AllFreeNovel
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I opened my eyes. “Yeah?”
“I want a family too. With someone I love.”
I squeezed his hand and closed my eyes again. When the pilot announced he was turning off the seat belt sign, I nudged Spider with my elbow. “Now’s your chance.”
“You really think I should do this?”
“Like I said, you might want to strike before she has the chance. Something tells me she intends to.”
When Spider got up and walked toward the rear of the plane, I stood and walked toward the front, where the entire first row on one side was empty. “Would it be okay if I took that seat for a few minutes?” I asked the flight attendant.
“Go right ahead. Would you like more champagne?”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll wait a bit.”
“You’ve got it.”
I glanced behind me and saw Spider return to our seats. Susan followed. I shifted over to the spot by the window, took my noise-canceling earbuds out of my pocket, put them in, and shut my eyes again. I must’ve dozed off, but I woke when I felt a hand on my arm.
“How’d it go?” I asked Spider, removing my earbuds.
“Incredibly awkward.”
“Meaning?”
“She assumed I knew. Still thinks so.”
“Is your brother…”
He nodded. “She didn’t confirm or deny it using those exact words, but from what I gathered in the little she said, she was given a significant amount of money to raise her baby on her own—without ‘the father’s’ involvement.”
“Would your brother do that?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. It also wouldn’t shock me if I learned my dad was behind it.”
“Why wouldn’t he and your mom want to be involved in their grandchild’s life?”
“Oh, they are. Just not that grandchild. I asked Susan how old Danielle is. She’s thirteen.”
I raised a brow.
“She looks older, right?” he said.
“To be honest, I can’t gauge it very well.”
“Me neither. Anyway, what I was going to say is,coincidentally, my brother has been married almost thirteen years to a woman whose parents are good friends with ours. They have been most of our lives.”
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“I know.”
“So, what’s your mother like?” I asked, figuring I might as well get the lay of the land with his family all at once.
“She’s not like my dad, but she doesn’t stand up to him. He rules the roost, as they say.”
“You’re so unlike him. How did that happen?”
“I can be. Even though I try hard not to. Every once in a while, I catch myself, and it makes me sick.”
