Lawson’s index finger poked against his chest. “You should have busted her chops for it, too.”
Kellan took the risk of pushing the poking finger away. “Hey, I’m not her father. And be thankful she has me for a sounding board after what Eve did to her.”
Lawson’s shoulder went back. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Duh. The rift between them. It’s all Eve’s fault. I’d be pissed, too, if my mom had lied to me like that, and I’m an adult. Imagine, having to hear something like that when you’re just a teenager. That rift happened a year ago, when Tessie was only sixteen.”
Oops. He probably shouldn’t have mentioned that since Eve had sworn him to secrecy. But he’d been trying to make a point. Which Kellan thought he’d more or less succeeded in doing.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Lawson repeated. Finally, there was a different tone that wasn’t barkish, snarlish or growlish. This one had a subdued edge to it.
Since the cat was out of the bag, there was no use trying to put the kitty back in. “Tessie isn’t adopted. Eve gave birth while she was still filming Demon High. Last year, Tessie found her original birth certificate with Eve’s name on it.”
Kellan was surprised at the relief he felt in getting that off his chest. But Lawson obviously wasn’t feeling any such relief at all. However, he was counting something on his fingers. The months. And he was going backward from October. When he made it to the ninth month, January, the growl was back. Again, with a different edge.
A dangerous-sounding one.
Lawson spit out a single word of profanity coupled with Eve’s name before he stormed out the door.
*
LAWSON CURSED THE whole way out of the house. Kept cursing when he reached the sunroom. And continued onto the porch. He could have kept it up, easily, all the way to his truck, but he ran into an obstacle—literally.
Roman.
Lawson smacked right into him as he was barreling down the steps. He cursed and apologized at the same time but kept moving. He had one goal now. To get in his truck, drive to Eve’s and demand to know why she’d done this. Of course, there was no explanation she could give him that would smooth this over, but damn it all to hell, she’d better have some kind of answer.
“Wait up,” Roman called out to him.
Lawson didn’t, but he’d forgotten just how dang fast Roman could run. He caught up with him and moved in front of his truck door. Maybe some attempt so that Lawson couldn’t get it open, but if necessary he’d kick Roman’s ass to do what needed to get done.
“Is this about Eve?” Roman asked.
“Yeah, and get the fuck out of my way.”
Turns out that whipping Roman’s ass wasn’t easy. When Lawson went to shove him aside, Roman held his ground, and because he was bigger and stronger than Lawson, he managed that just fine.
“What happened?” Roman pressed, and he sounded awfully calm for someone who had pinned a very pissed-off cousin against the side of his truck.
“This is between Eve and me.” He rammed his elbow into Roman’s stomach, but that part of his cousin was obviously as hard as his head because Roman still didn’t budge.
“Stop and think about this for a moment. You really believe you’ll accomplish anything with Eve when you’re seeing red like this? The veins are bulging in your neck, and your nostrils are puffed out so wide you look like a mutant cobra. Eve doesn’t need this shit from you.”
“My shit?” Lawson yelled. “This is Eve’s shit!” His voice was a lot louder than he wanted it to be, but it was impossible to rein in anything right now. His voice, his temper and that fiery ball that was boiling up from his gut.
By now, they’d gotten the attention of some ranch hands who were gathering outside the barn. None of them were rushing to interfere or help though, probably because they didn’t want to incur the wrath of either Roman or Lawson. But there’d be talk and speculation about what had caused one of their bosses to act like this.
“Use your inside voice and tell me what she did,” Roman insisted. “Does it have anything to do with the horn-boy actor who showed up?”
It took Lawson a couple of seconds just to get enough control of his vocal cords so he could speak. “Sort of. He’s the one who spilled Eve’s shit.” And even with the rage he was feeling, he had to wince at the way he’d said that. Anger didn’t make him very articulate.
Roman relaxed the grip he had on Lawson, and he stepped back enough that Lawson could have tried to punch him again. But the look that came over Roman’s face had him holding back on the punch. For now, anyway. But Roman was going to pay for this.
Eve was really going to pay for it.
“Is this about Tessie being your daughter?” Roman asked.
That stopped any punching thoughts and had Lawson whipping up his head so he could look Roman in the eye. Lawson so didn’t like what he saw there. Of course, Roman’s question itself wasn’t high on Lawson’s likability scale.
“You knew?” Lawson said.
Roman lifted his shoulder. “I was in the doorway of the Longhorn last night when she was going to her car. I thought there was a family resemblance. She looks a lot like Sophie did at that age.”
“Well, fuck me.” Lawson groaned, put his hands on the side of his head and groaned some more. Since someone had just pulled the ground out from beneath his feet, he leaned against his truck for support. When that didn’t help, he sank on his butt to the ground.
“I take it you had no idea,” Roman added.
That was the most understated statement Lawson had ever heard. “None. Because Eve would have told me something like that. Or at least I thought she would.” And then Lawson thought of something. “Those magazine covers—”
“Probably Photoshopped.” Roman caught onto him and hauled him to his feet. “Are you feeling less pissed off now so we can talk with cooler heads?”
“Hell, no.”
With as much anger as he was feeling, it might take light-years for him to stop feeling...well, whatever the hell he was feeling. The only emotion Lawson could latch on to was the anger, but he was certain there were other things lurking around. Feelings that would soon come to bite him in the ass.
“Why wouldn’t Eve have told me?” Lawson grumbled.
Roman blew out a long breath. “That’s something you’re going to need to ask her. But I can go with you to do that. You need something to drink before I drive you over there to see her?”
It was tempting, both the liquor and Roman’s offer to go with him. The whiskey would smooth down some of the edges of this raw anger, but Lawson wasn’t sure smoothing was the way to go here. Eve needed to see his face. Needed to know that what she’d done was wrong in every way possible.