“She leases the land to a local farmer. In return, he gives her plenty of free berries. She, being a wonderful sister, shares them with me.” Demetrius beamed.
“And a forensic pathologist? She must be so smart.”
“Damn near genius. Both of them are.”
“I’m not.” I gazed down at Daphne and kept stroking her fur.
She gazed up at me with fathomless dark-brown eyes.
“I want to argue that point.” Demetrius sat a little straighter. “But I don’t know you. I don’t know your story. I just know that if one of my kids said they weren’t smart, I’d argue. I’d figure out what they were good at and emphasize that. You’ve worked at the same gym for six years. That takes all kinds of dedication and hard work. Employers don’t keep people around who are slackers or not good at their jobs. So maybe try to remember that when you’re putting yourself down?”
My gaze shot to his.
He held it and tried to convey some kind of message.
Nothing I could understand, though. “Mom always said I had street smarts. But I never felt that way. I knew not to run with the wrong crowd. I figured out that graduating from high school was a good thing. I earned my gym-instructing certificate and my personal-training diploma. But that was really hard, and I barely passed.”
“Passing is passing as long as you can do the work. Like I said, six years is a long time. I know plenty of people who don’t have nearly that level of…dedication.”
He was trying to make me feel better about not having a college diploma or a university degree.
I could see that…but struggled with accepting that I was the same as those other people with letters behind their names.
“I don’t know if I want to see Imani and Malaya. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to see you.”Shit. Too abrupt.
Despite my words, Demetrius smiled. “Yet you came all this way, and you found the courage to call me. That speaks to bravery. May I ask you how you found out about me?”
“Uh, sure.” So I took him through the story I’d given Zahir—how I’d found the investigator’s report after my mother died. How I wasn’tentirely sure why she’d had our father investigated. Or what she’d expected me to do with the knowledge. “I can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead, although I suppose I should be.” I shrugged. “I had more time with him than you did.”
Demetrius offered a soft smile. “That’s true. And, like you, I had a fierce-and-determined mother—she wasn’t interested in the past. She kept me focused on the future—especially with two younger sisters to care for. In truth, I don’t think about him very often. I never have. He’s part of something I barely remember. Instead, I focus on my sisters. You…don’t have that, do you?”
I shook my head. “No. After Mom died—” I shrugged. “I guess I figured it didn’t matter anymore, you know? But then I found the report and something clicked. Like this was a sign from the universe that I was supposed to reach out. The family in Texas, as far as I can see, are Fundamentalist Christian. How they allowed a bigamist amongst them is a whole other thing.”
“They likely didn’t know.” Demetrius softly interjected.
“Right? So me showing up would’ve raised a whole lot of questions. As I did with you.” I was quick to add that. “But from what I saw…or what I could read between the lines…” I drew in a deep breath. “You felt like the safer option. But that puts a lot of pressure on you.” Because I needed him to know I wasn’t unaware of the depth of my request. How unsettling it must’ve been for him to receive a text some random Saturday night from a guy claiming to be his half-brother.
“I’ve got broad shoulders.” Another smile. “Ask my husband. He complains—playfully—that I like to take on all the world’s problems. Not that you’re a problem—” He cut himself off.
“But…” I continued to scratch Daphne’s ears as I willed him to keep going.
“I thinkbutis too strong of a word. Maybeand becausemight be better.”
I cocked my head.
“I’m happy you’re hereand becauseyou reached out to me first, I feel…obliged…to help. Or just listen. Or whatever it is that you need. I need you to tell me, though, because I’m sort of flying without a compass.”
Yeah, okay. I can see that. I get it.I took a deep breath. “It’s funny that I’m coming to you for information about our father—given that I had him longerandhe was in my life more recently.”
“Ah.” Demetrius nodded. “You’re hoping I can explain why he went around marrying random women and fathering children then abandoning them.”
“When you put it like that—” I swallowed. “Maybe?”
“I don’t have all the answers. I wish I did. But I believe the explanation you’ve provided. Clearly, my father and your mother married. Even bigamously, that still makes you my brother.”
“The resemblance is remarkable.” Zahir spoke for the first time. “But I think, unless you’re standing next to each other, that the casual observer wouldn’t see it. I do—because I know to look for it. Jai will see it because he’s intuitive that way. As for others? Hard to say.”
“I haven’t told anyone about you.” Demetrius winced. “That sounds bad. I know. Jai knows. Our friends Foster, Arnav, Cody and Lorcan—”
