Remy stopped stirring and turned to her. “Michel, I’m going to need you to take over.”
The chef strode in from the back and eased into the place her brother had occupied.
Remy nodded toward his office. “All right, what’s going on?”
She followed him in. This had once been her grandfather’s office. It would have been her dad’s if he’d lived. Now it was Remy’s. He was carrying on the family tradition. So much of her trouble right now came down to family and how tightly knit they could be. So tight they sometimes frayed. “Celeste is going to find out about Luc.”
Remy sank to his seat. “How? Have you decided to tell her? I thought you didn’t want her to know.”
When her brother had come home after years away, she’d told Remy everything, including the fact that Angela had been the one to convince her to keep the secret about Luc from her family. “Harry found out.”
“And Harry can’t keep his mouth closed, why?”
She fought back tears at the thought of Harry. The night before had been perfect, right up until that fight. “He’s got a black-and-white view of the world. I’m afraid he believes in his aunt in a way I can’t. The funny thing is, she’s started to loosen up. When I began dating Harry, she decided not to fight it, and we’ve gotten fairly tolerant of each other.”
“But she doesn’t know about Luc. I think she’s going to be far less tolerant of you once she realizes you never told her you had her precious baby boy’s child,” Remy reasoned. “He doesn’t know what Celeste was like back when Wes was alive.”
“I do,” a masculine voice said.
She sighed because she hadn’t meant for him to find out this way. She turned and Zep was standing in the doorway, already dressed for his shift in jeans, a Guidry’s T-shirt, and boots. Her younger brother would have done well if he’d gone out to Hollywood. He had the looks and he knew how to make an entrance. “I should talk to you, Zep. There’s something you should know.”
“That Wes is Luc’s biological father?” Zep asked, taking the seat next to hers. “I’ve known that since before he was born.”
“How would you know?” Remy asked. “She didn’t tell me for years. I thought only Mom knew.”
“I know because I know my sister,” Zep replied. “There’s no way Sera fools around with some married man, and if it had been anyone else, she would have demanded the man support his kid. Also, I remember what happened in the weeks before Wes lost his damn mind and joined the Army. No offense, brother.”
Remy waved that off. “Hey, I went into the Navy because I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I would have been perfectly happy with running Beaumont Oil if I’d been that kid. I understand what it means to be expected to continue a family business.”
“I think the situations are pretty different. You always loved this place. You always wanted to run it, and you had a great relationship with Pop-Pop.” Zep looked over at her. “Wes had some serious issues with his dad. So did Angie and Cal. Cal still hates the old man and he’s been dead a couple of years, so I don’t see time changing his feelings. Anyway, I remember Wes tried to come back and see Sera, but she asked Mom to tell him she wasn’t there. So I knew something had happened. Then Wes up and left town like he couldn’t stand the thought of being here. I know I’m more famous for my good looks than my brains, but I can put two and two together.”
All these years he’d known and kept her secret. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I figured if you wanted to talk to me, you would,” Zep admitted. “If Wes had lived, he would have come home to an ass kicking, but he didn’t, and it was obvious you decided to raise Luc on your own. So I supported you. I don’t need to know everything to know I love you, sister. I don’t need to be in on the secret to help you keep it. And now I think I might have to fight Harry. Remy, I’m going to need some help. He’s way bigger than Wes was.”
She brushed away tears. She had her family. Luc had them, too. They could get through anything if they were together, and she needed to start trusting that. Her mom was crazy sometimes, but she would do anything for her kids. “I don’t want you to go after Harry. He’s just being Harry.”
“Can he be someone else for a little while?” Zep asked. “Someone with less training and muscle?”
Her brother always made her smile. “Don’t worry about Harry. It’s Celeste we need to prepare for. She’ll be the one who comes after me.”