Page 133 of In the Pursuit of Haven
“Is Matthew my grandfather?” I asked Pete point blank. I wasn’t leaving until I got the truth from him.
Jessie’s old man laughed in my face again. “Bah! Well, that would make things real messy between you and Jessie… now wouldn’t it? They already are… as far as I’m concerned—your grandfather’s a murderer. Now what do you say about that?”
I was shocked and confused. Jessie’s hands tightened over mine. “We’re leaving now.”
His father’s laughter echoed over us. “Haven would rather everyone suspect she had the baby out of wedlock than anyone guess whereyoureally came from… you’re bad blood, little girl!”
“Robert,” I said. “It’s Robert! He’s my grandfather?”
Pete’s strange crowing laughter hadn’t stopped. “Ooh… Haven, she wouldn’t like you knowing the truth, but it weren’t me that blabbed. She can’t go back on her deal… and neither can that cousin of hers.” He nodded, drunkenly satisfied that he’d finally blabbed my aunt’s deepest, darkest secret. He zipped his fingers over his mouth. “I didn’t say it!”
“C’mon.” Jessie tried to get me to leave with him one last time. “Let’s not do this.”
Once again, I noticed that he wasn’t surprised by any of this. “Did you know?” I asked him.
He shrugged, though his dark eyes betrayed his sudden nervousness. “I… hear a lot of things.”
“And you didn’t bother telling me?”
“There was no way of knowing what was true; maybe a DNA test, but… does it matter?”
“Yes, it matters!” I shook with indignation. Could the other things he was shielding me from possibly be worse than this? “Remember when you promised not to shut me out?”
“Honey!” He ran his fingers down my skin.
Usually that was enough to distract me from my anger, but I wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t! Don’t touch me.”
“Well, why not?” Pete howled out in laughter. “He ain’t your cousin.” The old guy shook his head. “Matthew’s granddaughter? Really? Now,thatwould be a hoot… it would be worlds better than what you really are!”
“You’re not helping,” Jessie snarled at him. He swung around to me, his eyes pleading. “He’s making more out of this than there is. And by the way, being your cousinwould’vebeen the worst scenario. I’m super happy that’s not the case.” He chuckled under his breath, though the sound was more despondent than anything.
Was this what Robert had eluded to earlier then? Possibly this was part of his blackmail too? After all the years I’d wondered and dreamed about my noble ancestry, I was related to those filthy Corwins? It was a punch in the gut. Every breath felt painful as I met Jessie’s eyes.
He watched me in anguish. Why didn’t he tell me before I found out this way? He was right to be wary of this bombshell revelation. I felt further away from him than ever before.
Chapter Thirty-Five
We went straight to Baker’s Island on Jessie’s boat that night. Haven’s gray cat snuggled into my stomach while Jessie held me close to him. I shook from the chill, though much of that was from shock too.
Robert was my grandfather… that meant Felicity was my grandmother. Thinking back on those pictures of her dark hair and her square jaw, I realized just how alike we were. And my Aunt Haven? This made her my cousin twice removed.
She’d always be Aunt Haven to me. The old girl loved me fiercely; it was strange to know that we were actually flesh and blood.
I should be angry that Jessie hadn’t bothered to tell me the rumors circulating in our little town. I shouldn’t let him comfort me like this, but I needed him right now, more than I needed to make him pay for keeping these secrets from me.
And yet, who knew what else he was hiding?A lot!So much buried just beneath the surface that I was afraid to take a shovel to it. After this treasure hunt was all over, I didn’t know what we were going to do. I’d been so sure before, so confident, so smug that he was on his way to trusting me and this was all going to work out.
Hot tears ran down my cheeks.
When we got home, we pushed through the creaking door of Haven’s house, and I strangled back my gasps of dismay at the mess Hunter’s people had made inside. The couch Jessie had been sleeping on was slashed open with the stuffing torn out; all the things we’d carefully packed were shaken free from their boxes; and Haven’s ancient computer was simply gone.
“Finn!” Jessie tried to call back the yellow Labrador, but the dog couldn’t resist digging through the papers and trash littering the floor. Jessie tried to catch Finn around the collar before he could chomp down the muffins our eager vandalizers had strewn across the carpet.
Rushing upstairs, I found Haven’s boxes of personal papers upside down in her room. I stopped short at the closet, my heart racing. The secret room in the attic hadn’t been discovered.
I wondered if that was because Abby hadn’t known about it.
At this point, I believed her capable of anything; Jessie, too, and I hated it.
