“You wanna tell us what their hush-hush powwow is all about?” Maddie asked pointedly.
Austin shot her a crooked grin. “Nope.”
Bree rolled her eyes. “Shocking.”
His gaze moved to the gazebo again, a frown marring his lips. “I should go over there,” he told Mari. “Will you be okay without me? I’m sure these ladies can entertain you with lots of colorful stories about me.”
“We sure can,” Bree said wryly.
“Yeah, get lost already, Austin,” Maddie cracked. “We want to gossip with your new girlfriend.”
“I’ll be back soon,” Austin murmured as he leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek.
“Take your time,” she murmured back.
The moment Austin stepped into the gazebo, three heads snapped up to reveal three grave faces.
“Is it true?” Jake asked without preamble. Just like Nate, Jake wasn’t one for pleasantries either.
Jake’s twin, however, was not as curt. “I’m glad you’re home,” Owen said quietly. With a tentative smile, he came forward and gave Austin a quick hug.
Jake, of course, stayed put. Mr. Military Man didn’t do hugs. Though Austin noticed that his brother did look more approachable than usual, thanks to his gray trousers, white button-down and clean-shaven face.
A face that sported a scowl as Jake repeated the question. “Is it true?”
“Yes,” Austin said simply.
Jake ran a hand over his buzz cut. “When did you find out?”
“Last year. Ironically, a few days before mom’s last birthday.”
Sighing, Owen moved toward one of the support posts in the gazebo and leaned against it. “So Rice is your old man, huh?”
Austin stared at him in shock.
“It wasn’t hard to guess,” Nate spoke up, his voice wry. “All we had to do was ask ourselves, who’s the only other man aside from Dad that Mom spent more than five minutes with?”
“How do you know she didn’t have a one-night stand?” he challenged.
“Because that’s not her style,” Jake said gruffly. “Mom would never hook up with a random dude. She’d probably consider it immoral.”
Austin shook his head in disbelief. “But having an affair with her husband’s brother is better?”
The three of them exchanged a look, and then Owen let out another sigh, this one tinged with defeat. “Do you really blame her?”
“Dad treated her like shit,” Jake said angrily. “If she found comfort somewhere else, I’m not sure I can hold that against her.”
“God knows Dad found a shit-ton of comfort outside his marriage,” Nate added bitterly.
“So that made it okay for her to cheat?” Austin demanded.
Jake rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, little brother, you know you’re not pissed about the cheating thing. You’re mad that she lied to you.”
“Let me guess,” he said sarcastically, “you guys are okay with that too.”
“Not at all,” Owen replied calmly. “She shouldn’t have lied to you—to us—all these years. But…I understand why she did.”
“Christ, can you imagine what would’ve happened if Dad found out his wife slept with Uncle Rice?” Jake whistled under his breath. “He would’ve freaked the fuck out.”
Austin didn’t doubt it. Ironically, although Henry had cheated on Della constantly, he’d been oddly possessive of his wife, not to mention jealous as hell.
“I don’t blame her for keeping the affair from Henry,” Austin said darkly. “I blame her for keeping it from me. She should have told me the truth.”
Owen spoke up in a careful tone. “What difference would it have made? You would’ve needed to keep Dad in the dark, which means pretending he was still your father.”
“Fine, then she should’ve just told Dad and let the chips fall where they may.” His jaw stiffened. “Or in the very least, she could’ve told me ten fucking years ago after he died. I was fifteen then, more than old enough to know the truth.”
“She made a mistake,” Nate agreed. “And we get why you’re pissed, okay?”
“And why you’ve been acting like a surly bastard lately,” Jake added.
“You should have told us sooner,” Owen chimed in, frowning.
He dragged a frustrated hand through his hair. “I needed time to process it.”
“Well, you’ve had plenty of fucking time, Austin.” Nate donned a stern look. “The question is, what are you going to do now?”
“How is that a question?” Jake argued. “Mom fucked up, but now he’s going to forgive her.”
Austin arched a brow. “Oh, am I?”
“Damn right you are,” Jake snapped. “She’s your mother. She loves you—hell, she probably loves you more than all of us combined. You’ve always been her favorite and you know it.”
Yeah, because she probably felt guilty.