Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

“Paige, what made you say that William was your grandfather?”

I rubbed my lips together, trying to think of a way to get out of what I had just said. A part of me wanted to tell him the truth. Carl had known; how could my father not know?

“Is that your phone ringing?” I asked, glancing down to his pocket where he always kept his cell phone.

“No.”

“Lucas went to Paris with Bianca, did I tell you that? The one city I really wanted to go to with him.”

Now my father put the brush down, grabbed a paper towel and wiped off his hands. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at me.

“You’re trying to change the subject, and it won’t work.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and blew out a defeated groan before focusing back on my father.

“We found a marriage certificate. William was married to Millie, your mom. Granddaddy was really your uncle by blood, not your father.”

He looked at me with a blank expression.

“We found the adoption papers. When May came back from England, which is a long story in and of itself, she was pregnant by some earl or duke or something. William and May married quickly, then she had Carl. William adopted Carl legally. So, you see, William felt obligated to leave me half the house and half of it to Lucas. I know this is a load full of information, and well, when you brought up the truth, I figured you knew because Carl knew.”

That made his brow raise even more.

“Oh, I’m making this worse. You didn’t know, did you?”

He rubbed his neck and looked away for a few moments. “I had my suspicions. Heard talk around town when I was younger. Asked William about it once, and he just smiled and placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, but he never actually answered the question. I found out a couple of years after your momma and I got married that someone had paid off our ranch. Did some digging and all roads pointed to William. Never did ask him about it, though. I figured he had a reason. I knew I looked just like him, a hell of lot more than Carl did.”

I smiled.

“So, to answer your question, I guess I knew, just never admitted it out loud.”

“How was something like that kept such a secret?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Country folks know when to keep certain things private and when not to.”

“Linda May certainly didn’t know.”

Daddy laughed. “No, probably because she moved in so late. The old timers knew.”

“I didn’t know. I had no idea.”

“You had an amazing bond with William. I’m glad.”

With a smile, I replied, “Me too. I’m sorry you didn’t.”

“I did. He was a good friend. I loved your grandfather. He was a good man and loved me fiercely. That was probably one of the reasons I chose not to believe the rumors, even though deep down I guess I knew.”

“I found William’s wedding pictures with Millie. You looked exactly like him when you were younger. Do you want one? I can have some copies made?”

“I’d love one.”

“I’ll get them right away. There’s also a family photo album. I’ll bring it by tomorrow. I wasn’t sure if maybe we had some cousins or something who might like the pictures. Millie and Grandpa were the only two siblings. I haven’t been able to find out if there were any cousins.”

“Daddy never had any other kids, so it’s just me. All his cousins were from the Austin area. He moved here after I was born.”

“To take care of you, because William wasn’t emotionally able to.”

“So, William left you the house because you are his granddaughter. How did Lucas take that?”

I half-shrugged. “Fine. William adopted Carl, so Lucas was his grandson also.”

“He’s not bothered that he isn’t blood-related?”

“Not at all,” I said, giving him a look that asked where he was going with all of this. I placed my hands on my hips and shot him a look that should have bolted him to the floor.

“Do not think for a moment that Lucas is trying to get his hands on the house. Daddy, he asked Lou to bequest his inheritance to me before we even found out.”

“He did what?” my father asked, clearly taken aback.

“He tried to give me the whole house. It’s just as much his as it is mine. We both want to see it fixed up and raise our own family there, just like we talked about when we were younger.”

He walked over to me, pulling me into his arms. “I am happy, sweetheart. I really am. As long as the little prick treats you right and makes you happy, I’m okay with him.”

With a giggle, I kissed him on the cheek. “What were you talking about when you said you knew the truth?”