constricts like it doesn't want me to say the rest out loud as I face Brendan. "If not, then I'm your sister." Even Brendan appears disturbed by this revelation. My knees buckle. I collapse in the chair with a heavy plop.
"This is fucked up," Joey says, running a hand through his hair.
"Undeniably," Brendan agrees, finishing another shot. "Good thing you didn't give in to temptation and sleep with me."
I make a disgusted face at him.
"Why do you even have this picture," Joey looks at it again, "from Labor Day weekend ... Oh, no." Joey's face pales instantly. He shakes his head like he's hoping whatever it is isn't true. "I didn't recognize him because I never met him. Because he died the weekend this was taken."
