This Much is True - Tia Louise Page 0,49
John.”
My eyebrows rise, but I don’t care to ask since when she calls me John. I don’t have time. “Tell me where he is.”
“I already told you—”
“It’s okay, Rebecca.” My dad’s polished voice interrupts. “The prodigal returns. Unexpected, but isn’t everything these days?”
He looks strangely younger than he did two years ago. His hair seems less gray, and his skin a bit tighter. He’s always been fit, even when we were young. Today he’s dressed in a navy Adidas track suit, and he holds out his arms like I’m fucking going to hug him.
Anger blazes to life in my chest. “Cut the crap. You know why I’m here.”
Lifting his chin, he laughs, but it’s not merry. It’s controlled laughter.
“My boy. Always the straight-shooter.” He lowers his gaze on mine. “And why are you here, John?”
When I was a kid, I remember grown men being intimidated by my dad’s leveled gaze.
I’m not intimidated. “Tell me why you sent me to San Francisco.” Energy rises in my chest with every word. “Tell me why you had me meet a supplier we’d never worked with. Why I had to go alone. Was it all for her?”
His eyes soften, and he dares to act like I’m amusing him. “Come. Let’s talk in the study.”
Holding out a hand, he motions towards the short hall leading under the stairs. I follow him into a wood-paneled room lined with bookcases filled with all sorts of books—fiction, nonfiction, hard- and soft-bound. It smells like a library. I would sit in here to do my homework when Mom was still alive. Otherwise, Scout and I were relegated to less fragile parts of the house.
Going around a green leather wingback, he takes a seat behind the desk. I sit in a matching chair across from him.
“You insisted I go alone.” I repeat, ready for his confession. I’ve had almost two years to think about all the ways he set me up, then never showed up to defend me.
“Let me get this straight.” He rocks back, and his voice drips with sarcasm. “You came all this way to make what you did my problem?”
“I came to make you confess. I spent eighteen months locked in a cell, not knowing what might happen from day to day, not able to see my son …” I have to stop there.
If I think of Jesse, I’ll lose control.
Focus.
“Did you do it all for her?”
If he says yes… What a waste.
I’m a completely different guy than I was when I left here that morning, and I know for sure I’m not in love with the woman standing in the foyer. I wonder if I ever was.
“I didn’t do it for Rebecca.” Leaning forward he levels his gaze on mine. “I didn’t like Clyde. He was twitchy and suspicious, and I didn’t trust him. I figured if anyone could handle him, it was you.”
“So you knew.” It’s not a question. It’s an answer. “You set me up.”
“I did not set you up.” His voice rises. “I sent you to see if the guy was legit.”
“But you didn’t tell me. You were hoping I wouldn’t come back.”
His eyes cut to the desk, and he doesn’t dispute me.
Rage spikes in my veins. “When did you start sleeping with her?”
Blue eyes, same as mine cut through me. “Yes, I wanted to fuck her.” It’s a lusty rasp. “Rebecca always made my dick hard in that short little cheerleader skirt, flirting with her eyes at me.”
My throat tightens. “You’re sick.”
“Come back in a few years, and we’ll talk.” His eyes narrow. “I was forty-two when you were a senior. Your mother had been dead ten years.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I never touched her before your divorce.” He taps the mahogany with his middle finger. “That’s the truth, John.”
Shifting in my chair, I decide to let that part go. “If it wasn’t a setup, why didn’t you help me? You let them convict me when you knew I was innocent.”
“I didn’t know anything. First your brother goes to California and becomes a porn star, then you head out there and start dealing drugs. I couldn’t pollute the brand any further with your behavior.”
Slamming my palm on his desk, I stand and lean closer. “You knew I wasn’t dealing drugs.” My voice is low. “You knew what happened.”
If he’s intimidated, it only lasts a second. He’s on his feet just as fast. “I’ll tell you what I knew. I knew you got an offer to play with the Chiefs, and you turned