Page 79 of Nathan

“No.” Declan’s response comes out short and sharp.

Indie frowns, her eyes darting between Declan, me, and Dex. “What’s going on?”

Declan gets up, walks over to her, and gently takes her by the elbow, propelling her toward the sofa. “We need to talk to you.”

Her tongue dampens her lips. “Declan, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

He settles her on the sofa, taking her hand in his. “As you know, we went to the storage unit today, and, well, Nate found something that affects you.”

She touches the base of her neck, and her fingers hold a slight tremor. “Me? Like what?”

Declan hands her the letter. “You’d better read this.”

I slide a hand up Dex’s thigh. She covers mine with hers and squeezes as Indie scans the letter that is about to blow her life apart. Once she finishes reading, she goes utterly still.

“Indie?” Declan murmurs when several seconds scrape by without her saying a word.

She folds the piece of paper in half and leans forward to set it on the coffee table in front of her. “Finally, I understand,” she says quietly, lifting her eyes to Declan’s. “Why your dad destroyed mine.” She turns her gaze to me. “Ours.”

“Indie…” Declan says, reaching for her.

“Can you give me a few minutes?” she says, pushing him away. “I need a moment to myself.” She gets to her feet, but as she passes me, she pauses. “I won’t be long, then we’ll talk.” And with a quick squeeze of my shoulder, she walks upstairs.

“Shit.” Declan rakes a hand through his hair.

I shift my body nearer to Dex, needing to feel her close to me. “I should have left those letters where they belong. In the past. I shouldn’t have told you what I found.”

“No,” Declan says. “You did the right thing. We’ve had enough secrets in this family.”

The three of us fall into silence. Dex props her head on my shoulder, and I gently caress her inner thigh while we wait for Indie to return.

Within five minutes, she’s back, her spine erect and a determined set to her jaw that I can’t read. I simply don’t know her well enough to second-guess her mindset. I haven’t bothered getting to know any of my brothers’ significant others, too wrapped up in my own misery to try. Everything is different now, though. Indie means a whole lot more to me than simply being Declan’s wife.

He rises to greet her, and she gives him a reassuring smile before she presses a kiss to his cheek. “I wonder if you wouldn’t mind taking Dex out for a coffee or something, Declan. I’d like to talk to Nate alone.”

Dex immediately gets to her feet, leaving me feeling cold and exposed. I’m not averse to holding my own if Indie’s reaction becomes contentious, but it kind of feels like kicking someone when they’re down.

The two of them leave, and the door to the apartment closes. I don’t move from my position on the couch as Indie crosses over to the kitchen, returning with a bottle of beer for me and a glass of wine for herself. I take a swig and rest the bottle in my lap, waiting for her to say something. It seems like the right thing to do.

“I don’t normally drink before seven, but today isn’t exactly normal, right?”

“No, it’s not.”

Her eyes search my face as if she’s looking for some family resemblance. I guess that’s what she’s doing because I find myself doing exactly the same.

“How do you feel?” she asks.

Flicking my tongue over dry lips, I take another swig of my beer. I didn’t expect that to be her first question. After giving it due consideration, I shrug.

“I’m not sure. I’ve known I was the by-product of Mom’s affair for years, yet I never cared to find out who fathered me.”

“And now that you know, how do you feel?”

I tilt my head to one side, ignoring her question. “How are you feeling?”

She rubs her lips together. “I’m not going to lie, it’s a hell of a shock, but, you know, it’s also kind of a relief. I never knew why your father went out of his way to destroy mine, and with all the major players having passed on, I never expected to find out. I’d parked it as one of life’s little mysteries.”

“He shouldn’t have done it.”

---