through those doors. I can't help you after that. It'll go over my head. I've already been lenient bringing you in here and not cuffing you. I might get my rear-end handed to me for the likes of you."
"Did you get a hold of my grandmother?"
"Already told you. She ain't answering the phone. It don't matter none. Judge Bailor's coming in to discuss the situation. You're eighteen. Brady can post your bail if you need it." As he eyed me, he added, "Besides, we both know you ain't in any trouble with your grandmomma. She's going to have a parade when she hears what you've done."
"Grandpa did tell me to make memories today."
Deputy Doug smothered a chuckle as peeked through the blinds. "No lawyer's showed up yet. I'm in a pickle of what to do with you."
"I thought you were going to arrest me."
He scoffed, "I should throw you in jail, but I can't arrest Viola Janke's granddaughter. When it comes down to it, I'm more scared of her than Frank Stephens. We all know a poker can take him down, but your grandmomma…I don't think a buckshot would graze her."
"Then why am I here?"
"Because I want Judge Bailor to sweat bullets with me. He's more scared of Viola than me. I don't want just my head on the chopping block."
"When is he getting here?"
Deputy Dog sat down and sighed, "Hells if I know. He went golfing. It might take him hours to sober up."
"Can I talk to Brady? Can't he come back here if you're not arresting me?"
Deputy Doug scratched his head and nodded jerkily. "Sure. What's it to me to keep you two apart?" He moved around the desk and opened his office door. "Brady. Get your bee-hinder back here."
A moment later, Brady sauntered through the door and flashed a grin. "Couldn't bear to be apart from me, Dougie?"
He got a snort in response. "Just don't get all hanky panky on the desk. Viola or not, I will arrest you both."
"Deputy Dog, you know how I feel about challenges," Brady taunted. When he sat the chair next to me, his thigh brushed against mine. "I'd say put the handcuffs on her, but you did say no hanky panky. I wouldn't want to be tempted."
"You're funny, Brady. You're a funny guy." Deputy Doug rolled his eyes before he gave us a stern glare as he exited the office.
When the door was closed, Brady turned to assess me. All laughter faded. He sighed instead and took my hand in his. "It'll be fine, Rayray. Trust me. How many times have I been where you're sitting?"
"I'm not you." I entwined our fingers and held on tight.
"No, you're prettier."
"I mean it." I wasn't smooth or sophisticated. I wasn't what Brady could be at his choosing. He got people to listen to him, strangers even. They followed him, did what he said to do. I didn't have those qualities. I was plain, boring, and sheltered. "I've never done something like this, Brady. I don't know what to do. I don't know what's going to happen to me. I don't know if this'll hurt my future. I don't know what to feel right now except that I'm scared and a little…content."
His eyebrows shot up. "You're content? To be a criminal?"
"No, not that. I'm scared about that, but I'm content about…I don't know, maybe like I was standing up for myself."
"Because you were being hurt by him?"
I wiped a tear away. I was sick of crying.
"What was he saying that was hurting you?"
Could I tell him? He already knew the rumours about my mother, but he didn't know the truth so I shook my head. "I can't explain it. He just said a bunch of stuff about my mom. And he said stuff about how she never wanted me, that I'm a burden to Viola and Neil."
Brady hissed and flexed his knuckles. "It's a good thing you laid him out. You're right, if you hadn't, I would've. No one should say that stuff to anyone, even if it's true. No one should hear that."
I heard an inflection in his voice. Had someone spoken those same words to him? I was about to ask when he suddenly exclaimed, "Wait a minute. Why was your mom at Frank Stephens' house? How does your mom even know him?"
Um.
I had not foreseen this.
"She was there because of my grandmother. You know Frank Stephens hates her." My soul was going to hell.
Disgust flared across Brady's face for a second. It was gone just as quickly, but he stared at me. Then he stared some more at me. No word was spoken from him.
I heard the clock ticking behind us. It was loud, too loud. And I couldn't take the silence anymore, especially from him. "Say something."
"You just lied to me. Why did you lie to me?"
"I…" I had nothing. I wasn't quick on my feet.
"Don't lie to me again, Rayna. Why was your mother there?"
I couldn't look away from his eyes. They were so clear and demanding. It was almost as if this moment was a make-or-break moment. I didn't know what to say so I opened my mouth and uttered, faltering, "I…I…I don't know. He wouldn't tell me."
Brady's eyes snapped shut for a second and then he cursed underneath his breath. At the same time, he shoved his chair back and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find out some answers once and for all."
