Good cover. That is what I should be thinking about. Not what Reed would look like serving the homeless naked. For sanitary reasons alone, I shouldn’t go there.
He reaches into the sink and pulls the stopper out, draining the water. “What did it say again?”
“That they had something really exciting to talk to me about.” I set the towel down after absorbing as much of the water as I can.
Reed picks up another towel and dries his arm off.
I lean my hip against the counter. “I have no idea what it could be. I mean, my idea of exciting is getting an Amazon gift card and buying a whole bunch of books. Something tells me that’s not what they want to talk to me about.”
Reed laughs softly, tossing the towel on the counter. “Are they home now?”
“They should be by the time I get back.”
He nods, lowering his eyes to the front of me. A smirk tugs at his mouth.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re still wet.”
I drop my head, flattening a hand to my cheek. “Yeah, it’s a perpetual problem.”
We laugh together as I roll my eyes and step back up to the sink.
“Want some help?” Reed rounds the counter and comes to stand next to me. “We’re finished serving, and I need a fucking break from Riley. If she asks me one more damn time how I asked you out . . .”
I tilt my head to look at him. “What did you tell her?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” I stab his side with my finger, glaring. “What do you mean, nothing?”
He snorts. “What was I supposed to say?” His voice drops to a hushed whisper as he ducks his head closer to me. “That you sucked my dick while fingering that sweet pussy? That you came all over my face, chantin’ my name, makin’ me so goddamn hard again I had to jack off while you did it?”
My neck warms with embarrassment. “Well, no, you’d obviously just skip to the part where you said you wanted this.”
He grins, leaning back. “I’m all about the lead-up, though. It really adds to the story.”
I slap his arm. “You’re so dirty.”
“You love it.”
I do. God, I really, really do.
Laughing, he grabs the scrub brush and starts cleaning the pot. “I’ll wash, you dry. I’d hate for you to get any wetter.”
I grab a clean towel and hold it against my face, groaning. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
My heart swells in my chest.
No, I definitely don’t.
“AUNT HATTIE?” I CALL OUT, stepping inside the house with Reed close behind me. Their car is parked in the driveway, so I know they’re home.
“In here, darlin.’”
I follow her voice down the hallway and into the kitchen. Her and Danny are standing at the island, both of them looking up and smiling at me as I step into the room. I run around the island and hug Danny first.
“I’m so, so sorry about your loss, Uncle Danny.”
He squeezes me tight. “Oh, thank you, sweetheart. It’s okay, though. My cousin has been sick for a long time. We’ve been ready for it.” He releases me and looks across the room. His chest heaves with an inhale. “Reed, do I need to ask what you’re doing in my house?”
He doesn’t sound angry, which is a relief. Reed told me he knew Danny really well, but I’m sure seeing him walk in with me has to be a bit of a shock. I haven’t mentioned anything about Reed to him. Something about him pacing outside with a shotgun kept my mouth shut.
Clearing his throat, Reed steps up to the island and extends his hand. “Sir.”
“Sir?” Danny drops his arms and looks from me, to Hattie, back to Reed. Understanding washes across his face. He takes Reed’s hand and firmly shakes it, keeping his expression stoic. “How long has this been going on?” He looks over at Hattie. “Did you know about this?”
“Danny, knock it off.” She holds her arms out to me and wraps me into an embrace. Danny laughs quietly behind me, lightening the tension in the room. “You look happy,” she whispers into my hair.
I nod against her. “I am. Very much.”
She leans away, grinning, her dark hair falling past her shoulders, instead of tied back in it’s usual clip. “Well, why don’t you and Reed have a seat? I’m going to go grab something for you. I’ll be right back.”
I take one of the stools, Reed takes the other. Leaning on my elbow, I watch as Danny continuously glares at Reed, his arms crossed tightly over his chest while a deep frown settles in between his eyebrows.
“Really?” Reed speaks first, tilting his head. “You know me, Danny.”
Danny lightly shrugs. “Hey, she’s my niece. I don’t give a shit who you are, or how long I’ve known you. I’m allowed to be protective over her. Deal with it.”
Reed chuckles, holding his hands up in surrender. “All right. Fair enough.”
Hattie’s heels click on the hardwood behind us. She rounds the island and stands next to Danny, holding a piece of paper. Smiling gently, she looks at me.
“Beth, we didn’t want to put this in the note we left for you the other day. We wanted to tell you, face-to-face, and after we got a little bit more information. We always want to be honest with you, darling.’ Having said that, we have known about this since Wednesday, okay?”
I briefly look at Reed, who’s watching me curiously. Turning back to Hattie, I nod. “Okay.”
“Right before Danny got the call about his cousin, I was looking through the shoebox, pulling out pictures, and I found this at the bottom. Did you know your birth certificate was in there?” She slides it across the counter.
Leaning forward, I look down at the document I’ve never seen before, running my finger along the edge of the paper. “No, um, no, I had no idea. I’ve never really looked through the entire box.”
Damn it. Why didn’t I? This was in there the whole time?
Gasping, I stop on a name printed above mine. A name I figured I would never know. “Oh my God,” I whisper.
Hattie’s hand covers mine. “Beth, we found your dad.”
I look up, my breathing erratic. My hands sweating, sticking to the paper. “What? You found him? How?”
My dad. Oh my God. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe I have more family.
Danny steps to the edge of the counter. “I got in touch with a buddy of mine while we were gone. He’s a private investigator. We gave him your dad’s name, said he might be in Kentucky but we weren’t sure. He got back to me late last night.”
“He’s in Tennessee now. We spoke to him on the phone as soon as we got home today.” Hattie smiles, releasing my hand. “He said he would love to talk to you, if you wanted to call him.”
I drop my hands to my lap, staring at the paper in front of me.
He wants to talk to me. My dad, actually wants to know me.
“He’s in Tennessee?” Reed questions through a soft voice.
I look over at him, blinking quickly, almost forgetting who I’ve been sitting next to. His eyes are cast down at the counter, as if he’s not focusing on anything. I shift on my stool and grab his hands.