And that’s one way to quiet a room.
Eyes dart side to side, gazes colliding and then flittering away.
After a moment, Bubba speaks up again. “Delphine, as in our…” His voice tightens into a strangle, as if he can’t quite say that last word aloud.
Jordie nods, staring down at her hands twisting in her lap. A tear escapes and plops onto her thumb, and fuck, I hate this. I hate that she was taken advantage of. I hate that she has to make this admission to her family.
Her voice comes out quiet and small, something I’m not used to from my strong, fierce girl. And I hate that most of all.
“I thought she wanted to get to know me. I thought she loved me.”
“Oh, honey,” Juliette cries, and I force myself to let go of Jordie so her sister can pull her into a tight embrace.
“I feel so stupid,” she sobs, and my heart is in a million tiny pieces.
Juliette rubs her back. “You’re not stupid, Jordie. That’s what she does. She’s a manipulator.”
Emmett comes to kneel beside his daughter, taking her hand and squeezing it. “If you’re stupid, I’m a complete idiot. I married the woman twice.” He kisses Jordie’s hand. “She had me convinced she’d changed the second time around. That she wanted to stick around. That was obviously a lie, but I wouldn’t change my decision because it gave me you and Xander.”
Jordie sniffles and nods. “She told me you and Pops threatened her for child support, and that’s why she never came back. Because she didn’t have the money to pay you. I didn’t know what to believe.”
The muscles of Emmett’s jaw clench. “Well you can believe that part, because it’s true.” Jordie looks at him in shock, and he swipes a tear from her face. “But we had good reason.” He glances over his shoulder where Bubba is sitting, still stunned. “Why don’t I let your brother tell you the story since he was the one there.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
The rest of the story
Jordie
Dad stands and goes to sit back in his recliner. I’m a bit stunned. I thought he was going to tell me Delphine’s story was complete bullshit, but he didn’t. I can’t imagine why they threatened her to stay away, but I have to believe they had a good reason. I know they’re good men.
I look at Bubba, who’s sitting on a chair with his elbows on his thighs, hands clasped and head down. When he looks up, his eyes are full of what looks like sorrow.
“You were just a baby when Delphine left,” he says, addressing me. “But she came back a few months later and invited me and Jules to stay with her at a hotel. She said it had a pool and everything, so we were excited.”
He looks up when Reno approaches with a tray of drinks and a bottle of Jack Daniels. I hadn’t even noticed he left the room. Bubba takes a glass, slams it back and holds it out for a refill.
“Thanks, buddy,” he says, taking a small sip this time before continuing his story. “Anyway, we went with her because it sounded like fun. We swam that afternoon, and then that evening her boyfriend showed up.”
“We were surprised she had a boyfriend,” Juliette pitches in. “I don’t even think the ink was dry on her divorce papers from Dad yet.”
Bubba shakes his head. “Yeah, neither of us were happy about it, but there wasn’t much we could do,” he says with a shrug. “We were supposed to stay the whole weekend with her. The hotel room was a suite with three bedrooms, so Jules and I each had our own room. I think I was thirteen and she was sixteen at the time, so we were pretty easily impressed by a nice suite.”
He offers a self-deprecating smile and takes another small drink of his whiskey. “We went to bed, but I was having trouble falling asleep, so I got up to get a drink of water. I noticed Juliette’s door was cracked open, so I went to close it for her. And that’s when I saw him.”
Bubba downs the rest of the drink before continuing. “Mom’s greasy-ass boyfriend was standing in Jules’s room in his underwear.” His face contorts into a grimace as my stomach roils at what he’s saying. “I was just a kid, but I knew there was no good goddamn reason a grown man needed to be in a teenage girl’s room in his underwear.”
I’m afraid to look at Juliette, but I do. Her look is sympathetic. “Nothing happened to me, but it could have if Bubba hadn’t caught him.” I breathe a sigh of relief, and she pats my leg. “I woke up to my brother beating the shit out of some guy in my room. I was so scared, I couldn’t even scream.”
“What happened next?”
My sister lets out a half laugh. “Bubba was tossing the guy out of my room just as Delphine ran in yelling and asking what the hell was going on. Bubba told her, and she said there must be some misunderstanding.”
“Fucking bitch,” Bubba mutters. “She believed some guy over her own kids. So I told her to get the fuck out, and I pushed a dresser in front of the door.”
“To protect me,” Jules says, giving our brother an appreciative smile.
“Somebody had to,” he replies. “You were such a skinny little thing.”
