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“Dalton will never know this, so you swear to me, it’ll die with ya.” He looks at me warningly.
“You got my word.” I nod back.
“Donna killed herself because she couldn’t stand lookin’ at the little boy she gave birth to. He reminded her of the man who raped her, and instead of reachin’ out and gettin’ help for that, she convinced herself she was evil because she couldn’t love her own baby.” His mouth tenses and his knuckles crack.
“Shit. Mitch. I’m sorry. Did ya ever find out who it was?”
“Yeah, I knew, she told me in the letter.”
“I can’t imagine what ya did to him.” I shake my head, Mitch is undoubtedly the sickest bastard I know, he’s been doing the kinda shit we do for a long time.
“I’ll tell you what I did, I brought that kid back home with me and stuck him right under the nose of that fucker. I raised that boy, in plain sight of his father, to be a decent man and have morals. And I even played a little part in raisin’ that fucker’s boys in the same way.” I stare back at him when it starts to register what he’s telling me.
“Are you sayin’—”
“I’m sayin’ that I know a little more than ya think about holdin’ out, and not gettin’ the revenge you want, Garrett,” he tells me, angrily. “But that don’t mean I didn’t make the man, who raped my sister, suffer. I never let him know that I knew, but I guarantee that every night your father went to bed wonderin’ if I did. Waitin’ for that knife to go in his back the way it did mine.”
“Pops?You're tellin’ me my dad raped your sister, and that he’s Dalton’s dad? Because that makes Dalton…”
“A Carson,” Mitch finishes my sentence for me. “He don’t know, I've never told him. He thinks his mom died in a car crash, and like I said, that secret stays between us. I do think it’s time he learned where he came from though, he should have the chance to take his place.” Mitch looks up at me and waits for me to respond.
“All these years and you never told me.” I don’t know why I’m focusing on that more than the fact we have another fuckin’ brother.
“I was protecting Dalton while your dad was alive, and over the years since, there ain’t ever seemed a good time to shake all that shit up, but I figured since shit’s already shook, it’s the time to come clean.”
“I can’t believe you never told me.” I shake my head in shock.
“There ain’t ever a good time to tell someone their father’s a rapist, Garrett,” he points out.
“How did ya let him live?” I question. Mitch and my dad never got on, that was always clear, but a man’s gotta have a special level of tolerance to be around a man who did that.
“I’d have killed your old man the day I found out if you kids hadn’t already lost Hank and your mom. Like I said, I know a little about sittin’ back on anger, and I’ve seen the benefits of it. If I'd killed your father, I wouldn't have been able to watch him lose everythin’.”
I nod my head slowly as his point starts to settle and even makes a little sense.
“You’re gonna need to speak to your brothers, all of ‘em.” He looks at me seriously. “Come together, share your pain and your confusion, and take some strength from it. That’s what families do, and if there’s one thing you’re capable of doin’, it’s running a fuckin’ family. You’ve been doin’ it since ya found your grandpa out here swingin’.” I scrub my hand over my face as he stands up and rests his hand on my shoulder. “My advice to you is to let it all sink in before ya speak to the others. I’ll be there when you're ready to speak to ‘em if ya want me to be. This ain’t gonna be easy on Dalton either, I’d prefer for him to think your dad and his mom were somethin’ to each other rather than him know the truth.”
I nod my head in agreement, and he smiles at me gratefully before he heads toward the door.
“Mitch,” I call after him. “No more secrets, right?” I check, feeling exhausted by what’s gone down over the past few hours.
“That’s ya lot, son,” he promises, closing the door after him on his way out.
* * *
Maisie stares at me with her mouth wide open as I explain everything I’ve learned tonight. I was gonna wait ‘til the mornin’ to speak to her about it, but when I came in she was awake, feeding Jacob in our bed, and just couldn’t keep it in.
“Garrett, I don’t know what to say. I just can’t believe your dad would do those things.”
“He was always so straight, Maisie, that's why we were always buttin’ heads. He never wanted things to be done the way Grandpa did ‘em. He wanted to change things, he almost ran this place into the dirt for his fuckin’ morals, and all that time he was a murderin’, rapist.” I have to keep my voice down so I don’t wake the other two babies, but it’s hard when all I wanna do is raise my dad up from the hell I hope he’s in and beat the crap outta him.
“Garrett, this is a lot for you to have taken in and we’re all under stress at the moment, but it does kinda make sense why your mom left now. She was protecting herself.”
“And would you leave these kids alone with me if you thought I was capable of…” I stop myself from finishing that sentence when she lowers her head and tries not to smirk.
“You know what I mean!” I snap, doing my best not to find her so beautiful when I’m trying to be mad at her.
“Yes, I know what you mean, and you're right it was selfish, but she’s suffered for it. Instead of seeing this as a tragedy, see it as a way to pull everyone back together. You have another brother, someone who you already know and trust. Dalton is a great guy, he wears the brand and he’s gonna be an amazing uncle. And your mom, honestly, Garrett, I sometimes wonder how we’d cope without her here, she’s been so good with the babies and she really wants to make amends. I think it’s time to leave the past in the past and start looking forward.”
