Trent described the details of letters spanning several years about a secret romance between Frank Jamieson, then twenty-three, and an eighteen-year-old housekeeper at their family summer home. Marion Price.
“He dated Mom at the time, too.” Trent raised a judgment-filled brow. “When they got engaged, Dad ended the affair with Marion. One of the last letters showed how, a few years into the marriage, Dad resumed his affair during a summer visit.” He met Duncan’s eyes. “When I was conceived.”
Duncan considered the flimsy evidence. “A letter doesn’t prove anything. Maybe she’d been with some other man besides Dad.”
Trent shrugged. “I don’t think so. The letters suggested Dad asked Marion to get an abortion. Marion’s last note was dated the end of October and explained everything. Seems Mom came to Northbridge by herself, to close up the place for the winter. She hired some of the local help to give her a hand, including Marion, who was two months pregnant at the time. Mom caught her crying. You know Mom…everyone’s savior.”
Duncan motioned with his hand for Trent to continue.
“Marion told Mom she got pregnant by a married man who left her on her own. Mom jumped to the rescue. Seems she and Dad were having some difficulty conceiving so she offered to adopt the baby and help out with expenses during the pregnancy. Of course, she got pregnant with you shortly after adopting me.”
He recoiled at the notion his father had cheated on his mother and had also abandoned a pregnant woman. “Mom never knew about his affair?”
“If she did, she didn’t tell me.”
Duncan’s throat tightened, the story lodging there and making him want to choke. He gulped hard and tried to push the facts through his system. He peeked in Sophie’s direction. She looked at the window.
He turned to Trent. “What happened at Buzz’s house?”
“Sometimes I act first, think later.” Trent shrugged it off, his usual attitude when he screwed up. “Since we were here for vacation, I decided to go to the one person who knew the truth. I showed her the letter and demanded answers. She insisted the birth records were accurate, but I didn’t believe her. She asked me to leave.” His mouth crumpled into a frown. “But I stayed and kept asking.”
Duncan choked back the urge to scream at his brother. Instead, his fingers dug into the leather arm of his chair and waited for him to finish.
“Buzz came home from work. Things got out of control and he took out a pistol from a kitchen drawer. When I tried to grab it, the trigger went off.” He studied his hands. “The rest you know. Dad talked to the police, worked everything out with them, and got rid of the records.”
“He didn’t work things out.” Sophie snapped. “He bribed them.” Her contempt-filled glare swung toward Duncan.
Embarrassed over his father’s actions, he cleared his throat. “My father has a way of getting what he needs from people. I’m not proud of him, but he’ll never change.” He turned away, but his father’s actions filled him with unbearable shame.
“That’s the reason I wanted you to arrange for a get-together with them. I figured I could talk to Marion privately. When Marion and I talked alone in the kitchen tonight, I vowed never to bring up the past again. With your return to town, I figured she’d be worried.”
Duncan leaned forward. “Why didn’t she just tell Buzz to back off encouraging us to come here?”
“I asked her that. Buzz doesn’t know about Dad. It would kill him to learn she’d lied about the father for so many years. He understood his wife had some problems in the past, but she never told him the real reason I showed up that day. Only said I wanted to know why she didn’t want me.” Disappointment shadowed his expression. “If the affair with Dad is true, bringing it up now would only hurt everybody.”
After a lifetime of watching his father distance himself from their family, especially Trent, Duncan saw the possibility this story could be true. An ache settled in his chest, pity for his brother who’d had to spend all these years living with the knowledge his parentage came with lies.
He looked at Sophie, who stared at her lap. “Sophie, at the January board meeting, when you and I spoke in the hallway, did you know about the gunshot story?”
She looked up. “Yes, but I didn’t understand it. In fact, I had showed Buzz the article. He claimed it was true, but he’s a terrible liar. Now I see he did it to protect his wife. Guess this explains why Marion got so upset when you came over to us.”
