AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was no real villain here, only a tangled web of lies that Wyatt had both been born into and constructed on his own. Time to do his best to tear the web apart and set himself free to be whoever he was truly meant to be. Even if he had to leave Texas behind for good.
Brand picked his phone up from the desk. “I’m texting Hugo and Michael that I’m going off the land for a while. Today was an office day for me anyway.”
“Okay. Um, are you going to tell Hugo about me?”
“I have to tell him. After our fight last night, I can’t keep this from him, but I don’t plan on telling the rest of my family anything until the DNA test confirms it. I won’t do that to them.”
“You won’t dangle a grandson in front of your parents without proof?”
“Exactly.” Brand leaned against the wall by the window, arms still crossed, definitely on the defensive now. “I wish I could do better by you, Wyatt. I wish I could believe you, walk over there, and hug you as my son but I can’t. This is all so sudden.”
“And surreal, I get it, I really do.” Wyatt didn’t know if he wanted to laugh, cry, or both, so he settled on clearing his throat really hard. “I guess we should go.”
“Yeah. Meet me in the parking lot of the Roost. We’ll leave your car there and both go in my truck. That way you don’t have to come all the way back out here when we’re done.”
The requirement surprised him more than it probably should have. Not so much Brand wanting to escort Wyatt to the hospital to make sure he went, but that Brand didn’t want him back on this property anytime soon. “Okay. Am I fired?”
“No. Until this DNA test is back the regular schedule will be worked as posted. However, tomorrow I’ll have you shadowing Rem instead of Jackson.”
“That’s fair.” Jackson would probably appreciate it, too, and Wyatt’s insides ached at the thought. “I, uh, guess we should go. Meet at the Roost, I mean.”
“Yeah. You go first. I’ll be a few minutes behind you.”
“Okay.”
Wyatt stood and left the bunkhouse, walking to his car on autopilot. Nothing about his life right now felt tangible, as if he was sleepwalking through it all. Or insanely drunk and unaware of his own actual movements. Deep in his heart he knew what the DNA test would prove, but they both needed it to be sure. To have that document in their hands that said they were father and son. Then they could begin to process things and move forward.
Maybe.
He hoped.
Chapter Nineteen
Brand was such a tangled mess when he returned from the hospital that he didn’t bother trying to do any more work in the office. He nearly went inside the main house so he could vent all of this to Mom and get her advice. But he couldn’t give her the joyous fantasy that she had a grandson out there, only to potentially yank that happy news away. So he walked into the bunkhouse, which was dark and quiet. Not a surprise since it was only four o’clock.
The lab at the hospital had been a tad backed up when they arrived, so they’d had to wait for their turn. Wyatt had seemed a touch green at the idea of a needle and blood draw, but Brand didn’t trust those cheek swab tests. Plus, the kid had seen enough of his own blood these past couple of weeks that it amazed Brand he might be squeamish.
They hadn’t spoken much, and Brand had found himself studying Wyatt’s profile while pretending to do something on his phone. The more he looked, the more of Ginny he saw in Wyatt—and more of himself, too. Wyatt definitely had the Woods family nose, inherited by each of them from Dad’s side.
Brand went for the cupboard above the mini-fridge and hot plate. He kept a bottle of bourbon up there for nights when he had trouble sleeping and wanted to knock a few back. Less of those since he and Hugo had moved in together, so the bottle was mostly full. He didn’t have a proper snifter for it—broke his only one moving from the house to here, which was pretty stupid since the distance was less than twenty yards—so he used a coffee mug. Poured some and took the mug to the kitchen table.
Wyatt could be my kid. Wyatt could be my kid.
The words had been stuck on repeat in his head ever since Wyatt confessed, and they only got louder while he sat alone in the dimming room. The sun didn’t set quite as early in February as it did in January, but it was still dark outside when Hugo walked in. Brand had sipped his way through one pour of bourbon and was nursing his second.
Hugo jumped and let out a startled yelp when he flipped on the main overhead light and spotted Brand. “Christ, give a guy a heart attack, why don’t you?”
“Sorry,” Brand said. “Just sat down and got lost in thought.”
He eyeballed Brand’s mug, then sniffed the air. “No coffee left?”
“I didn’t brew any.” Brand tilted his head at the bottle. “I found something out today that’s fucking with my mind a little, and I need to tell you about it.”
“This isn’t another secret kid, is it?”
“No, this is actually about the same secret kid.”
Hugo frowned as he hung his hat on a peg by the door. Pulled off his boots and left them on a mat before joining Brand at the table. “Am I going to need a mug of that, too?”
