CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Lee frowned as he read the email from the private detective he’d hired.
He’d kind of put that whole issue on the back burner of his mind recently. It was still there, but he hadn’t been focused on it for the past several weeks. Between work and Rori, he’d had plenty to occupy his thoughts and his time.
But now, however, it was once again front and center in his mind.
After a brief hesitation to think through a response, Lee finally tapped out a reply, agreeing to meet the next morning at a coffee shop in Coeur d’Alene. He debated taking Rori along, but then thought maybe he needed to hear what the guy had to say on his own first. He could always share the information with her when they went on their date the next evening.
They would be together at another Friday night pizza dinner later. And he’d heard the girls tell Charli at supper the night before that they wanted a sundae bar for dessert instead of s’mores that week. That was fine by him. He was probably more of an ice cream fan than a s’mores fan.
As the workday ended, Lee checked in on the animals in the shelter. There weren’t any on the clinic side, which wasn’t unusual since it was the weekend.
After they left the clinic, Lee drove them to Rori’s place so she could change. When he saw her come out with something in her hands, he grinned.
“Cookies?” he asked as he opened her door, eyeing the container.
Rori laughed and went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Maybe…”
“Perhaps I should charge you taxi fare, and you could pay me in cookies.”
“That might be a deal I could agree to.”
Lee liked that conversation between them was so easy. Some days, they talked about the clinic. But a lot of days, once they’d left work, they didn’t discuss it any further. Of course, it helped that since they worked at the same place, they didn’t need to talk much about their jobs during their time together.
That meant they had plenty of time to talk about other things, and they did spend a lot of time with his siblings, too.
Previous girlfriends would have definitely had a problem with that. But Rori was building friendships with his sisters apart from him, so she never seemed to mind the time they spent with them.
The next night, they had plans to grab dinner and go to a movie. The theater in town was featuring some classic films, so they’d decided to check out what was showing.
When they got to the house, Rori headed for the kitchen while Lee went upstairs to change out of his work clothes. As he dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, his thoughts returned to the PI and the looming meeting.
Now that he was on the cusp of learning about his past, Lee felt a strange reluctance about it. He didn’t want to upset his life right then. It was progressing so well.
Would the information the detective had for him make his life any better?
Right at that moment, Lee couldn’t see how that was possible. He had a wonderful woman in his life. One who didn’t seem to care whether or not he knew anything about his biological family.
He wished he could get the medical information he wanted without having to learn anything about what had transpired prior to his adoption by the Halversons. Or maybe he should just be happy with the medical information he’d gained from DNA site.
Maybe the PI would just give him a detailed report in a sealed envelope. Perhaps he should have told the guy that was what he wanted, and that he could just mail it to Lee.
Well, it was too late now. He had to go and have a conversation with the man.
Down in the kitchen, Lee found Rori standing between the girls, spreading sauce and cheese on the pizza shells. He paused in the doorway, watching as Rori leaned down, her attention on Amelia as she talked about something.
Rori had confessed to not having much experience with children beyond having been a child herself. But over the weeks, she’d become more and more comfortable with all the kids. Even baby Shiloh.
“Take a picture,” Janessa said as she walked by Lee into the kitchen. “It’ll last longer.”
He followed her deeper into the room. “What makes you think I haven’t already taken lots?”
Janessa laughed. “Oh, I’m sure you have.”
As his gaze went back to Rori, Lee realized he was getting a glimpse of what it would be like to watch Rori as a mother someday. It cemented within him the desire to be around to witness that. As the father of her children.
Rori looked up, smiling when she realized he was watching her. Lee gave her a wink, enjoying the flush that came to her cheeks as her smile grew.
The playful part of their relationship wasn’t something he’d experienced a lot of in past relationships.
Life had been a lot more hectic back in college and then while working in Chicago. Shifting out of stressed work mode into light and playful had been nearly impossible most days. On the days he did manage it, there was no guarantee that his most recent ex—who’d had an equally stressful job—would be able to.
He loved that he and Rori had lives that allowed them to have those fun moments without too much effort.
Soon, the pizzas were all outside, baked or getting ready to be baked. After getting shooed out of the kitchen, Lee went out to supervise the pizza baking, leaving Rori in the kitchen with Charli and the girls.
However, it wasn’t too long before they were all gathered in the backyard. Hudson and Kayleigh weren’t there, but that wasn’t a surprise since Hudson had just returned from a business trip earlier that day.
Conversation over pizza that night circled around the fact that summer was drawing to a close in a couple of weeks with the start of school. None of the kids seemed excited about it, and Charli was definitely on the fence, which wasn’t usual for her.
“I’m aware that I’m super fortunate that Mom and Denise are willing to help watch Shiloh, but I’m still not looking forward to going back to work.”
“Could you have worked part time?” Rori asked.
“If they’d had someone else looking for a part-time job, they might have been willing to work with me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Everyone at the school at the moment wants full-time hours.”
Lee was sure that, given the choice, Charli would be a stay-at-home mom. However, Blake didn’t make a ton of money at the garage, and it probably wasn’t cheap to raise three children.
