"I'm sorry," I said. "Is she on medication?"
Xavier nodded. "She's in therapy too, if she remembers to go. She doesn't always take her medication, either. The behavior you saw the other day… that's not who she is. It was hard for her when I went to prison. My dad left shortly before that and she was left alone to raise Sara. It was just… tough."
I swallowed hard because I'd never considered that. While my parents and I had been traveling the world, Xavier's mother had been trying to raise one child alone while the other sat in a prison cell. It was no wonder she hated my family. And since my father had been the victim, it stood to reason that her rage be focused at him specifically. Even with Xavier pleading guilty to the crime, it wasn't a surprise that his mother refused to believe he'd actually done it.
"What about your sister?"
Even in the darkness of the truck, I could see Xavier's features soften. He smiled and said, "She's smart, Brooks. Like you. Genius smart." I loved the pride in his voice. "But she's got a soft touch too… she's got this thing with animals that you can't teach, you know?"
I did know because Xavier had that same thing.
"How is she handling things?"
"She's ten. She shouldn't be handling them at all. But she has to be the parent in the house. To make sure my mother takes her medication and remembers to go to work. She cooks for the both of them and she keeps track of the bills so that I can pay them when I go there every week."
I considered his words. I knew how much money he made because I'd seen it as part of the finances I'd been working on. He made good money for his particular position, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a huge amount. The truck Xavier drove was old and rusted, and he didn’t appear to have any personal possessions worth anything. It wouldn't be a leap to discover that he was paying some of his mom's bills with his money.
"I'm hoping to bring them to the ranch to live with me as soon as I can get the foreman's house fixed up," Xavier said. I was surprised by the admission. I tried not to read too much into the fact that he was openly sharing something with me without being prodded into it.
"I'm sure that will make it easier on all of you," I said. "Have you talked to Uncle Curtis about maybe having them come stay in the main house until you're finished?"
Xavier merely shook his head. I took that to mean that he had too much pride to ask for that kind of charity, though I didn't really consider it as such. If anything, my gut was telling me Uncle Curtis would welcome the company.
"Maybe if I can figure out this finances thing, we can see if there's enough money to hire some help. You could get it fixed up faster then."
Xavier's eyes shifted to me. I couldn’t see enough of his expression to know what he was thinking, but when he pulled my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, I pretty much melted on the spot.
Yeah, I was so going to lose my heart to this man.
Who was I kidding?
I already had.
Chapter 16
Xavier
"Did you know about my uncle and Del?"
Brooks's fingers were warm and loose in mine as I held our joined hands on my lap. I still couldn't believe he was in the truck with me. That he’d chosen to come with me. I didn't know what any of it meant, but for tonight, I wasn't going to worry about it. He was here and that was all that mattered.
"I kind of figured it out on my own," I admitted to Brooks.
"How?" Brooks asked. I heard that familiar uncertainty in his voice, and I suspected why he was asking me the question.
"I’d see Curtis staring at this picture he kept of him and Del in his room. A lot of times he’d just kind of get lost when someone mentioned Del or he’d be interacting with Grover… stuff like that," I explained as I glanced at Brooks.
Brooks was quiet as he stared at the dashboard.
I gave his fingers a squeeze. "Brooks, I’m sure they worked really hard to keep it a secret. Don't blame yourself for not knowing. My guess is that was the way they wanted it… they had their reasons."
"I can't stop thinking about those minutes or hours or days that they could've had together when I visited. They wouldn’t have had to hide around me. I feel like I'm a part of that now. Uncle Curtis can’t get that time back. I just wish…"
"You wish what?" I asked softly. I rubbed my thumb over the back of his fingers.