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“Exactly.” Deklin took another drink and cleared his throat again. “Grandad told Sofi. That’s why she agreed to help. When we were in Tahiti, Sofi told me about Grandad hiring her, but not about Aurelia. She kept saying that there was more, but it wasn’t her story to tell. I flew home and confronted Grandad, who confessed.”
“He’s been lying to us your entire life?” I asked, still completely stunned. “All of us. Dad. You. Damon and me.”
“Trust me,” Deklin said, the muscle popping in his jaw. “I let him have it. The only reason I forgave him for the lies was because Mom had asked him to keep her secret.”
“Does Dad know now?” Damon asked.
Deklin shook his head. “Grandad agreed that he’d follow my lead on who I told and when. I wanted to get my head wrapped around it a bit before I told you two, and I wanted your input about what to do with Dad.”
Shit. That wasn’t going to be an easy decision to make. Dad wasn’t cruel or abusive, but he wouldn’t take Mom’s infidelity well at all. I didn’t think he’d disown Deklin or anything like that, but I doubted things would stay the same either.
“I can’t believe Grandad’s lied to all of us.”
Damon’s statement made my mind flick back to Sunday afternoon when I’d met that stranger at Grandad’s house. JP. Grandad’s explanation had been plausible enough, but I’d still gotten the sense that he’d been lying to me. Was JP another of Grandad’s lies? And what was the truth?
I reached for my glass. JP’s identity and why he was over at Grandad’s wasn’t my primary concern. Maybe we’d have to talk to Grandad about whatever else he was hiding, but right now, Deklin needed Damon and me to help him figure out what, if anything, to tell Dad. And he needed to know that the amount of DNA we shared didn’t make him any less my brother than Damon was.
“You know Dad’s not going to blame you, right?” Damon said. “He won’t be angry at you.”
“But he’s going to be pissed at Grandad and furious with Ronall,” Deklin said. “Or vice versa. It’s hard to know which one he’ll be madder at.”
“Does it matter?” I asked. “Ronall slept with Mom. Grandad hid it from everyone. And he didn’t even tell you or Dad when Aurelia first showed up. Hell, he could’ve talked to Ronall, who could’ve shut the whole thing down without revealing anything.”
The intensity in my voice surprised me as much as it did them. I felt betrayed and could only imagine how much worse it was for Deklin. Which made me even angrier since I was supposed to protect my brothers, and I hadn’t been able to do that.
“Grandad and I are working things out between us,” Deklin said. His expression turned pensive. “You know what he hasn’t done, though? He’s never treated me differently or acted like I shouldn’t carry his last name.”
He had a point. As shitty as Grandad’s lying was, he’d never even hinted that Deklin wasn’t as much a Holden as Damon and me. And I supposed if Deklin was willing to forgive Grandad, I could do it too.
“This does solve at least one mystery,” Damon said.
Deklin lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“How Davin and I are twice as good-looking as you are.”
When Deklin burst out laughing, I knew he was going to be okay, and more than that,wewere going to be okay.