"Wait! Where are you going?" My heart was beating so loudly, I almost didn't hear his response.
As the door closed behind him, I heard him say, "I'm going to see my father."
It took a moment before I realized what he'd just said. Panic slammed inside of me and then I shot to the door. The doorknob was locked so I tried to unlock it from my side. When it wouldn't budge, I pounded on the door. "Hey! Hey! Hey!"
Brady knew.
Brady knew who his father was. And he was going to find out why my mother was there. This was not good. This was not good at all. And Brady was not stupid, not at all.
"Hey, hey, hey!" I pounded on the door until the same irritated clerk came back, even more irritated. She called through the door, "What you want?"
"I have an emergency. I need a phone." And boy, was it an emergency.
She crossed her arms and pointed behind me. "You have a phone in there."
"No, I need…" I gulped for breath and felt everything starting to sway around me. Everything was just too much…and he knew. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. Brady knew…what did this mean? "I need to get out. I can't…he knows…"
She shook her head. "I can't hear you. I'll get Doug. Sit. Sit. Sit."
I stumbled to my chair and bent forward to cradle my head in my hands. Deep breath, one, two, three. Exhale, one, two, three. I kept up my breaths and hoped my heartbeat would slow a little.
Brady knew.
He already knew.
Holy crap.
Then Deputy Doug came back and I shot up from my chair. "Please. I need to go. I have to go. Brady—I have to go."
"We still need to wait for Judge Bailor."
"Please, Doug! Please! I have to go. Brady—" I couldn't tell him what Brady knew. I couldn't tell him because I didn't even know what it meant.
Deputy Doug narrowed his eyes and sat slowly. His hands curled into his desk's edge as he sat forward. "What do you mean? What about Brady?"
"Nothing. Never mind. I just really need to go."
"Rayna, tell me what's going on," he commanded.
"I can't—" But wait, could I tell him? I remembered my grandmother saying, ‘Deputy Doug was working as the dispatcher that night...figured to keep it quiet...Doug had found a family to place him with...’ My mouth fell open as I gasped, "You know!"
He frowned. "Wha—huh?"
I was lost in my thoughts. "All I heard that night was that Brady is Frank's son. Grandmother told me that she brought him to you. You helped her. You got Brady with the Forresters so he'd move next door to us. You've helped all along."
"Oh. Rayna. Oh…"
"You've known all along," I whispered out and wondered how much else I hadn't heard that night. "But every time you arrest Brady, you…" He always tried to help him. "You told me that you thought of him as your own son."
&n
bsp; Deputy Doug's voice was soft. "I'm old, Rayna. I knew back then that I'd never have kids. Got something wrong with me, medically speaking. I might act dumb sometimes, but I ain't stupid. I know people call me Deputy Dog. They say it to my face half the time, but it didn't start out as a good nickname. People called me that because they thought they could, I was less than them. I wasn't. I needed to help however I could. I've always helped your grandmother, and I've always looked after Brady like he was my own. I love that kid, more than he knows. If your grandmomma brought me another one of him, I'd do the same thing again."
My eyes closed and I took a deep breath. There was so much going on, so much that had always been going on. I didn't know what was real anymore, but the one thing I did know was real was Brady. Renewed strength flowed through me from some unknown place and I opened my eyes. They were clear and strong. "Brady knows that Frank Stephens is his father. And he's gone to confront him about it."
I braced myself for the shock to flash over the Deputy's face, but I was the one surprised. A calm acceptance was there instead and he stood to scratch his jaw. He spoke as he went to the door, "Always knew this day would come. Frank Stephens has some inspiring qualities in him, but the one that makes him dangerous is his lack of caring. He don't care about no one. When he fathered a child like Brady, who has all those same qualities plus a few he don't, I'd known this day would be one for the books."
His hand went to the door handle and I could tell that was all he was going to say. I shot to my feet. "That's it? That's all you're going to say? Aren't you going to go after him or something? Do you know what Brady might do?"
"That boy turned into a man quite awhile ago. I don't think he's going to go off the deep end finding out who his daddy is. The only thing that'll push him over is you—"
"Brady thinks Frank Stephens and my mother had an affair." I didn't realize I had thought it until I blurted it out, but it made sense.
He snapped his mouth shut, stunned. Comprehension and horror all flashed across his face. Then he stated, "Then you best be getting over there, Miss Rayna."
He swung the door open a second later and stood back.
