“Why did I have to find out that way? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
“You want to know the truth? That I met Kayla on the road, fucked her, and she stole from the club. I didn’t even know about your existence. I followed her all the way to Piston County to discover she’d dumped you with Lexie. You know what she did to keep you in diapers and formula, clothes, toys? She turned to stripping. She could have fucking left you.”
Devil’s voice got louder. “A lot of women would have dumped your ass at a hospital. Not Lexie. No, she took care of you.” He ran a hand down her face. “From the first moment I met that woman, and yes, it was her getting her clothes off for money, I didn’t even know who she was, or that you were born.”
Simon felt sick to his stomach.
“From the moment I met that woman, she has always … surprised me. Even when she didn’t need to take care of you, she did. You know all about Kayla, Simon. Damn it, you’ve visited her fucking gravestone with her. Lexie may not be your birth mother, but she is your mother in every single right. She has been willing to die for you. Kayla, she dumped you. She put Lexie in danger.”
“You’d never kill her.”
“No, but in putting you in her arms, I came looking, and from that first look, I wanted her. Every single day since then, her life is at risk. Now that her cancer is … she’s winning. Look, I know you’re angry, but you don’t get to be angry at her. I was the one who said you would never find out the truth. Kayla isn’t worth your time. She was a fucking whore. The only good thing about her was she gave you to Lexie. That was all.”
“You don’t regret it at all. Sleeping with one sister and making a life with another.”
Devil cursed, hands on hips. “How can I regret what happened for a single moment, Simon? If I hadn’t fucked Kayla, you wouldn’t be here and I’d never have met Lexie. Am I proud of what I did? No. Do I regret it? Hell no. I love my life. I love my son. I love my woman. I’ve got a family, a place in this world. There’s nothing to regret. I’m the happiest motherfucker around. Hate me all you want. This was my decision, not Lexie’s, but don’t wait around too long to talk to her. She misses you. I miss you.”
“I can’t come back. Not yet.”
“Fine. You’ve got stuff you need to do, I get it. Don’t make her suffer for my decisions. That I can never accept.”
Simon nodded.
“I made any sense to you?” Devil asked.
“Yeah.”
“A lot?”
“Some.”
“Good. That’s all I needed to know. I can’t convince you to come back with me?” Devil asked.
“You can order me back.”
“No, I’m not going to do that. You know where your home is. I can wait. I don’t like you being here but at least I know you’re in good hands.” Devil rubbed at his brow.
“I’m shocked,” Simon said. “I expected you to order me back home.”
Devil blew out a breath. “Sometimes we’ve got to get a shitload of stuff out of our system. Whatever you need to do here, I’ll respect that decision, so long as you talk to your mother.”
Simon pulled out his cell phone. He found his mom’s number and called. Part of him wanted it to go to voicemail. Of course, he wasn’t that lucky and she answered right away.
“Hey … Mom,” he said, hesitating just slightly. “It’s me.”
“Oh, honey. It’s you. I bet your dad is there, isn’t he?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, he’s here. He’s watching me right now.”
“You tell him that I’ve told him to leave you alone.” He repeated it and Devil just stared.
“He’s giving me the evils.”
She chuckled. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, Mom,” he said.
“You have?”
“Yes.”
“I wish … oh, Simon, I wish a lot of things could have gone differently. I hope you know that.”
“I know it.”
“Good. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“I know. I get it.”
“I do have some pictures of Kayla, not a lot, and they are old. None of her pregnant. You see, I didn’t know she was pregnant with you until she came. You were such a beautiful baby. I loved you so much.”
Tears filled his eyes as he imagined a young Lexie. There were plenty of pictures of her younger, and she’d always looked so sweet and kind.
“Thank you,” he said.
“What for?”
“For taking me in.”
“Of course I would, silly. You’re my son. I mean, nephew. I’m not good at this.”
“No, you’re my mom. You will always be my mom. I’ve been stupid. That’s all. I was so confused and hearing Curse, I made a mistake.”