AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And sadly, Lisa has Carson as a father. But she also has two fantastic brothers she never knew about until now. That counts for a lot. And the two of you now have a sister, and you’ll have to figure out how to work her into your tight twosome.”
I reached across the desk, offering my hand to him.
“I’m having a hard time believing this. A sister.” Tanner wrapped his fingers around mine.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Tanner
They had asister. Lisa was his and Jake’s sister. This wasn’t something he could do with a phone call. In fact, Tanner felt like it might take both he and Lisa to convince Jake of this news. Jake had been helpful with Marie and had a pretty good grasp as to what had gone on thus far, but this was going to be a real shocker.
After Lisa hung up with her parents, she emerged from the conference room looking almost as dumbstruck as he had. She kind of wandered down the hall and wound up standing at the open doorway to Tanner’s office where he and Carly had been talking. “Is this for real?”
Carly and Tanner both stood and guided her upstairs where they all could sit comfortably and talk. “I never thought much about finding my birth father because I figured he’d either killed my mother or was some random dude. I had no idea he could be the worst human being I’ve ever encountered.”
“Welcome to the family.” Tanner meant it as a joke, but Lisa appeared horrified.
“That wasn’t funny. Or maybe it was. I’m not sure right now. Maybe it was just too soon.”
“Sorry. Jake and I have lived with the knowledge that our father is a terrible person and a likely felon for most of our lives. But we had each other, and until a few years ago, we had our mom and our grandad. So, we survived our childhoods. This is all new to you and it’ll take some time for you to understand that he’s merely a sperm donor. Don’t expect anything from him emotionally because he’s not capable of it.”
“I have parents who care about me. I have a husband who is on the way here now. I just called him, and he’s canceled his patients for the next few days to be with me. I never thought I’d see the day that happened.”
“We’ll all be glad to meet him. Let’s take this a day at a time, okay? Jake and I aren’t going anywhere. Speaking of Jake, I think we ought to pay him a visit and break this news to him. What do you think of that?”
Lisa nodded. “I guess now is as good a time as any. We’ve got a lot to tell Marie too. I hope learning about Justine’s affair with Carson doesn’t devastate her. She was proud of Justine, and I hate to cast ugliness onto her in Marie’s memory.”
“There’s a way to tell the story that’s truth but doesn’t hurt Marie, I think.” Carly said this at the right time and in the right way. “Justine was young and passionate, and she fell for the wrong guy. It happens to a lot of young women.”
“Yes. I think it does. My husband is scheduled to arrive in town around dinnertime. That gives me a couple hours to see Jake and then spend a little time with Marie before he gets here.”
“He is welcome at Nana’s house, of course,” Carly reassured Lisa.
“Thanks. You all have been so kind since I arrived in Cypress Bayou.”
“Who knew we were welcoming family?” Tanner smiled at her.
Lisa shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “I’m proud to call you both my brothers.”
“Speaking of our brother, we’d better get in touch with Jake and go break the news to him.” Tanner texted Jake and asked if he had a few minutes to spare.
Tanner:I’ve got some news you’re going to want to hear in person
Jake:Sounds ominous. I’ve got a little time if you want to meet me in my office
Tanner:See you in ten
“We’re meeting him at his office in ten minutes.”
Lisa stood and grabbed her purse from the conference room. “Might as well do it now.”
“I’ll meet y’all at Nana’s house after you get back from the hospital.”
Neither of them spoke on the way to the hospital. There were so many emotions rolling around in Tanner’s mind. Mostly about Carson and his treatment of their mother, Judy. As far as she was concerned, Carson had mostly been decent to her, at least in the presence of others. Not always, but she knew how to handle him in a way that kept him in line to a point. Their mother hadn’t been a fool when it came to Carson. She’d known what he was by the time they were kids and had given up believing he could change.
But to think he’d had a blatant affair that resulted in a child with Justine and then knowingly covered up Justine’s death was next level hard to stomach. The depths of the man’s disregard for human feeling were unfathomable.
Tanner and Lisa climbed out of the truck and Tanner apologized for his silence. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about Carson’s lack of humanity in all of this.”
