When I walk into the bedroom, Lynn is already in bed. I crawl up the bed and place my head on her lap. She starts to run her hand through my hair. I close my eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Not at all. I don’t understand what the fuck she could have been thinking. They’re fourteen. Still my babies. If she would have …” I can’t even say the words.
“Breathe, babe. If we have to, we can file for a restraining order. Toby and Paige already said they don’t want to be around her.”
“I want her to disappear. I wish she would go away. I’m so fucking tired,” I breathe.
“Then rest, baby. I’m right here. You can let go for a while. I’ve got you. I have your back,” she says softly.
“I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you so much.”
“I love you too. You will never know what life is like without me again.”
I close my eyes and begin to drift off as she continues to comb her hand through my hair. Enough time has to have passed between the night I choked Donna and now. I want her gone.
Lynn
My big strong man has fallen asleep with his head in my lap. Today I got to see just how broken he’s become because of that woman. This isn’t the Trev I know.
There’s something this Donna doesn’t know. Since we were younger, Pook and I took care of Trev as much as he took care of us. I have never played when it comes to Trevor Monroe.
When girls would tease him about his braces, I would set them straight anyway I had to. I used to get my butt whooped for fighting over Trevor. Back then, everyone thought I was fighting over my big brother. No one knew I had a crush on my sister’s best friend who was like a big brother to me.
While he’s no longer like a big brother, some things will never change. Those babies are a part of Trev, so she’s not about to play in my face when it comes to them either. She can drink herself into oblivion for all I care, but she will never think to take one of those babies and get in a car again as long as I’m breathing.
I run my hand down Trev’s back. He groans and rolls over, settling on his side of the bed. I bite my lip and climb from the bed.
As quickly as I can, I make my way to his office. All I need is an address. There has to be something in his office with her address on it.
I’m going to beat the dog shit out of her when I find her. She hurt my family today, and I’m not about to let that slide. I check the first few drawers in his desk and find nothing.
It’s when I get to the bottom drawer that I become hopeful. There’s a notebook that looks promising. I reach for it and notice the file folder beneath it. My gut tells me to grab the file.
I place it on the desk and flip it open. “Bingo,” I whisper as I find a picture of his ex-wife along with her personal information.
I grab a sticky pad and jot the address down. When I’m done, I go to close the file and a picture floats out. I look at the picture and gasp.
“What the fuck?” I hiss.
I pick the picture up with trembling hands. It’s Walter. What the hell is a photo of him doing in a file on Trevor’s ex? I flip the file back open and begin to read through it. My blood boils the more I read.
“That bitch hired Walter to rape me,” I seethe. “Oh my God, she was behind the oil contracts and the feed infestation.”
I flip the page and a sob almost rips from my lips. I can’t believe what I’m reading. This is insane. She’s insane.
Who in their right mind would do all of this? I jump as the door opens. I look up to find Jess.
“Hey,” she whispers.
Looking at her after what I just read makes so much click into place. She knows. She knows Trev isn’t her father. That’s the burden she’s been holding, the secret she’s been hiding.
“You know, don’t you?” I say as I hold her gaze.
“Huh?” she says nervously and comes around the desk to see what I’m looking at.
She leafs through the pages with a shaky hand. I watch the side of her face as she scans the pages. Tears begin to spill down her cheeks.
“I knew he isn’t my dad. I didn’t know any of the rest of this. I know Cousin Corinne helped her, and I know Cousin Cliff is my real daddy. I’ve been calling him Uncle Cliff since I was a baby, but he’s my real daddy.”