“The truth.”
Wade felt his face turn to stone.He wasn’t discussing this with anyone.
“She carries a lot of guilt about Billy, and how she wasn’t able to lead him in the right direction.”
“It’s hard to lead when you can’t walk a straight line.”
“She thinks you, or your dad, made Billy’s death look like an accident.”
Wade stiffened with shock.A cold wave of memories washed over him.“There are things you can’t talk about.There are thingsIcan’t talk about.My brother’s death is off the table.”
“Was there something between Billy and Natalie?”
“Is that what my mother said?”
“She said he got in a bar fight over her.Defending her honor.”
“That’s not remotely true.”
“He also claimed that you harassed him and interfered with his dating life.”
“He wasn’t the victim,” Wade said in a low voice.“He got beat up by Natalie’s boyfriend because he followed her home from work one night, along with two of his friends.He harassedher.”
Mary’s brow furrowed in concern.
“After she told me what happened, I kept an eye on him.I was worried about him targeting other women.”
“Did he kill himself?”
“No.”
“Did you kill him?”
The question hit him like a gut punch.He couldn’t believe she considered him capable of murdering his own brother.
“I’d kill my husband if I got the chance,” she said helpfully.
“My mother thinks I killed Billy?”
“She thinks he killed himself.”
“Why?Because he threatened to commit suicide when he was younger?”
Mary’s lips parted with surprise.“You knew about that?”
“Yes.”
“Wynona said she didn’t tell anyone.”
“She didn’t have to,” Wade said.“He repeated it to me, and to my dad.He said a lot of extreme things to get his way.”
“It would help if you told her that.She feels like she failed him as a mother.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face.“It sounds like she blames me more than herself.She thinks I bullied him into suicide.”
“Maybe she needs to know all of it.What kind of person Billy was.”
“No,” Wade said.“She doesn’t need to know any of it.”
