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Dad’s gaze moves to me. “Who?”
“The Abernathy family has that kind of power,” I say rather than explain to my dad that I’ve been making deals with them. It’s going to break his heart when he finds out. But this can’t stay a secret for much longer, especially when Brennon appears on the TV screen.
He’s standing on a platform, looking out at a room filled with journalists and other media professionals. He’s wearing his usual outfit, a plaid button down and blue jeans. His beard is neat, and his hair is pulled into a ponytail. He doesn’t look a thing like the CEO that once took the tech industry by storm. No, he looks like a gruff mountain man. My gruff mountain man.
I blink and rub my tired eyes. I have to be imagining this. Brennon hasn’t been in the public eye since his stroke. His family has gone to great lengths to hide him away and now here he is, letting the world see his face.
His friend Trace adjusts the microphone for him while Nash and Roman stand off to the side. They look like they’re ready to go to battle for him. They have his back and that means the world to me.
Dad is still asking me questions, but I’m too curious to answer them. Instead, I focus all my attention on Brennon. A hushed silence falls over the crowd as they eagerly wait for word from the former leader.
He stares down at cue cards that he was tapping against his palm only a few seconds ago. I can feel his frustration mount, the things he wants to say all building up inside of him. More than anything, I wish I could go to him and put a hand on his arm. I wish I could remind him that he’s so much more than they see. Brennon Abernathy is a good man.
Finally, he looks up from the cards and says in a halting tone, “Two years…I had…stroke.”
A flurry of questions starts from the crowd, but he holds up his hand. A king silencing his subjects. The crowd quiets, and he continues, “Since then…I have….reflected. Company has…done…wrong. Family wrong.”
He scrubs a hand through his face, looking for the words. I can’t imagine what this is costing him to be up there. His pride and dignity. The man he used to be was refined and polished. He never stumbled when he spoke and kept a perfect rich baritone with every word.
But this man struggles for each syllable and when he speaks into the microphone, it’s a deep rumble. His voice is more growl than anything from the months without use. “Worst wrong…is…prism…prism…”
Trace puts a hand on his shoulder and leans close to say something in his ear. But Brennon shakes his head and forces himself to continue, “Wrongful…imprisonment. Walter…Beauford.”
“What is the boy doing?” Dad frowns. “He didn’t know nothing. This was Jack’s fault!”
I shush him, my attention still glued to the screen.
He looks to Trace who nods that he got the words out correctly. Meanwhile the crowd has erupted into a new round of questions that’s nearly deafening.
He waits again until they’re quiet. The concentration etched on his face tells me he isn’t done with his message. “Walt, I…am…sorry.”
With that, he turns to Trace. His friend claps him on the back. I’m pretty sure he tells him he did good before he leans forward to the microphone, “Follow up questions can be directed to me, Trace.”
My heart skips a beat. “He did this for me. I know he did.”
Dad reaches for the remote, silencing the TV. In the middle of the conference, the two officers left the room, and I didn’t even notice. I was too busy paying attention to Brennon and his stuttered confession. He was so brave and all I want to do is go to him.
“What do you mean he did it for you?”
I sniff and swipe at my face before I explain to my dad what happened over the past few weeks. I don’t leave any of the details out. I tell him about going to Jack to plead for mercy, about agreeing to marry Andrew, and how Brennon stepped in at the last minute. I tell him everything except about those private moments in Brennon’s bedroom. “You were right, Dad. He didn’t know anything about what was going on with you.”
My dad takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “And now you love him.”
It’s not a question, but I still nod. I’m caught in an impossible situation. I can’t betray either of them. “He’s my soulmate.”
“Then go to him,” Dad answers.
It’s not that simple. There’s so much to untangle, so many messy things about this situation. Even if he did get all charges against my father dropped, there’s still the shit storm he unleashed on his own father. “He—his family—”
