AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Now they were alone in the hospital room, just him, the love of his life, and their unborn twins.
Mind-blowing.
Back to the wild story that Adam had recounted to him.
“Yep. Frank Conover was one of the wealthiest men in Idaho, just like Adam said, and a state senator. He met my mother when the Freaks played Boise. I guess he was a huge fan of the Freaks, had VIP tickets and backstage passes, all that. He got to be friends with Gault. And then my mom got pregnant with me and all hell broke loose. Conover didn’t want to lose his marriage, but when his wife found out she left him. That kind of thing was a big scandal at the time for politicians—out of wedlock child, all that. My mom agreed not to name him as the father as long as he made monthly payments. Her name was never in the papers, which was why I never stumbled across Frank Conover in my internet searches. Apparently those monthly payments supported us until I was ten.”
“What happened then?”
“Frank Conover decided to run for U.S. Senate. A reporter dug up the old story about me and my mother. But this time Frank played dirty. He’d already lost half his money to his ex-wife. I guess he decided he didn’t have much else to lose. So he went on the offense. He stopped sending Nora money and said if she came forward he’d say she seduced him and that she was a drug addict and so forth. Which she was, off and on. His tactics worked. She couldn’t afford lawyers and she was trying to stay sober at the time. She didn’t want a battle. That’s when we came to Lake Bittersweet and she asked Gault for help. She was also hoping she could leave me with Alvin Carter, but that didn’t work out. Gault tried to talk Conover into acknowledging me, but he refused. So instead he got Conover to set up that fund.”
Bliss was watching him with wide eyes as she sipped grape soda through a straw. “Your father sounds like a bit of a…”
“A dick? Yeah, he does. All things considered, I’m glad I didn’t grow up with him. But at least I know who he is.” It had felt like a slab of concrete had been lifted off him, in fact. As if something that had weighed him down his entire life had shifted, and he could breathe.
“But you know something? I’m proud of you that you didn’t let not-knowing hold you back from this.” Bliss waved a hand between the two of them.
“I’m not sure I could have,” he admitted. “My feelings for you pretty much obliterated everything else.” That called for a kissing break, which lasted until she lay her head back on the pillows, breathless and pink-cheeked.
“What else did Adam say?”
“He was the one who broke into our suite at the Bittersweet Inn. That message to shut up and go away? I guess that was for me. He comes through town often enough that he heard when I showed up. It was a little too close for comfort for him.”
“Why did he come to New York?”
“He was there for a medical suppliers conference. He happened to see us together and freaked out. He decided that he needed to confront me. Bad move. Then he heard we were back in Lake Bittersweet and he became convinced we were going to try to horn in on his inheritance.”
“Did you look your father up online? Do you look like him?”
“A little bit. He’s part Nez Perce, so that explains my skin color.”
“I wonder what else the DNA test will say?”
“To be honest, I don’t care anymore. I want to look into the Nez Perce connection, but I’d rather skip the Conover part. I can’t believe I spent so much time and energy worrying about it.”
Bliss cocked her head at him and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “Does this change anything in your feelings about your mom?”
Perceptive, his Bliss. “It does. I can see why she kept it all to herself. I think he really scared her with his legal threats, and she was trying to do her best for me. I…forgive her, I guess.”
“Good.” She gave a glowing smile, that special one reserved for him only. “Because personally, I adore your mom. She brought you to Lake Bittersweet, after all. She brought you to me.”
“That might be giving her too much credit.” That was his Bliss, always putting a magical shine on things. He adjusted the blanket over her stomach. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, she wore no makeup, and her skin was damp with sweat. To him, she was pure enchantment.
She made an impish face at him. “One of these days you’re going to stop pretending everything is just logic.”
“But then we’d have nothing to spar about.”
“We could keep our sparring confined to the bedroom.”
That wicked wink sent a shot of arousal through him.
“Are you trying to seduce me, Bliss Gault?”
“Maybe. Or maybe you’re trying to seduce me. Maybe,” she gave him a come-hither smile, “it’s a case of mutually assured seduction.”
And who could resist that? Not him.
Thirty-One
