“What?” He appeared confused as fuck.
I let out a long breath. “Are you my father?”
He pushed back in his chair. “Wow. I did not see that coming. Uh, no Jett. I am most definitely not your father.”
I watched his movements, his reaction—he didn’t seem to be lying. But how would I know?
“You sure about that?” I folded my hands, intertwining my fingers, and rested my chin there.
He chuckled. “Pretty fucking sure. I’m fairly certain you need to have sex with someone to make a baby. And as much as I’ve tried to win your mother over, that’s never happened. Is that why you’ve hated me these past few months? You decided I was the one who’d knocked your mother up and left her?”
I rolled my eyes and my hands fisted at my sides. “He did a lot more than just knock her up. He fucking raped her.”
For some reason, I didn’t feel like I was betraying Ma by talking to Wren about it. And looking him in the eyes as he said the words, made it clear that he wasn’t my father. There was no doubt he cared about her. Always had.
His face hardened and he leaned forward. “You know about that?”
“She doesn’t know I know, but yes. How the fuck do you know about it?”
“Your mom and I have been friends since we were kids. I’d heard what happened to her back in the day, and she admitted it to me. Asked me to keep it a secret because she never reported it. And I’m pretty fucking sure she never wanted you to find out about it.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Fuck. I overheard her talking to Shay a few months ago. I want to fucking hurt him.”
“Get in line.” He chuckled. “Been there, done that. You don’t need to worry about it. He was dealt with and he won’t be coming back. Not ever.”
A chill ran down my spine. “You killed him?”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not in the business of murdering people, Jett. Let’s just say that a friend of mine made sure he’d never hurt her again. No more questions. You got it?”
What the fuck?
“Yeah. I got it. Thanks for looking out for her.” I pushed to my feet, still in disbelief over the conversation.
“Always. I’d never hurt your mother. She’s the best woman I know,” he said as he stood and clapped me on the shoulder.
Holy shit. The dude was in love with her. He’d spent his whole life pining for a woman who’d been too wounded to see it.
“She sure is. Hey Wren,” I said before turning to face him as I stood in the doorway.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for looking out for my mom, and I guess for looking out for me, too. Sorry for being a dick to you lately.”
“Well, I’d always hoped to end up with your mom, if I’m being honest. So, I guess in a way you’re kind of like the son I never had.”
I nodded. Jesus. The dude had been at every football game I’d ever played. I’d never thought it was to personally see me play. But things were starting to make sense. And he wasn’t being a dick by monitoring my fights, he actually had my back because he cared about what happened to me.
“I appreciate that. I’ll see you tonight at the fight.”
“I’ll be there. Watch your back, Jett.”
I sat on my bike processing all that had happened. Wren had been in love with my mom for as long as I’d been alive, and he’d made sure the man who’d hurt her was handled.
Whatever the hell that meant. Had he had him killed? Scared him off? I didn’t have a clue. But I saw the look in Wren’s eyes, and I knew in my gut that whoever my dad was, he would never be back.
I sent a text to Adelaide.
Me ~ took care of things on my end. I’ll fill you in tomorrow. Talk to your mom, Ace. Stay home tonight. Wren said there’s some heat at the fights and I don’t want you there. I’ll call you after. Love you.
I slipped my phone in my back pocket before heading to Shaw’s to fill him and Jax in about the fight. And make sure that Shaw didn’t invite Coco to come. The last thing I wanted was for Adelaide to be there if anything was going down.
Chapter Twenty-One
Adelaide
I met the girls down in the basement. We were meeting quick to catch up on a few things and Mama had already called down twice to tell me to come to dinner.
“So, are you going to finally tell her why you’ve been so mad at her?” Maura asked.
“I guess we need to talk about it at some point.” My mother and I had been on edge for almost two months. I’d never been this angry before, but we needed to get past it. And Jett had talked to Wren. I couldn’t wait to find out what he said. This was the one topic that was off-limits with my friends. It was Jett’s secret and not mine to tell.
“I have something to tell you guys, but I just, I don’t know…” Gigi trailed off, and she fidgeted with her hands.
“What is it? You can talk to us,” I said, reaching for her hand because I could see she was struggling to tell us.
She stared at me with as much empathy as I’d ever seen before. “I, um, Addy, I got into TU.”
I squealed and jumped to my feet, urging her to hers before wrapping my arms around her. “Gigi, what? Oh my gosh. Why would you not be screaming from the rooftop? I’m so happy for you.”
“I don’t know. I mean, you’re a better student than me, and you haven’t heard back yet, so I feel bad about it. I was hoping you’d hear today, and we could both share our news.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I told you I bombed the essay. I’m okay with it, I promise. And I’m so proud of you. You deserve this,” I said.
She looked down at the ground, and I hated that she was allowing my not getting in to cloud her achievement. What she was afraid to say was that TU was a top-tier university, and it would be unlikely for two of us from the same small high school to both get in. And honestly, if I had to pick, I’d want her to go there. She’d wanted it for as long as I could remember. She deserved this.
And I’d gone for total honesty on my essay. I’d explained that every day we’re faced with situations that could potentially hold us back whether we realized it or not. The key was to always strive to be your best, to never lose sight of your goals and your dreams no matter what the obstacle. I’d shared how I’d had a negative experience with a long-time family friend, Alec, and I’d walked away because it was hindering my potential and growth. I’d listened to my own voice and not the voice of those who I didn’t feel had my best interest at heart. And recognizing that there might be people in your life who you love who might not have your best interest in mind was a negative situation in itself. It was the truth, but I highly doubted it would win me high scores on a college application.