Page 119 of Simon Says

“SIMONasked me about Barnaby.”

Dakota had just taken a bite of the best chicken she’d ever tasted, and Barber’s statement made her choke. He got out of his seat to thwack her on the back several times until she regained her breath.

The second she did, she wheezed out, “What? When?”

Sliding her drink toward her, he said, “Earlier tonight. He’s chewing on a theory that maybe Barnaby and Marvin are somehow in cahoots against you.”

She shook her head. “No. I wondered about that, too, but I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Barnaby hardly knows Marvin, but what he does know of him he doesn’t like. He was the one who encouraged my mom to take such a hard stand against Marvin.”

“I remember you saying so.”

Dakota rubbed at her forehead, thinking about how the mere mention of Marvin had affected Barnaby when last they spoke. “What did you tell Simon?”

“Nothing.” At his leisure, Barber chomped into another chicken plank. “I wasn’t sure how much you’d told him, but it didn’t sound like he knew everything.”

Relief took the rigidity out of Dakota’s spine and she slumped into her seat. At least Simon hadn’t heard the awful truth from someone else. “Barnaby is Simon’s real father.”

“Because Barnaby said so?” Barber snorted. “Simon told me that theory, but I think you should check the facts on that one.”

“Short of asking his mother about it, how am I supposed to check anything?” Dakota did a fair job of helping to locate runaways, but she didn’t have access to private, personal records. She wouldn’t even know where to start. “And anyway, why would Barnaby lie about something like that?”

As if she were nuts, Barber gave her a “duh” look. “Because he’s a grade-A fucking asshole, and assholes don’t care about finding long-lost sons, that’s why.”

“I can’t disagree. But that doesn’t tell me why he’d want to hook up with Simon.”

Barber pushed the food aside and reached for Dakota’s hands. “Let’s put that on hold for a second, okay? The real question here is why haven’t you told Simon that Barnaby is your stepfather?”

Dakota knew she should have by now, but lame as they seemed, she did have her reasons. “At first I didn’t tell him because I only wanted to convince him to go see Barnaby. I figured that if he knew of my relationship to Barnaby, he’d read more into it than a simple request from his long-lost biological father.”

Barber accepted that, but asked, “Why work for Barnaby anyway? And don’t give me that bullshit about owing him.”

“I do. Or at least, I did. But not anymore. I’m done with Barnaby.” Never again would she let him hold her hostage with guilt.

“That’s a start.” Barber squeezed her hands. “So tell me, how did Barnaby convince you to help him?”

Always, when there was no one else to turn to, Dakota could confide in Barber without fear of judgment. He always assumed the best of her—as he did now. She appreciated that special closeness more than ever. “He claims to have some letters that my mother wrote to me before her injury and coma.”

For only a moment, Barber went stock-still in surprise. Then, as his anger exploded, he crashed his fist down on the tabletop, rattling the dishes and nearly spilling their drinks. Through tight lips, he said, “That son of a bitch.”

Appreciating his reaction on her behalf, Dakota gave a small smile. “He said he found them behind a framed photo. He could be lying, I know. But Barber, that was a special hiding place for us. Mom had used it to tuck away emergency money for me. Maybe she thought—”

“That once you buried her, you’d rifle the place looking for loose cash?” Still fuming, Barber shook his head. “I don’t buy it.”

Put that way, it did sound harsh, almost mercenary. “Maybe she figured Marvin would need money, and for him, I’d go looking. I don’t have too many answers. But if she wrote letters that she didn’t want anyone else to see, that’d be the best place to put them.”

“I suppose it’s never occurred to Barnaby that he should give you the letters whether you do him any favors or not.”

“The only way I’d have gotten them is if I convinced Simon to meet with him face-to-face.” She looked up at Barber. “I’ve never told Simon about the letters. He only knows that Barnaby has something I wanted, but not what. And that was before we got…closer.”

“And since you are closer, he should have gone to see Barnaby.”

This time Dakota took Barber’s hands. “You can’t blame him, Barber, because I don’t. He’s in training for a big comeback in the SBC. His whole life is different now. And from what he’s said, he’s real close to his stepfather. The man raised him and to Simon, he’s Dad. Simon doesn’t want to do anything to damage that relationship.”

“If you tell him about the letters—”

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