Page 56 of Faking it with the Bad Boy Bikers

I covered my mouth with my hands and stared out the window at the barn. I could see Waylan running out, her hair blowing wildly behind her. She had the biggest grin on her face. “I look just like you and Vera. We all looked like Way when we were her age.”

“The timing. Dad never bothered to do the math but that summer you guys left, Mom was stressed and she started seeing the guy again. Dad found out, did some basic math, and realized you weren’t his kid.” Maxie saw Waylan coming, too, and rushed to finish. “She told me she blamed you for ruining things. Dad never treated her the same. She hated you for that.”

“Who?” The word was strangled as I spit it out but she understood.

“Michael Mays.”

Waylan burst into the house, a wild laugh on her lips. “Mom! Guess what! Jolene and Maxie said Bob would let me ride him if it’s okay with you. Bob! A horse named Bob. Can you believe it?”

I forced a smile and shook my head. “That’s wild. As long as you listen to everything Jolene and Maxie say, you can ride.”

She jumped up and down and then threw her arms around my neck. “Thanks, Mom! You’re the best! Come on, Aunt Maxie!”

Maxie looked at me with her heart in her eyes, broken. “It never mattered how hard you tried, Nellie.”

The words she didn’t say were loud.It never would’ve been enough.My chest ached for her as much as it did for me. I wished Mom was still alive so I could shake her for putting such a heavy burden on Maxie. How selfish the old woman had been before she died.

After Maxie and Waylan left, it was like the life had been sucked out of the room. I didn’t know what to say. I was the daughter of the man who’d tried to kill Vera. My mother had hated me for somethingshe’ddone and I’d spent my entire life feeling the weight of her disgust every time she’d look at me.

Mills sank onto the couch next to me. “Nellie… I don’t know what to say. That’s the last thing I ever expected to hear. I thought… I fucking thought they were the picture of love and family.”

I took his hand and we all just sat there in silence, letting it sink in. I’d walked into the room a full Hellstone and I sat there as something else. It was strange.

“You’re our sister, Nellie. I don’t give a fuck what a DNA test would or wouldn’t say.” West stood up and walked over to ruffle my hair. “I need to go ride something.”

I grimaced. “Ew.”

“I meant a horse or a bull, kid.”

After he left, Tate stood up and sighed. “What he said. This doesn’t change shit. You’re our sister and you’ll come to family dinner on Sunday whether you like it or not.”

He left and I turned to Mills. “You have family dinner?”

He shook his head and then shrugged. “I don’t fucking know.”

“Do you feel the same as them? Or do you see this as your chance to walk away like Mom and Dad did?” I needed to know for sure.

“I deserve that.” He reached over and pinched my chin. “You’re my sister and that’s the end of that, Nell.”

CHAPTER 44

Nellie

“And then Bob ran me into a fence but Aunt Maxie grabbed him and made him stop. I think Bob could smell Papa Jack on me. And Papa Jack even smells like meanness. That’s probably why Bob didn’t like me.” Waylan had started telling Ms. Vivian every detail of her trip to the ranch the second we walked through the woman’s front door.

Ms. Vivian looked at me and smiled. “Why don’t you go up and get some rest? Waylan and I are going to be very, very swamped doing makeup baking tonight.”

Waylan hugged me tight and then hugged Ms. Vivian. “Best day ever!”

I sent a smile of gratitude toward the other woman and kissed Waylan on the top of her head before heading up to our room. I didn’t even get the door shut all the way before Henry’s big hand caught it and eased it open.

He took one look at me and swore. Pulling me into his arms, he walked me over to the bed and pulled me into his lap. He held me like a baby and even rocked me as he spoke low. “As much as I don’t want to admit this because you could misconstrue this as us colluding even more with your brothers, West called and told us what happened. I’m sorry, baby.”

It only took a few rocks before the tears started. “I don’t even know which thing I’m crying about. So much has happened and it’s just been building and building. And now I find out I’m the demon spawn of the monster who tried to kill Vera.”

“We worked with Mays for long enough to know that you could never be anything like that man, Nell. I, for one, think maybe your mom was cheating with multiple men. Your real dad was probably some nice, sweet milk man.”

Woodrow stepped into the room and came over to sit next to us. “I agree. Your mom sounds like she got around. Was there a candy man in town nine months before you were born?”

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