He didn’t reply, only silently stared in her direction wondering why she hadn’t told him sooner. She lowered her eyes.
Trent rested his elbows on his knees. “Duncan, you’re the last person I wanted affected by this. I understand how much a fresh start meant to you after Elizabeth’s death.” His attention shifted to Sophie. “Someone’s been spoon feeding this stuff to you. Probably hoping this would come out. The question is why?”
“There’s only one person I can think of.” Duncan sounded glum and sorry to have to make the admission.
“Dad?” Trent asked.
Duncan nodded. He glanced at Sophie and the ache in his chest pounded from where he’d once again given his heart to her and she’d left him battered and bruised.
Was this what love did?
“Sophie?”
She looked up, hope reigning in her expression.
He worked extra hard to keep his skepticism about her actions from thawing. “I assume none of this will make the paper.”
Tears pooled. In an instant, he regretted the comment and wanted to take her in his arms. She stood and approached his desk, meeting his eyes directly for the first time since this conversation had started. “I’d never do that to you. You mean everything to me.”
The power of her gaze held the same control over him as the soft skin of her touch. She lifted her purse off the desktop and left the room. Her footsteps sounded down the hallway and the front door opened then closed.
Duncan considered running after her, begging for mercy, but his wounded pride kept him stuck in his seat.
“Man.” Trent stroked his throat and sent a judgment-filled grimace in Duncan’s direction. “You’re an idiot.”
Chapter 29
A half hour later, Duncan and Trent stood on the icy front stoop of the Tates’ 1800s farmhouse. Elmer opened the door, his shoulders hunched over and with an initial look of wrinkled confusion, one quickly replaced with a wary smile.
“Oh. Trent, Duncan. Come on in. It’s cold out.” He buttoned up his tattered gray cardigan as they stepped inside. “What can I do for you?”
“Sorry to show up unannounced.” Duncan caught a whiff of sweet pipe tobacco. “Hope it’s not too late.”
“Not for me. Otis is upstairs, though. Did you want me to call him down?”
“No. We came to see you.” Duncan undid a few buttons on his heavy winter coat, the house warmer than he kept his. He wiped his feet on the floor mat.
“Come have a seat in the parlor. I need to sit.” Elmer started a slow, stiff walk into the next room. He lowered himself onto a rocking chair positioned near a small table holding an opened book turned upside down, antique lamp, and a mahogany colored pipe resting in an ashtray.
The old boxed television built into a faded wood console and dated furniture were relics of decades gone by, reminding Duncan of an organized estate sale.
He settled into a clean but worn sofa across from Elmer, close to the brick fireplace. Trent paced the room, acting interested in the knickknacks.
“So, what brings you here?” Elmer’s long face, usually clean-shaven, held a prickly late-day shadow. He ran a hand through his thin white hair and glanced at Trent.
Duncan waited to see if Trent would speak, but he seemed to have taken an interest in a Presidents of the U.S. dinner plate hanging on the wall with an image of Richard Nixon dead center. The former President’s disgraceful departure seemed fitting given the scandal bringing them here tonight.
Dun
can cleared his throat. “We hoped you might help us set the record straight.”
“I’ll help if I can.” The old man cast a nervous glimpse at the staircase.
A few times over the past weeks, Duncan had sensed Elmer had something to tell him, however, Otis kept a tight leash on every conversation.
Trent swung around. “Elmer, I’m not sure you’re my father.”
Elmer’s shoulders sagged and he sighed. “I can’t keep up with this lie anymore.”
“It’s true?” Trent blinked several times.
He nodded, slow and resigned. “Who told you?”
“I found letters Marion wrote. Years ago. Why… I mean how could you…?” Trent’s eyes bulged. “Why’d you let me believe you were?”
He sighed. “For Marion. She didn’t want me to tell you the truth. She doesn’t want anybody to know how she got involved with a married man.”
Trent’s face paled, his voice a notch above a whisper. “Dad really is my father.”
