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“That’s diff—” He caught himself, which contained Brand’s temper. “No, I suppose it’s not different. What’s your catchphrase? ‘Love is love’?”
Hugo bit his lip and looked like he wanted to burst into tears—happy tears. Brand’s own throat tightened and he swallowed hard before he could speak. “Yeah. Love is love. Hugo’s been family a long time, and soon he’ll officially be part of it.”
“How soon?” Mom asked. She still stood between Hugo’s and Brand’s chairs, one hand on each man’s shoulder.
“Not that soon,” Hugo said. “We haven’t even talked about setting a date or plans or anything. We had something else to deal with first, and that’s actually why we’re all here for supper tonight.” He angled toward Brand, deferring to him.
“Mom, you might wanna sit back down,” Brand said. “Trust me.”
She flashed him a curious smile and did as asked.
“Hugo and I learned something a few nights ago, and we’ve been taking our time processing it. We agreed to tell you both first, before we tell the rest of the family.”
“Something else besides the proposal?” Mom asked. Then her face went fierce. “Is it about Wyatt’s kidnapping? Did that awful man do something we don’t know about?”
“No, he didn’t. I mean, we found this out the same night, but it has nothing to do with Walters or the gems.” The police had finally gotten their hands on the emergency kit package and arrested Jared for his part in hiding what turned out to be a collection of rare, uncut gemstones worth mid-six-figures. Wyatt had been dumbfounded to realize he’d been driving around with a small fortune in his trunk.
“Then what’s this about, son?” Dad asked.
“It’s about Wyatt.”
“Oh?”
All sets of eyes in the room landed on Wyatt, who squirmed and blushed bright red. “First off, ma’am and sir, I never meant to hurt anyone,” Wyatt began, a slight tremor in his voice. Jackson looked like he was restraining himself from leaning over and hugging Wyatt. “When I moved here, it was to apply specifically to your ranch for work. I wanted to get to know your family. Brand, in particular.”
Dad went stiffer in his chair. “And why’s that?”
“Because my mother’s name was Ginny Foster before she married my stepfather and took the name Gibson.”
Mom let out a small gasp, hands flying up to cover her mouth. “You look like her. Such a sweet girl.”
“I’ve been told that I look like her. And I’m starting to see the ways I look like my father.”
Mom seemed confused but Brand saw the moment Dad put it together. He pushed his chair back and stood slowly, making no sudden movements. He simply stared at Wyatt as so many unnamable emotions flashed across his face. Then Mom understood and released a sharp cry. If Jackson hadn’t been seated between her and Wyatt, Brand suspected she’d have snatched him right into her arms.
“We did a DNA test,” Brand said when Wyatt seemed too overwhelmed to continue. “I’m Wyatt’s biological father. He’s the baby I signed away my rights to twenty years ago.”
For the first time in a very long time, Dad looked like he might burst into tears. The last time Dad had gotten this emotional in front of his children had been when Colt walked back into their home after sixteen years away. Brand thought Dad might cry back then, and he almost expected it now.
“We didn’t want to give you up,” Dad said in a harsh whisper. “Didn’t want Brand to, but her family threatened ours. Threatened Brand.”
“I know, sir,” Wyatt replied. “Brand and I have had a few long talks this week. I don’t blame him or you. I blame my maternal grandparents. They told me my whole life I was better off not knowing you guys, that my father’s family was cruel and selfish, but as I got older I still wanted to know where I came from. I begged my mom to tell me who my father was, but even on her deathbed, she refused. So I did my own digging and it led me here. To your ranch.”
“I’m so sorry about your mother, sweetheart,” Mom said. She seemed to be climbing on board the acceptance train a lot faster. The trickier reaction so far was Dad’s.
Wyatt’s insides were shaking apart and he kind of wished he’d eaten less supper, because his stomach was threatening to empty itself all over Rose’s dining room floor. He couldn’t tear his eyes off Wayne. As the patriarch of the Woods family, his reaction to this news mattered most. His children would take their cues from him. Brand too, but mostly Wayne.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Wyatt said to Rose without taking his eyes off Wayne.
Wayne slowly circled the table to stand behind Wyatt’s chair, his face still a bizarre mix of emotions, and Wyatt didn’t know the man well enough to understand any of them. His eyes glistened brightly and his posture was more relaxed, though, so Wyatt didn’t immediately panic.
“Please, stand up, son,” Wayne said.
Wyatt swallowed, mouth too dry, and he cast a seeking look at Jackson. Jackson smiled and nodded his head ever so slightly, so Wyatt did as asked. Carefully rising from his chair and scooting out from behind it to face Wayne. Wyatt held himself as stiffly as possible, realizing for the first time that he was actually taller than Wayne, too.
Wayne rested both hands on Wyatt’s shoulders. “I told Colton something once when he came back into my life four years ago,” he said. “I told him I never thought I’d become a man who’d drive his own child off without a word. I can’t imagine ever doing that to a grandson, either.”
Something warm and wonderful squeezed Wyatt’s chest so tight he was sure he needed to cry or scream with joy, or do something else to release the pressure. Wayne helped him out by gently wrapping his arms around Wyatt’s shoulders and hugging him. When Wyatt began this journey, he never expected to find himself here: being hugged and accepted by his father and grandparents. The rest of the family was still up in the air, but for right now, this was everything in the world to Wyatt.
