Page 118 of Mistaken Intention

“He’d put two and two together,” I say.

“Yeah. I just hadn’t quite made four yet.”

“So, I’m as much to blame as anyone,” Hunter says, still focused on his brother. “I slipped up. But do you know what? I’m human. So is Josie. In an ideal world, we’d never have let this happen. We’d have found a way of releasing the information to you in a more controlled way, when you were ready for it.”

Drew stares at him for a moment or two and then turns to me. “Now we’ve come this far, can you tell me what happened?”

“When?”

“You were saying you persuaded Lexi to tell me about the pregnancy.”

“Yes.”

“And after she did? What did I do then?”

“I don’t really know. I didn’t hear from Lexi for a while.”

“You drove down to New York to see her,” Hunter says, filling in the gaps for him. “You offered to support her.”

“Financially?” Drew raises his eyebrows.

“In any way she wanted.”

He turns to me. “Did I contact you?”

I shake my head. “I didn’t hear from you again.”

He frowns. “Y—You mean I didn’t even call you? Not at all?”

“No. What were you going to say? It was a horrible situation… for all of us, I think. And like I said, when I persuaded Lexi to tell you she was pregnant, I knew it would mean the end for us, so I wasn’t surprised.”

“So, we didn’t see each other between then and the accident?”

“We saw each other once… on the day Maisie was born.”

Hunter closes his eyes for a second, shaking his head just slightly and I guess he must already know this story; that Drew must have told him before.

“Really?” Drew says, frowning. “How did that happen?”

“Lexi came to stay with me just before Maisie’s due date. My step-father was still refusing to have anything to do with her and she found that kinda tough. She used to come to Boston every so often to see you…”

Drew holds up a hand and I stop talking. “We… we weren’t involved, were we? Lexi and I, I mean?”

“No. But you saw as much of her as you could. Sometimes you’d go to New York, and sometimes she’d stay with me in Boston, and you’d meet up there.”

“And that’s where she was when Maisie was born?”

“Yes. She was at my apartment. I had to call you, and we both wound up being present for Maisie’s birth.” I swallow down the lump in my throat, reliving the memory, and regretting that he can’t. “It wasn’t easy and I’m not gonna say it was. I was happy for Lexi, but seeing you hold your newborn daughter for the first time… it broke my heart.” My voice cracks and he frowns, like he’s struggling.

“Did Lexi ever find out about us?”

“Not from me.”

He turns to Hunter. “Do you know if I told her?” he asks.

“I don’t know. I think you intended to.”

“What does that mean?”

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