Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“Ask it,” I said brusquely. I knew I was being rude, but I wanted to know what the hell was going on.
“Is Brooke…” She closed her eyes again and whispered fuck. Opening them, she met my gaze. “Is Brooke your biological daughter?”
Taking a step back, I let out a humorless laugh. “What the hell kind of question is that, Emeline?”
“Rhett was really upset.”
I folded my arms over my chest and glared. “Yes, I witnessed that too.”
She let out a breath. “He told me that his mother said she didn’t want him.”
I started to say something, but she held up her hand.
“Let me just get it all out. I asked him if she’d said that before or after Brooke had gone to Heaven. He said before. Then he said that Caroline had told him not to tell anyone…including you.”
My arms dropped to my sides as I balled my fists. “Go on.”
“Rhett said that one day when he was playing with his sister, he threw one of his soldiers into the air and it hit Brooke. She started crying, and Caroline came into the room and got mad at Rhett.”
She paused, like she was second-guessing telling me this.
“Keep going.”
Another exhale before she said, “Caroline told him that she’d never wanted him…and that she was glad Brooke and Rhett didn’t have the same father. He didn’t understand what she meant, of course. And when he asked, I think she must’ve realized what she let slip. She told him she didn’t mean it, she was just upset, and that he wasn’t to ever tell anyone, including you.”
Confused, I leaned back against the counter. “She told Rhett she’d never wanted him?”
Emeline nodded, then frowned. “That was the part that stuck out the most?”
“You’re referring to the part about not having the same father. Is that why you asked if I was Brooke’s father? You think I’m not?”
With a shrug, Emeline replied, “What else am I supposed to think, Levi? A six-year-old wouldn’t make up something like that. So I figured maybe she had an affair, and Brooke was a result. You said you were having problems in your marriage, so when Rhett told me that…”
Her voice trailed off.
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I drew in a deep breath and let it out. “How could she tell him she didn’t want him?”
Emeline slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. It broke my heart in two. I’ll be honest with you, I wanted to choke Caroline. Then Rhett hugged me, and I nearly lost it. I knew I couldn’t tell you any of this in front of him since he was already so worried about telling you.”
Pushing off the counter, I started to pace. “I’m fighting between calling Caroline and bitching her out, and driving to Denver to personally confront her. Ask her what the hell she meant by them not sharing the same father.”
“Don’t be mad at me but…did Brooke look like you?”
“Yes! Even my mother used to comment on how much Brooke looked like me as a baby.” I shook my head. “She was my child, Emeline. I know deep inside my soul that she was mine.”
She stood and walked over to me, taking my hands in hers. “If you don’t ask Caroline, you’ll second-guess it for the rest of your life, Levi. But, in the end, it won’t matter. Because you loved her and she loved you.”
The feel of her hands in mine caused a strange sensation in my entire body that I quickly attempted to ignore. I didn’t want to admit to myself how good it felt to have a woman touching me so tenderly.
As if reading my mind, she dropped my hands and took a step back. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my phone. Hitting Caroline’s number, I drew in a breath.
“I’ll leave.”
“No!” I said quickly. “Please stay.”
Looking as if she wanted to be anywhere but here, she slid back onto the stool.
“What is it, Levi? I have a friend over.”
“Hello to you, too, Caroline.”
She let out a soft laugh. “Hello. If you’re calling about the divorce papers, I’ll sign them. I’ve been…busy.”
“I’m calling because I want to know why you told Rhett that he and Brooke didn’t have the same father. He has no idea what you meant. But I have a feeling I do.”
The line went silent. Then she cleared her throat. “I was angry that day, Levi. You and I had been fighting, and I just vented.”
“To our son? How old was he when you told him you never wanted him, Caroline?”
“It was before the accident. The day before.”
“Fucking hell! How do you even say that to your own child?!”
“Because Rhett loved you, Levi! He worshiped the ground you walked on, and Brooke was following his lead. It was said out of anger, and I told him I didn’t mean it. That I said it because I was upset with you and not him.”