Page 8

Four days later

– DEEDS –

I stalk into my son’s office. An office which was once my own damn office. My kid is sitting behind my old desk, and I point at the envelope leaning against his computer.

“Why the hell is this still closed?” Grabbing the envelope, I toss it down in front of him. “Open it.”

A sigh rips from him, and he glares at the envelope as if there’s a snake guarding it. “I can’t, Dad. Ma made me swear I wouldn’t open it without her.”

“It’s been sitting on your desk for two days. You’re the president, you brought this shit up. Stalling won’t change matters.” My phone gives an indication of an incoming message.

“Giving it another day won’t either,” he throws back.

Archer crosses his arms in front of his chest. “I know. It’s why I put Bee on it last night. No one checked the envelope, but she can hack into anything and I gave her the order to check the results, keep it to herself and if needed to do a little digging. Why? Because I honor Ma’s choice, but I also wanted to have a backup plan. Besides, I was going to force her to check the results today.”

I glare at the envelope, knowing it’s freaking my old lady out and I’m not liking it one damn bit. I’d rather have this over with so we can move forward.

Checking the message on my phone, I tell him, “Your mother just arrived back from her visit to Blue.”

“She’s been keeping herself busy with visits,” Archer remarks.

Nodding, I grumble, “It’s better than sitting around and facing the past.” Again, I point at the envelope. “This won’t go away until we know the truth. Can’t you see it’s eating her alive? Your mother has been keeping herself busy with everything except Livi. The night we got back from that bar she went to bed and the next morning she went to Blue without a word. When she got back, she ignored me or left the room whenever I brought it up. I even called Zack to ask if he knew what his sister and his old lady discussed but he wasn’t there when they talked.”

“I know, Dad,” my kid growls while jumping out of his chair. “Why do you think I had my old lady digging into it, eh? All the options are going through my head, and the only clean scenario outcome will be if she’s not related. If she is? Fuck. If she fucking is? It’s a can of worms that has been rotting for decades.”

“Yeah, and fucking ignoring it won’t help one damn bit,” I grit and take a deep breath to calm down. “Did Bee say anything?”

Archer shakes his head. “She knows I don’t want to hear anything until the end of the day.”

Dammit. I love the woman more than my own life, but sometimes one needs to light the fire bright enough to shake the whole damn world to bring back reality. Snatching the envelope off the desk, I’m about to stalk out the office when the door opens.

“Dude, who lit your balls on fire?” my woman questions as she strolls inside, our two grandkids in tow.

“Ma,” Archer grumbles. “Language.”

“Psssshhhh. Those two sets of ears have heard worse, right kiddos?” The smile she gives those two makes my chest tighten.

The fierceness Lynn is made of holds a heart of pure love inside. She might seem invincible, and we all know she’s immortal ’cause the legacy she created will live on no matter what.

“Hunter, Queenie, go to the family room, please,” Bee orders as she steps inside with a laptop in her hands.

“Aw, but, Mom…Grandma just got back and–”

My woman cups Hunter’s cheeks and tells him, “I’m gonna be here for a little while longer by the look on your mommy’s face. Do as she says and we’ll play some bad-word bingo later.”

Hunter shoots her a grin while Queenie shakes her head as they leave the office.

Bee shuts the door and snaps, “There will not be any bad-word bingo, Lynn.”

Hotlips shrugs and opens the door to reveal two little ones leaning their ear into nothing. “Get the fuck out of here, you little shits.”

Hunter and Queenie run off as she closes the door while Archer and Bee keep staring at her.

“What?” Hotlips snaps. “I knew they would be eavesdropping because I would too. It’s a family thing.”

Archer sighs and returns to his chair behind his desk while Bee growls, places her laptop down, and says, “Livi is kin by blood.”

Fuck.

Hotlips places her hands on her hips and glares at our daughter-in-law. “You’re just like your mother, spilling shit you’re not supposed to blabber about.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Bee grumbles. “Archer asked me to dive into it, and–”

Pointing at the envelope in my hand my woman states, “Nerd, your mother, did the same thing when my bestie refused to open an envelope revealing the DNA results between her and Frederick. Nerd was the one who did a not-so-much oopsie to let everyone know Frederick’s Blue brother. Now you’re the one spilling the result about Livi being my niece because I’ve been ignoring the results. Newsflash, Bee, I wasn’t ready to deal with the fact my older sister wasn’t killed the day she was born, or that she lived long enough to put a kid in this world…is she even alive or dead? And where the fuck has she been all this time?”

Bee points at her laptop. “I might have found some answers to your questions, Lynn.”

My woman swallows hard and takes a step back. I place my hand on her lower back to steady her. I hate seeing her take a hit like this. The past as she knew it has just been ripped apart, and who knows what else will be revealed.