Page 171 of Embracing the Change

“You know,” Patricia entered the conversation, coming around at our sides. “This is what women get that men don’t. Maybe it’s because you all try to make us feel irrelevant. Not that we take that on, just that we aren’t driven, at the end of our lives, to do pathetic shit to convince ourselves we still are. We just put our feet up and bake bread or take cruises or whatever strikes our fancy and enjoy it. I’ve been home barely a day, and it literally exhausts me, Pop, watching you work so hard to stay relevant.”

“Never knew when to stop runnin’ your fuckin’ mouth,” AJ bit at her.

“And that was a real problem for you, since you’re one of those who don’t think women are relevant, so anything coming out of my mouth was just an annoyance to you,” she retorted. “Probably hurt, too, when you paid attention and realized I wasn’t scared of you, I didn’t respect you, and I was embarrassed of you to boot.”

“Keep runnin’ your mouth, Pat,” AJ ground out his threat.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Patricia drawled.

“Patty,” Jamie grunted.

She looked to him, then seemed to become aware of the situation, so she looked to Morgan Rawlins.

And at this point, Morgan Rawlins made an approach.

So at this point, Dru pressed closer to her dad, I did the same, and Judge and Rix flanked us.

Like AJ wasn’t there, Morgan passed him and stopped a few feet in front of Jamie.

“I knew before he told me,” he said, his gravelly voice deep and attractive. “You should know that.”

“I knew before I saw you, you should know that,” Jamie replied.

“Didn’t reach out because I didn’t know if it would cause you problems,” Morgan continued.

“I didn’t reach out because of the same.”

“My wife knows about you. She knows about Cordelia too.”

Cordelia, as a reminder, was Jamie’s mother’s name.

“Your boys?” Jamie asked if Morgan’s sons knew they had a half-brother.

The man lifted his hand and scratched the back of his neck before answering, “Well, see, that’s a little tougher.”

“I understand,” Jamie said quietly, and Morgan narrowed his gaze on him.

“It isn’t that I’m not proud of you,” he stated.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” AJ groused.

“You still here, old man?” Patricia bit.

“Patty,” Jamie whispered.

She fell silent.

Morgan was so focused on his son, it was like this byplay didn’t happen.

“Moment I saw your picture in the paper, when you ran in that touchdown to win regionals in the last five seconds your freshman year, I knew,” Morgan said. He shook his head sadly. “Back then, I shoulda?—”

Jamie cut him off. “If you did, she would have suffered, and we both know it.”

Morgan drew a visibly rough breath into his nose.

“Was she happy in the end?” he asked.

“She was free,” Jamie answered.

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