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I thought back over everything that had happened, like a movie in reverse. “This explains so much—like why spending time with you sometimes felt like a job interview.”
His voice was strained. “Do you hate me?”
I knew in my heart of hearts that he’d never set out to hurt me. And I now believed he did have genuine feelings for me. He just wouldn’t act on them. “I want to hate you. But I can’t. I don’t. I get why you did it.”
He reached for my hand and let out a long sigh. “Thank you.”
We held hands in silence for several seconds. “Where do we go from here?”
He squeezed my hand and let it go. “That’s totally up to you. You don’t have to do anything with this information, Wren. He will never have to know, if you don’t want him to. You have a right to your privacy, which I violated.”
“I can’t just…ignore this information.”
Dax nodded and looked out toward the field. “I think, either way, now is not a good time for him to find out. He’s too unstable—still not speaking or opening up to anyone. I don’t think he could handle it.”
“I think you’re right,” I agreed.
He looked back toward me. “But if you want to be in his life, we can work something out. You can come to the house under a different pretense, get to know him naturally. Then we can figure out how to tell him when the time is right. But again, you have no obligation here, Wren. I can’t emphasize that enough.”
“He’s my brother!” It came out louder than intended. Saying those words brought tears to my eyes. My voice was shaky. “I can’t just unknow this. There’s no question what I want.”
“Okay,” he whispered. Dax reached out to wipe my tears. I closed my eyes, relishing the feel of his warm fingers against my face.
Then I opened my eyes and cracked a smile. “Holy shit…I have a brother.”
“Yeah.” He grinned.
Sniffling, I wiped the last of my tears. “Can you take me home? I need to talk to my dad.”
“Of course.”
The ride back to my house was quiet. I was still in shock and assumed I’d be this way for a while. Before I went inside, Dax and I agreed to meet for coffee sometime in the coming week to discuss the next steps.
My life would never be the same again.
Dax
Over coffee, I’d shown Wren the folder where I kept all the information the investigator had provided me about both adoptions. I didn’t want her to have any doubts about the situation. We’d also decided she would spend time at our house under the guise of being my friend. It wasn’t like Rafe hadn’t seen her here before, so that story worked out well. He’d likely already assumed she was a friend of mine. It made sense to continue under that pretense.
She had come over twice in the two weeks since the conversation in my car. Each time she’d attempted to bond with Rafe over anime and manga, bringing him a couple of new comic books I’d confirmed he didn’t have. She also showed him photos from the time she’d attended the anime convention in college. I was relieved to see her handling everything so well, and even more relieved that I no longer had to hide such a major thing from her.
While he still refused to talk, Rafe appeared to be in better spirits lately, appearing more engaged and spending more time at the dinner table before rushing off to his room.
I decided to tell Shannon the truth about everything, knowing she’d see Wren at the house and draw the wrong conclusion about us once again. She was shocked, to say the least, but she supported the idea of Wren getting to know Rafe before we announced the news to him.
One Friday evening, Wren joined us for an early dinner, her third visit since learning the truth. Shannon had made chicken and roasted Brussels sprouts. I insisted she sit down and join us, which she occasionally did if she didn’t have plans with Bob. I knew she’d take me up on my offer tonight because she’d been very curious about Wren since discovering who she was.
Shannon and Wren led the conversation for most of the dinner, while Rafe and I remained quiet, although I noticed he was paying attention to what they were saying. Shannon spoke about her last trip to New Orleans, and Wren seemed particularly interested in Shannon’s stories from the ghost tour she’d gone on.
Then the conversation somehow moved to the topic of unusual physical traits. Shannon noted that she had two different-colored eyes, which I hadn’t noticed. It was a subtle difference, but when she pointed it out, I could definitely see it.
“I have you beat, I think,” Wren said. “I have twin toes.”