After dinner, they came into the house to make their sundaes, then the kids sat at the counter, while the adults squeezed into the breakfast nook.
Life had settled into an almost idyllic pace that Lee didn’t just accept, he embraced fully. And after the conversation he’d had with Carl the previous week about taking on the position at the clinic permanently, this life was his for the keeping.
And he was definitely going to keep it.
Lee left the house the next morning a little before eight to make sure he wasn’t late for his nine o’clock meeting with the private detective in Coeur d’Alene.
He hadn’t told anyone about his trip. Since no one was expecting him to be anywhere until his date with Rori later that afternoon, he didn’t feel like he needed to clue anyone into his whereabouts.
The sky was moody that morning, with gray clouds hanging heavy in the sky. The weather person was forecasting some rain, but that wasn’t a definite. Rain or no rain, the sky reflected his current mood quite well.
The peaceful mindset he’d had the night before had vanished. He’d woken up with his thoughts and emotions in turmoil. However, he’d resolutely left the house, even though all he’d wanted was to stay home.
Lee had no trouble finding the cafe where the PI wanted to meet. It was a little hole in the wall place, with large windows at the front to let in light. From the outside, it looked more like a bar than a place to get a cup of coffee.
But as he stepped into the space, he was greeted by the strong aroma of coffee, along with a mix of baked goods. It wasn’t an unpleasant experience. In fact, Lee was enticed to consider ordering more than just a cup of coffee.
The space might not have been wide, but it was deep. There were a few larger tables in front of the large windows, and small two-seater tables ringed the perimeter of the café. In the middle was an assortment of overstuffed chairs and love seats, grouped around coffee tables.
Directly in front of the door and to the left of the space was the counter and a bakery case, so Lee made his way over to order a coffee and a pastry.
After he had his order, Lee turned to see if the PI was there already. He spotted him in the back half of the room and made his way over to his table.
Lee settled across from the private detective in the dimly lit corner, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingling with the murmur of subdued conversations.
The detective was a middle-aged man with sparse light brown hair, who had a face that spoke of his years spent uncovering secrets, some of which had probably been best left hidden.
Was his past one of those secrets?
Lee hoped not.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” Peter Branford said, his voice low and gravelly. “I wanted to speak with you in person rather than just sending this information to you.”
There was no one close to them, but the man still kept his voice subdued. It sparked worry inside Lee.
“What did you find?”
“How important to you is it that you know about your past?” he asked, in lieu of an answer. His voice was a careful blend of empathy and professionalism.
Lee considered his answer, because while he’d been prepared to ask for the man to just hand over the info for him to look at when he was confident it was what he wanted, now he felt like he needed to know.
The fact that the PI was suggesting he might not want to know gave him pause, but also spiked his curiosity.
The PI regarded him with sharp gray eyes, but his expression was unreadable.
“Important.”
The man gave a single nod, then dropped his gaze to the large flat manila envelope in front of him on the table. He tapped it as he looked up at Lee and said, “I found the information you asked for. It was a bit more than I was expecting.”
Lee held the man’s gaze and said, “Tell me.”
“Have you watched the documentary Angel Brothers?”
“I don’t think so. Where is it being shown?”
Peter told him about the streaming service where it was available, but Lee shook his head. “I don’t have a subscription with them. Why?”
“I have strong reason to believe that it’s your story.”
“What?” Lee straightened in his chair. “My story?”
Peter nodded. “It’s a documentary about a set of parents who abused and eventually murdered their sons. It covers their trial.”
Lee narrowed his gaze at the man. “Except I’m still alive.”
“Yes. You are.” Peter cleared his throat. “From what I was able to discover, they faked your death, probably in order to allow you to grow up in peace.”
“Faked my death? How could they do that?”
“Your older brother died of his injuries, so I guess it surprised no one when they were told you had succumbed as well.”
Lee felt sick to his stomach. He had an older brother? Why didn’t he remember?
“Tell me. Start at the beginning.”
Peter glanced around, then said, “I’ll give you the details about yourself and your brother, but not the details of the crimes committed against you.”
Now that Lee knew he could find the details on his own, he gave a single nod for the man to proceed.
“Your birth name was Bradley Ricardo McDaniel.” Peter went on to give his birthday, which aligned with the one he’d been raised with, so at least the Halversons had kept that the same. And it seemed like they’d tried to keep his name similar too.
“Your brother was Ian McDaniel. Named after the man who fathered you. He was five and you were three when everything went down.”
“How sure are you about this?”
“Very. Using the information you gave me about your DNA relatives, I looked at their families. Soon, I discovered their mutual connection to Ian and Valeria McDaniel. That sent me down another road, which is where I discovered that both their sons had died.” Peter picked up his mug and took a sip. “Though all signs pointed to you being one of their sons, I was still surprised when I discovered that his birthday was the same as yours.”
Lee didn’t want to accept what the man was telling him, but how was he supposed to argue against it?