Duncan walked over and rested a gentle hand on Trent’s shoulder. “Come sit down.” He led him back to the sofa where Trent hunched forward and buried his face in his hands.
“Elmer, how’d you get involved?” Duncan grappled with the fact Sophie had uncovered something true and shameful about his family.
“Our families go way back. We were close, like an older brother and sister. When the offer for adoption came through from your mother, Marion asked if I knew a place where she could go and have the baby. I contacted a buddy from the service, from upstate New York. He and his wife had a cottage on their land. Said she was welcome until she had the baby. I visited her sometimes.”
Longing in the old man’s distant gaze made Duncan speculate he owned stronger feelings for Marion. Another stab of regret at the way he’d treated Sophie struck hard and fast, just like the ones that pummeled him on the drive here.
“As the delivery date neared, she worried the father’s name on the birth certificate would be blank. She asked if she could use my name.” His lower lip puffed. “She was so ashamed. How could I say no?”
Trent lifted his head. “How could you lie to me?” He spoke slow, his tone thick and throaty.
“I’m sorry.” Elmer stared at the floor for a long moment, his shoulders lifting up with a deep sigh. “Does Marion realize you’ve discovered the truth?”
“Yes, she didn’t flat out admit it but didn’t deny it either.” Trent shrugged. “I promised her I’d never share her past with anyone.”
Duncan admired Trent’s loyalty to his birth mother and wished he possessed the same devotion to his own.
Elmer’s body melted into the chair, suddenly looking tired and even older than when they first arrived. “Marion always felt you were where you belonged. With your real father.”
He pointed a crooked finger at Duncan and straightened up in his seat. “Now you listen to me. Sophie Shaw and her family are the ones who should have our property. I never wanted to involve outsiders. Otis and Buzz saw dollar signs.”
Footsteps banged on the stairs. Otis appeared in the arched opening to the room. “I figured you’d blow this.”
Elmer scowled at his brother. “Otis, I think you were born without a heart.” Tears welled and one escaped down his wrinkled cheek. “I refuse to watch this property sold under the guise of a lie. This land means so much to Sophie. All the Moore family.”
“Why?” Trent’s brows knitted.
Elmer shared details of Sophie’s son’s death and the memorial. Pain over hurting her earlier crippled Duncan. Would she ever trust him again?
Trent looked at Duncan. “Were you aware of this, about her son?”
“Yes. I wanted to pull the firm’s bid, but she wouldn’t let me.”
Otis muttered a few barely discernible words of disgust and shuffled toward the staircase.
“Wait a second,” Duncan said sharply.
Otis turned around.
“Why’d you do this? Why’d you contact my mother?”
Otis sneered. “I didn’t. Years ago, she contacted me. Said since Elmer was her son’s birth father, she wanted us to call her if the land ever went up for sale.”
Duncan’s mother had lied. The day she asked Duncan to help with the land, she’d claimed they hunted her down, flat out lied to him to benefit Trent.
Duncan clenched his fists, but it barely bottled his anger. “So you pushed this, even though you knew Elmer wasn’t really Trent’s father?”
A fleeting moment of indignity crossed the old man’s face. “Nobody knew the truth except me, my brother, and Marion.”
Duncan shook his head. “You misled Buzz.”
“I wasn’t about to tell him. I needed his help with the board to get through the zoning changes.” He looked between Duncan and Trent.
Disgrace for his family’s lies and his father’s history made Duncan want to change everything, to do the right thing, for once.
“Elmer, Otis… We could still have a deal. But this time, we’re going to work on my terms.”
* * * *
Sophie lowered the volume on the TV, thinking she heard a noise outside. Bella, who rested at her side curled in a tight ball, lifted her head and uttered a low growl. “Shh. The kids are sleeping.”
When she didn’t hear the sound again, she turned up the volume, but had lost interest in the program. She closed her tired, sore eyes and tipped her head back on the sofa.
