“Sorry,” Edna mutters and gets up to pat my hand and scoops up Macy before sitting down.
She kisses Macy and bends over to place the dog back on her feet to run off and play with the others.Everything with great ease and without a twitch of pain on her face.
I frown and turn to Seamus to sign, “No back pain?”
He narrows his eyes and turns to his mother.“Shouldn’t you still be in pain?”
She waves him off.“I had to tell a little white lie.You needed to be there without me.The whole three is a crowd and all.I’ve always wanted a chance to get you two in one place.Dax only saw the perks of getting the two of you hitched once he needed you a few weeks ago.”Her smile is smug when she adds, “The way you’re looking at her?Understanding her?The fierce look on your face while telling me the details, your voice all angry?Yeah, you two hit it off hard and heavy, didn’t you?”
“Ma,” Seamus grumbles and rubs a hand over his face.“We have some serious issues going on.This is no time for matchmaking.”
Edna snorts.“The matchmaking was done before shit hit the fan.Now, let’s talk about Ava.I warned her about loving two guys.She needed to pick one, and I rooted for Dax.Shit.Burk was the horndog.I knew he faked the picture of Dax with another woman to push Ava right into his own arms.”
I blink a few times to process her words, but it’s still a mumbo jumbo rambling mess.
“Ma, can you explain and not give us the CliffsNotes version?Because you’re not making sense,” Seamus grumbles.“If it were me, I’d like to know why he betrayed his friend and knocked up his fiancée.Jaxie deserves to know anything you’re able to tell her.”
I give Seamus a thankful smile.
Edna sighs.“Dax didn’t betray anyone.Ava was my friend and told me stuff I didn’t see with my own eyes.We were in the same unit a few months before we were stationed abroad where we met Dax, Royce, and Burk.Those three guys tried to charm her panties off the second they laid eyes on her.I was already with your father, Seamus, so I was able to dodge the testosterone.They had a bet going.Stupid men.”She glares at her son before her gaze softens as she looks at me.“Anyway, Royce stepped back first, but your father really adored Ava.You could tell by the way he looked at her.Burk, though?That fucker wouldn’t know love if it spit him in the eye.Everything always revolves around winning, out trumping the other.Coming in first at any finish line is all Burk cared about.The vile trick he pulled, showing Ava a picture he made of Dax with some chick?Making up a story how Dax was tired of waiting and fucked any chick he came across?It’s only the tip of the iceberg, showing to what great lengths he’d go through to come out on top.”
I swallow hard at the “come out on top,” comment.Everything seems to spiral back to the company.Why did they even go into business together when there was clearly bad blood between them?
“Dax, being an honorable man, stepped back after Ava’s rejection.He didn’t even contradict the lies, even if she found out weeks later.If you asked me, he did it for the sake of the company.The push and pull between those three was during the time we were in the service.After being honorably discharged, Dax wanted to start the company with Royce.Dax had the funds, Royce owned the building, but they needed Burk who had the same ambitions and had connections, lining up the first two assignments.It’s why your father owned a larger share due to the funds he invested, and using his name, taking the higher risk.”Edna shrugs.“They couldn’t do it on their own, but they could working together.The shit Burk pulled with Ava was after they signed the contracts.She already made her choice when she was hurt by seeing the picture, and then she declined the job Dax offered her.I took the job, though.”
Edna falls silent and stares out the window, clearly locked in thoughts.
“Did you know Nolan was Burk’s son?”Seamus asks.
Edna winces.“No.It did cross my mind when I wondered why the hell he would stand up for the fucker while he kept fucking up assignments.Nolan has more than one screw missing from the plate in his brainless head.On the other hand?Burk threw his cum around like confetti.It’s why eventually Ava left.She already forgave him for cheating on her twice...that she knew of.But there’s one thing she never could forgive him for.”She moves to the edge of her seat.“Burk didn’t want kids with Ava.The fucker guilt-tripped her into getting an abortion when she found out she was pregnant, pretty early in their relationship.He claimed he wasn’t cut out to be a family man.He had mental issues running in his family and didn’t want to have kids inheriting those issues.Ava gave up on her wishes to become a mother and focused on her career.The day Ava left Burk, some woman showed up on their doorstep with a baby, claiming Burk was the father.”
A cold chill runs up my spine.
Panic hits me hard and I sign, “Please tell me Burk’s not my biological father.”
Seamus curses and turns to his mother.“The baby, who was she?”
Edna’s eyes go wide.“Oh, honey, no.You’re not related to that fucker.Dax was your daddy, no doubt about it.The woman who showed up on their doorstep did have a baby girl, but Ava left him that day.She ran straight into Dax’s arms, and he helped her leave town.I guess he did more than that because nine months later she returned...with you.”
Well, I guess at least the part my father told me about how I was born from a one-night stand is correct.Shit.I really wished the past stayed buried.It’s not something I wanted to know.
“I was there when she came to his house.Dax and I were discussing an assignment.Ava asked me to stay and told us both she couldn’t be a mother.At the time I thought she might have depression and would go back on her decision.You know, because I’m sure her decision was based on staying in town to let your father stay in your life.
Ava didn’t want the memories of Burk and his presence tying her to this town.Their break, her leaving town, set some bad blood with Burk.The fucker doesn’t like losing, even if he only had himself to blame.Then, a few days later we heard about Ava’s accident.She fell down the stairs in the subway, broke her neck during the fall.”
She broke her neck during a fall?Nolan couldn’t have done it; he would have been too young.Does this mean Burk killed my father himself?
“Did Burk know Jaxie was Ava and Dax’s kid?”Seamus asks.
She shakes her head.“No.Dax made me swear not to say a word.At first, he kept Jaxie hidden by hiring a live-in nanny.He hoped Ava would come back so they could raise you together.Then, she died...months passed and he realized keeping a child locked at home wasn’t a long-term solution.So, he told everyone the same thing that happened to Burk...some random woman showed up with a kid.He forged papers and Jaxie Stalwart was born...reborn.I still can’t believe Ava managed to forge an Acknowledgement of Paternity, to list Dax as your father, but she must have.”Edna frowns.“It’s probably why she returned to her hometown where her father is a doctor and delivered their own grandchild.Smart move.”
Seamus holds up the official birth certificate.“Burk must have found out somehow, at some point...but when?Why would shit reach boiling point after all these years?”
“There’s more to it than that.”Edna leans back in her chair and releases a deep sigh.“Take a look at that file you two found.Dax’s suspicions must have been triggered at some point, making him look into things.Something, or someone could have alerted Burk that Dax was poking around.Ava’s sudden death, Nolan’s DNA test, Jaxie’s existence, the murder attempt on Dax’s life, them succeeding.One, all...”
Seamus curses.“Burk was protecting Nolan.Maybe he set it off by going rogue and trying to prevent getting fired by taking me out.I could have been the target and Dax the perfect collateral.Dax must have really started to poke around after the first attempt.He had tests done and found Semtex.
“Right.Yet again, who knows?Point is...Burk is linked, or behind all of it.He knows there’s evidence, or Dax’s office wouldn’t be trashed.Dax was right to come to us and hire you to take care of her.He’s going to take Jaxie out because it’s the last obstacle of the past.Not just reminding him of Dax and Ava, but Jaxie here could take everything from him and he knows it.”
