9
When Christy got home and found Dawn's car parked in the driveway, her heart started thumping. Had she had a fight with that man? Had they split? She prayed the bastard hadn't hurt her. If he'd laid one finger on her—
She rushed into the house, calling, "Dawnie?"
Dawn came down the stairs and stood before her. She carried a full duffel bag. Moving more of her stuff out? She looked no worse for wear—no tears, no bruises, no quivering lower lip. She stared at Christy with a disappointed expression.
"I was totally hoping to get in and get out without a scene."
Christy's heart fell. "So, you're not back."
"I'm so not. Maybe someday I'll forgive you for trying to buy him off, but it's going to take a while."
Christy opened her arms and moved toward her. She wanted to take her little girl in her arms and beg her to come back, but Dawn sidestepped her.
"All right," Christy said. "I admit that was a bad move on my part. I regret it."
Dawn shook her head. "Why? Because it totally didn't work?"
Exactly!
But she couldn't say that. Could she say anything about the blood relationship? No. She wasn't convinced herself. She'd have to keep mum until she had proof. So she tried to lighten things up.
She held out her hand. "That's fifty cents you owe me."
Dawn simply stared.
Christy forced a smile. "Come on. Two totallies: fifty cents."
Dawn shook her head again. "That's so over, Mom. But speaking of money, where is it? Do you still have the cash?"
Oh, damn. She'd been so involved in this mess that she hadn't returned it to the bank. Tomorrow… tomorrow for sure.
"Yes. Why?"
"I want to see what it looks like."
Christy didn't know where this was going but decided to play along. Anything to keep her here a little longer. She hurried upstairs to her room, pulled the bag from the bottom drawer of her dresser, and returned to the first floor. Without a word she handed it to Dawn.
Dawn took it, reached inside, and removed a few stacks of bills. She stared at them, then looked at Christy with tears in her eyes.
"This is what you thought I was worth?"
"Oh, God, no! You're priceless to me. I thought that would be more than you were worth to him."
"But you were totally wrong, weren't you."
Christy remembered something Jack had said.
"Maybe he has another agenda more important than money."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, but I intend to find out."
Dawn's face hardened as she crammed the bills back into the bag and shoved it at Christy.
"What? Another detective?"
"Yes. And he's learned a few things."
Dawn pushed past her on her way to the door.
"He'll have to go some to beat the first's whoppers."
Christy didn't want to say it but it slipped out.
"He's your uncle, Dawn!"
Dawn stopped and did a slow turn. She looked stunned.
"What?"
"He's my half brother. I never knew he existed."
Her face twisted. "You expect me to believe that?"
"Sadly, no, I don't. But it's true. Not only is he a dangerous, violent man and old enough to be your father, but he's your uncle!"
"You're just jealous because you have no man in your life and I do! And did you ever think that maybe I'm with a guy old enough to be my father because I never had one and my mother won't tell me a fucking thing about him?" She screamed the last words.
Christy felt her heart breaking but she kept her voice calm. They'd been through this a million times over the course of Dawn's life. Time to remove the sugar coating without telling her the whole truth.
"Your father has never wanted anything to do with you or me. What more do you need to know?"
Truth. He wouldn't even know of Dawn's existence.
"I'd like to hear that from him."
"Well, then, you'll have to find him. His last contact with me was before you were born. I have no idea where he is."
True.
She shook her head. "Why do you hate him so?"
"I don't. He gave me you."
True again.
Dawn's expression softened for a moment. "He married you and dumped you. That's totally cold, I know, but…"
More than cold—pure fiction. She'd never married and the supposed husband and father—Dennis Pickering—never existed. She'd never even met a Dennis Pickering, let alone married him.
But she'd keep that to herself… forever.
She took a step closer to Dawn.
"Stay for dinner?"
She backed up a step. "Can't. I'm still too pissed about the money. And this uncle thing just makes it worse. Prove it."
"I can't right now."
She rolled her eyes. "Mom! You must think I'm totally stupid!"
"I know you're very bright." Something Jack had said clicked in her mind. "I don't expect you to believe me. I hardly believe it myself. So prove me wrong. Take some of your hair and some of his hair and give them to the lab of your choice—I'll even pay for the test—and have them run a check on how similar they are. If I'm wrong, the laugh will be on me."
Dawn's face reddened as she yanked open the front door.
"You think I'm going to totally insult him by asking him to prove he's not my uncle? Forget it!" She turned on the front step and pointed at Christy. "Better get used to him, Mom. He's the father of your grandchild!"
With that she turned and ran to her car.
Christy wanted to chase after her, but her body wouldn't respond.
Oh no! Oh, please, God, NO!