his head again. “Celia broke things off and my uncle was devastated. My mom took the opportunity to make a move. My uncle accepted her invitation. They spent one night together. One night,” he whispered.
Julie gently traced a faded scar on his arm as she listened.
“She found out she was pregnant soon after and was about to tell Zach, but then he and Celia had gotten back together. My mom wouldn’t consider abortion. She loved Zach and wanted his baby. But she had to do something. She was afraid her parents would kick her out or the town would think she was a slut.”
“Or both,” Julie added.
Troy nodded. “Or both.” He shook his head. “So she did the next-best thing.”
“She went after his little brother.” Julie didn’t need to make it a question. She knew the answer. The girl was underage and afraid no one would support or help her.
“She wanted a name for her baby and what better name than the one he’d have if she’d married the baby’s father?”
Julie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Wow.” Zach Mills was actually Troy’s real father. It explained the man’s behavior yesterday. Explained the hug and the fact that he’d built this place and left it for Troy. “So your uncle found out about this when he discovered the diary.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Troy nodded again and leaned back against the headboard. “It explains so much.”
“Do you think that’s why your father treated you both the way he did?”
“It seems logical, but I don’t know. Maybe he was just a vindictive son of a bitch, but maybe he found this—” he lifted the diary, “—and discovered whose son he was raising. In some ways it would explain why he moved us away. He didn’t want his brother finding out he had a son. Zach and Celia tried for years to have children.”
Julie sat up next to him. “Wow. Did your mom think he found out?”
“Thinking back on it, I’d have to say, yes, she was suspicious.” He paused, wiped a hand down his face. “It was right about the time she died.”
Julie turned toward him. “Oh, Troy.” What was she supposed to say? “So where do you go from here? Are you going to try to find your father?”
* * *
Julie had asked the million-dollar question that Troy had been asking himself since he’d read the diary. He’d wanted to get away from his father as fast as he could and he’d sworn he’d never go back. He didn’t care what happened to the man. The child in him had taken his father’s word that his mother had fallen because the alternative scared the shit out of him. He hadn’t reached his full height when he’d left home at eighteen and his father had still been able to knock him down. That wouldn’t be the case any longer, not that Troy imagined his father trying to hit him at this point, but talking to him now might give Troy answers to questions he’d had for years.
He’d always wondered what he’d done to deserve his father’s wrath. Now he knew. He’d simply been born another man’s son.
“I could help you,” Julie said now, bringing him out of his thoughts. “We could do some searching on the Internet. Or worst-case scenario, we could hire a private investigator.” She looked so damn earnest sitting ramrod straight facing him.
It was all Troy could do to keep a poker face. She’d given him the perfect opening to tell the truth and he should take it. But she’d be pissed as hell and he didn’t want her mad. Not when he needed her support. Dealing with this bombshell of his life was more than enough at the moment. He didn’t want to fight with Julie on top of it.
He’d never thought of himself as a coward until right this second. More than a coward, he was being selfish. No wonder he’d stayed to himself for so many years. It was harder to disappoint people if there was no one around.
“What do you think?” Julie asked. “I’ll bet we might be able to come up with something. If not, I’ll ask around and we’ll get professional help.”
“Private investigators are expensive.” Stupid thing to say for so many reasons.
She crinkled her nose. “Uh...money’s kind of not an issue for me.”
It wasn’t for him either. He’d been working constantly for over fifteen years. Clients paid the majority of his expenses and he’d invested his money wisely. Work insured he’d never