As I started to go past him, I held his gaze for another second. Everything felt surreal now. No words were shared between us, but I knew what we both thought. Only I could stop something from happening. It rested on my shoulders. With that realization, I was again taken aback. Any other day I would've hid, but this time there was no fear. There was only a feeling of purpose. And strength. I felt strong.
I was starting to like this feeling.
"You're not going to put me in jail?" I questioned.
"Nah. You don't deserve jail for hitting the likes of Frank Stephens. You deserve a medal."
I looked down when I felt tears in my eyes and tried to blink them away. Then Deputy Doug roughly squeezed my arm in reassurance and they fell free. These tears were different. I couldn't explain them, but they were different.
I wasn't hiding anymore.
"Go on, Miss Rayna."
As I made my way out of the station, I felt foolish and oddly brave. I knew people in the waiting lounge were probably watching me, wondering what kind of a freak I was, but I didn't care. I just didn't care anymore. I felt the sunshine hit my face in a new light when I pushed through the door and embraced it. I wanted to see the sun and the sky in my newly acquired confidence.
"Rayna!" Clarissa screamed at me.
I jumped back and the glass door hit me forwards. As I stumbled forward, I tried to brace myself so I wouldn't fall onto the sidewalk. My hand flattened on the pavement and a sharp pain flared in my wrist, but I caught my balance.
Clarissa watched from her car. "Hurry, hurry. We have to go. Now!"
"What? Why? What's happened?"
"Get in the car!" she ordered.
I complied. "What's happened?"
We shot down the street. "I was at the hospital with Kid when Brady showed up. It is not good, so not good, Rayna. Kid shoved me out the door, but they were all yelling and then something crashed into the wall. I tried to get inside, but the door wouldn't budge. Someone hit someone and I took off to get you. You gotta stop 'em."
As she continued to ramble on, I wasn't scared. It was time the secrets were told.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Brady burst through the hospital doors. It didn't take a detective to figure out which room his father would be in. It'd be the best room in the corner. The hospital officials wouldn't want to be sued so they'd give him their top service, including two nurses on hand and a doctor close to his door. So when he saw a group of hospital workers outside a room, he headed there and pushed through the doors.
Clarissa had been standing behind it with a carton of coffees. The door knocked them from her hands and she gasped, but Brady stalked to the bed where Frank sat up in a nightgown. He paled at the sight of him. Kid remained on the other side of the bed. He froze in place.
"Did you sleep with Leann Janke?" Brady ground out.
Kid jumped forward. "Clarissa, maybe you should head outside."
"What? No, I—"
He grabbed her elbow and led her through the door. "Thanks for all your help. I'll call you later."
"But—" The door closed and Kid stood in front to block anyone else.
"Did. You. Sleep. With. Her?"
Frank blinked, but that was his only reaction. He stared in Brady's eyes. Kid saw all of this and jerked forward a step. "Brady, what's this about?"
Brady reached for Frank's collar and Kid lunged for him. He threw an arm around his neck and jerked back. Both of them crashed into the window, but Brady rounded with a fist formed. He punched Kid across the face and then reared back with an elbow.
"Stop!" Frank yelled and hit his call button.
Brady shook his head and shoved Kid backwards into a chair in the far corner. "Stay out of this, Kid. You've done enough since you've been here."
"I've done enough?" Kid laughed on an empty note. His face twisted into an ugly frown. "Are you kidding me? I've done nothing but help you."
"Help me? How?"
Kid stood and shook his head. "Do you know how frustrating it is to leave a place I loved? I loved this place. I loved being friends with you and Rayna and then I come back. My whole word has been turned upside down and I come back to see that yours are all fine. They're all the same. Nothing's changed. Nothing!"
"Is that what you wanted? Your life's destroyed so you wanted to destroy mine?"
"No." Kid let out a growl. "No, but I hated it. I hated seeing you being this stupid drunk party guy. You're better than that. You're smarter than that. You're not a frat guy, but that's how you act around here. Yeah—it pissed me off to see everything going so great for you."
"What are you talking about? Nothing's going good for me."
"Rayna was."
"Rayna is!" Brady snapped. "She's the best goddamn thing I've got going and that was something you wanted to screw up. You came here and you were all talk about getting with her. Don't try and act like you did that for my good or hers."
Kid reared back. “No. Okay? No. I wasn't thinking that through. I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to make you sweat a little. My only problem is that I was stupid enough to say it to your face. Of course you would do something about it before I could."
A corner of Brady's lip curled upwards in an ugly smirk. "The difference between you and me is that I'll punch someone in their face. You go behind their back. Someone comes at me square and fair, I'll respect that person. You, you're pathetic."