Page 34 of Lone Star Secrets

RJ immediately locked the door behind them and motioned for them to go to the kitchen. There were fans set up in there, too, and all the windows were cracked open to let in some fresh air.

Maybe let in an intruder, too.

Angel would remind them of that before Mia and he left. No way did he want the arsonist returning to finish the job.

Melanie sank down at the table, burying her face in her hands. “For what it’s worth, I was going to tell Presley and the two of you the truth about Kenton being my bio son,” she murmured.

“But not RJ?” Angel had to ask.

“I already knew,” RJ was quick to answer. He sat down next to Melanie, eased her hand from her face, and slipped his arm around her.

Angel hoped that gesture wasn’t all for show and that RJ truly wasn’t feeling any ill will toward his wife. Because Melanie was going to need all of his support and then some. He’d mentioned that legal trifecta about Birdie to Roger, but the same means, motive, and opportunity could apply to Melanie as well.

“How long have you known?” Mia asked, taking the question right out of Angel’s mouth.

RJ wasn’t so quick to answer this time. “I found out shortly before Kenton disappeared.”

Shit on a stick. That was motive, too, and unlike Melanie, RJ could have been the one to set the fire.

“Dwight came to the house earlier that day,” RJ explained. “Kenton and he were arguing, and it’d gotten physical. Melanie and I heard the commotion, and we ran upstairs. I got between Kenton and Dwight and broke up the fight. That’s when Dwight blurted it out that Melanie was Kenton’s mother.”

Melanie clamped her teeth over her bottom lip, but it didn’t muffle her groan. “Kenton obviously knew because he wasn’t surprised at all,” she muttered. “I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I was so shocked, and I guess Kenton took my silence as a rejection because he cursed at me and ran out. The next time I saw him was when he was assaulting Mia.”

So, maybe some leftover rage from the fight had played into that particular attack. Then again, Kenton had been wired hot. Just like Dwight.

“Would you please tell us how you got involved with Dwight?” Mia said with plenty of sympathy and worry in her voice. She definitely wasn’t judging Melanie.

Melanie nodded but took her time answering. “I was sixteen when I met him. He was twenty-seven and playing in a rock band at my cousin’s bar. I was too young to serve alcohol, but my cousin paid me to be bus tables.” She paused. “Dwight was exciting. So different from the boys in my high school.”

“Because he wasn’t a boy,” RJ spat out. “He lied to her,” he added to Mia and him. “He told Melanie he was twenty and taking a gap year at college.”

Melanie made a sound of agreement. “He certainly never mentioned he was married. If he had, I wouldn’t have started seeing him.”

“But you did start seeing him,” Mia prompted when Melanie fell silent.

“I did.” She groaned. “I was so stupid.”

“You were young,” Angel amended. “Sixteen,” he repeated, glancing at Mia. “We remember what that was like.”

“Yes,” Melanie murmured, but she didn’t seem to be cutting herself any slack. “Anyway, I lost my virginity to Dwight, and then a week later, he broke up with me. I was devastated. Then, a month or so later, I learned I was pregnant, and my parents threw me out of the house. I ended up living with my cousin and his wife. They’re the ones who tracked Dwight down and told him I was carrying his baby.”

“And what did Dwight do?” Angel asked.

“Nothing,” Melanie snarled. “Well, nothing other than saying he wanted no part of the kid. That’s what he called the baby. The kid, and he said it as it were the worst of profanity.”

“But Dwight ended up raising Kenton at least for a while anyway,” Mia pointed out. “Until his wife, Aileen, died.”

Melanie nodded. “Raising Kenton was all Aileen’s doing. Apparently, they’d lost a child, and she’d had two failed in vitro procedures. She wanted a baby, and unlike Dwight, she seemed like a good person.” She stopped, groaned. “And it felt as if I owed her for sleeping with her husband.”

“But you didn’t even know he was married,” Angel reminded her.

“I should have known,” Melanie argued. “I had so much guilt, and I was planning on giving up the baby for adoption anyway. So, I decided to give the baby to Aileen. Dwight managed to get a fake ID made for me. One in Aileen’s name. When I went into labor and had the baby, I used the ID so that it’s Aileen’s and Dwight’s names on Kenton’s birth certificate.”

Angel took a moment to process all of that. “How often did you see Aileen, Dwight, and Kenton after he was born?”

“Never,” she said on a rise of breath. “Not until CPS called and asked if we’d take in a troubled teen, Kenton Barker. I wanted to say no. But I also wanted to see him, to see the kind of person he’d turned out to be.” She shut her eyes a moment. “And I soon found out that he was a monster.”

Melanie’s voice broke on that last word, and she began to sob.

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