She’d cried most of the way home from Duncan’s. The tears finally slowed, replaced by irritation over his righteous attitude. His reaction surpassed upset.
The sandy dog’s head cocked just as Sophie heard the faint sound of a car door shutting. Bella barked, hopped to the floor, and raced to the door.
“Quiet!” Sophie headed to the window.
The dog gave one last final yip.
Nobody who knew her would visit after ten. An insistent knock at the door made her consider her tartan plaid flannels and Mike’s old sweatshirt. She peeked out the window. Duncan’s car sat in the middle of the driveway, headlights on and still running.
What’d he want, another chance to bash her with his harsh judgments and make a quick get away? Swallowing the little bit of pride she had left, she opened the door.
Duncan stood with his hands shoved in his jacket pockets and stared back with the remorseful, terrified face of a man who’d just made the worst mistake of his life.
“I’m sorry, Sophie.” Duncan’s unexpected words rushed her. “Please tell me I haven’t lost you.”
Sophie’s heart had flat-lined on the way home. Twice circumstances got in their way and twice Duncan didn’t even give her a fighting chance.
“Say something.” An urgent puff of condensation filled the night air, and he reached for her hand. “We just left Elmer Tate’s. I didn’t want to wait to apologize. What I said… I’ve made a horrible mistake.” His voice lost some power. “Will you forgive me?”
Sophie pulled away from his warm grip. “Forgive you?” She shook her head. “I’ve made some mistakes, but you shut me out the second things don’t go as planned. Same way you did that night at the studio. This is no way to start a relationship.” His sad eyes threatened her resolve so she looked past his shoulder. Trent sat in the passenger seat.
“You’re right.”
She shifted her gaze back to him as he scrubbed his hand over his cheek.
“I was shocked about my father. Truly shocked. I know you were just the messenger, but hearing my family kept this secret, well, it seemed surreal. It hurt.”
“That didn’t make right to hurt me.”
He frowned. “No. It didn’t. Please accept my apology.”
The wheels of logic churned and she tried to stand in his shoes. She’d dumped many things on him tonight. Things she’d known about for a long time.
She blew out a breath. “Duncan, I expected you to be upset. I just hoped you wouldn’t push me away so…” Sh
e swallowed. “So coldly. God, don’t you understand how I feel about you?”
He took her hands again and this time she didn’t pull away. “I guess things hurt more when they come from people we care about. I admit I overreacted.”
Rock music filled the air and they both glanced toward the car as the window lowered.
Trent waved. “Hey there, Sophie. Look, I know my brother can be a little hotheaded, but I still love him. He gave me a second chance when nobody else would. He deserves one too.”
Duncan’s jaw unhinged. “I swear I didn’t ask him to say that.”
Trent’s comment reminded her how Duncan cared about others, how he worked hard to change the way he’d handled his life in the past.
The tense pull in her shoulders relaxed. “An un-coerced endorsement like that can’t be ignored.” She offered a slight smile. “I know I’ve made mistakes too, but so help me God, Duncan, next time we have a problem, you’d better count to ten and be willing to work on it with me. In return, I’ll tell you every little thing from now on. So much so you’ll be begging me to stop.”
His face softened. “I promise. If ten doesn’t work, I’ll count to twenty. And about what you said on your way out…” He inhaled deeply. “You mean everything to me too.”
The ache in her chest lifted. She threaded her hands around his strong neck and he wrapped her in his arms, pulling her close. He kissed her, so tender and filled with affection that it would be impossible to stay mad at him.
Trent applauded from the car. Maybe Sophie had misjudged him.
They stopped kissing. Duncan grinned and his eyes sparkled. “Now, if I can come in for a minute, I want to talk about the Tates’ land. I’m done with it, but you’re not and I’ve got an offer you won’t be able to refuse.”
She asked him to come inside. Once they got settled on the sofa, he drew in a nervous breath. “I withdrew my offer on the land.” He studied her, his expectation obvious. “It’s all yours.”
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