Janice made a vague gesture at him, from head to toe.Wade rose from the chair, stunned by her insinuation.She was saying that Cameron Pickett, football wizard and indiscriminate seducer of young women, might be his father.
“Thank you for your time,” he said, and walked away.
Wade couldn’t believe he hadn’t considered this possibility before.He didn’t look like anyone else in his family.What if his mother hated him because he reminded her of Cameron?What if his mother had been involved in Cameron’sdeath?
As he ducked into the elevator, a chill traveled along his spine.He left the hospital in a rush and drove to Nolan Ranch.Sickening visions plagued him.He didn’t bother to call dispatch, even though he was on the clock.His career implosion seemed like a minor setback compared to the soul-wrecking epiphany about his parentage.
When he arrived, his mother was still in her room, still asleep, still wearing the silk mask.“Cameron Pickett,” he said.
She sat forward and pushed up the mask.“Who?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
Wynona’s expression revealed a combination of fatigue, distress, and sorrow.She looked like a woman who’d arrived at her own reckoning.She rose from the bed and opened a drawer in her vanity.
“No, you don’t,” he said, slamming it shut.“No pills.”
“At least let me get some coffee.”
“Fine.”
He waited while she brewed a fresh pot.He poured himself a cup, though he hardly needed caffeine.His senses were on high alert, his mind going in a thousand different directions.He needed answers, now.
“I have to start with your father,” she said, sipping coffee.“He’s part of the story.”
Wade nodded.
“Boyd was a police officer in San Angelo, where I grew up.My entire senior year, he begged me for a date.I finally broke down and went out with him.”
Wade’s father—or rather, the man he’d thought was his father—was six years older than Wynona.She’d been seventeen to his twenty-three.It was a significant disparity in age, power, and life experience.
“We dated a few times.One night, he got me drunk and took advantage.I didn’t say no, but I’m not sure it matters.I wasn’t sober enough to consent.”
Wade swore under his breath, hating Boyd Hendricks with a passion.
“He apologized afterward and asked me to marry him.I refused.Then I went to Lost Lake for the summer and met Cameron.”She lifted her eyes to his slowly.“I thought I was in love with him, which makes what happened even more horrific.”
“What happened?”
“Near the end of the summer, I found out I was pregnant.We went to the swimming hole one afternoon to talk.”
“Did you know who the father was?”
“No, but I told Cameron he was the only possibility.When I suggested getting married, he laughed in my face.He said I wasn’t even girlfriend material.I slapped his face, and he…” She broke off, swallowing hard.“He backhanded me.”
Wade waited for her to continue, his throat tight.
“I was scared but I wasn’t done fighting.I grabbed a rock and threw it at him.He started yelling about how I was a crazy bitch and he was going to kill me, so I picked up a second rock.When he came at me again, his fist was raised.I hit him before he could land another blow.”Her watery gaze met his.“He fell down and never got up.”
Wade curled his own hands into fists.“What did you do with the rock?”
“I threw it in the water.”
“How did you bury him?”
“I didn’t.I was afraid to touch him, and I didn’t think I could drag him anywhere.He was too heavy.”
“You got help,” he said.