“I’m sure this isn’t what you wanted to hear when you hired me to find your family.” The man’s expression was sympathetic, but it didn’t do much to ease the shock that still reverberated through Lee. “If you’d like my advice, I would suggest you put this all aside and just focus on your future.”
Lee stared at him incredulously. Put it all aside? A bomb had just gone off in his life. There was no putting it aside. His heart had been cratered. There was no way to ignore the impact of learning about his birth parents.
This was the worst-case scenario.
He’d figured that whatever he learned wouldn’t be good, but this… this was far worse than anything he’d imagined. His brain struggled to understand and accept what Peter had told him.
He had a brother…
His parents were murderers…
The world believed that he had been murdered…
“Are you sure that my brother is dead?” he asked. “They didn’t do the same thing for him that they did for me, did they?”
Peter’s gaze was sad as he shook his head. “He was dead when the police arrived on the scene. You “died” in the hospital.”
His stomach tightened at the words. Did the Halversons know? Did they know that the little boy they’d let into their home had experienced such trauma?
Why didn’t he remember any of it?
He tried to search back into his memory for a time before he joined the Halverson family, but there was nothing. He couldn’t recall a time when they weren’t his family.
Peter slid the envelope toward him. “Here’s all the information I found.”
Lee”s hands trembled slightly as he reached for the envelope.
”How do I... How do I not remember any of this?” Lee”s voice was a whisper, barely audible over the coffee shop”s background noise.
“The human mind has ways of protecting itself from traumatic memories, especially in young children,” the detective explained, his voice gentle. “It”s possible you”ve repressed those memories.”
Lee nodded, struggling to process the maelstrom of emotions. Anger, sadness, betrayal.
”Thank you,” he managed to say, his voice stronger than he felt. ”I think I needed to know. Even if it”s... this.”
Peter offered a sympathetic nod. ”What you do with this information is up to you. Some might find it helpful to seek therapy, to talk about it. Others might prefer to focus on building the life they chose, not the one that was handed to them. Either way, remember you”re not alone.”
Unfortunately, for the first time in his life, Lee felt absolutely alone.
“If you need to talk, just give me a call.” Peter reached across the table to pat Lee’s hand. “I think I might need counselling after this.”
“Sorry,” Lee said, feeling bad that he’d inflicted the horror of his past on the detective.
Peter held up his hand as he shook his head. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
Lee appreciated him saying that, but he still felt bad. “Do you think they did the right thing?”
“Faking your death?”
Lee nodded. “And hiding all this from me.”
The detective lifted his mug and took a sip, a contemplative expression on his face. “Yes. I believe that those two things have allowed you to live a much better life than if you’d grown up with the knowledge of what happened. It would have been very difficult for a young boy or teen to grasp it all.”
That was certainly true. He was an adult and having trouble grasping what had happened.
“Ideally, you would have gone to your grave never knowing this.”
Which was probably why his parents had never revealed what they knew—if they knew anything—about his past.
But now that wasn’t going to happen. He had the answers he’d sought, and yet he wished he’d never gone down this road.
What was he supposed to do with the knowledge?
He didn’t want to tell anyone what he’d found out.
Would his family look at him differently if they knew about his past?
Would Rori?
Lee’s stomach twisted at the thought. No, he couldn’t tell anyone. Somehow, he had to pretend he knew nothing about what had happened to him.
“One more thing,” Peter began. “I’d recommend you remove yourself from the DNA site as soon as possible. I don’t know who—if anyone—in your biological family knows you’re still alive, so best not to give them a way to contact you and ask you questions about who you are. I believe that the renewed interest in your case—and hence the documentary—is because your mom is up for parole next summer. So erasing any connection you might have to your biological relatives would be a good idea.”
Lee was glad for the advice, since he definitely didn’t want contact with his biological family. He probably would have figured out he should delete his account, eventually. But right then, his brain was far too cluttered with his emotional overload to think of things like that.
He needed to pull himself together, but he wasn’t sure how.
In the space of an hour, he had been shattered into a million pieces. The person he’d always been—and the one he’d thought he’d be, even with answers about his past—was gone.
The identity he’d always had as the Halversons’ son had been usurped by the one he’d just learned about. That he was the son of parents who were not just abusers, but murderers of their children.
His stomach churned with the realization that his life had been irrevocably changed, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.
When he left the coffee shop a short time later, the envelope clutched in his hand, Lee didn’t know where to go. He wasn’t sure he could face his family, and yet he had to.
When he got home, Charli spotted him and frowned with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not feeling so good,” he said, which was one hundred percent the truth. “My stomach is really bothering me.”
“That’s not good,” Charli said. “I hope it’s nothing contagious.”
“On the off-chance it is, I’m going to isolate myself in my room.”
“What about your date this evening?”
“I’ll have to cancel it,” Lee said. “I don’t want to chance Rori getting sick.”
“Yeah. Unfortunately, that’s probably for the best.”
Nothing was for the best anymore. There was no best in his life. Everything was terrible.
“I’m going to lie down.”
As he stepped into his bedroom, Lee wished it was as easy to escape his newly acquired information as it had been his sister.