Chapter 15
Raleigh couldn’t let Brax deal with the news he was about to receive alone, and he would want to isolate himself.
Besides, she couldn’t concentrate on the financials no matter how hard she tried.
Her chest hollowed out after looking into his eyes and she had to find a way to make him understand there was no way she could deliver the kind of news that could rip his heritage from him.
She listened for his voice as she made her way toward the back of the house. Tim and Randy were still in the kitchen as she walked inside.
“Have you seen Brax or his mother?” she asked.
They pointed toward the back door in unison.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Word of warning,” Randy started, “Mrs. Firebrand looked to be in an emotional state.”
“Thanks for the heads-up,” Raleigh stated. She didn’t have time to explain.
The minute she stepped outside, she saw Brax walking away from his mother. Mom Firebrand scurried off in the opposite direction and for a split second, Raleigh was torn. She wanted to make sure the woman who’d been so kind to her and Nana was okay. But she needed to know that Brax would be.
Raleigh cut left, following him toward the barn.
He disappeared from view and she wondered if he would hop on Bullet’s back and race out of there and onto the property.
Her only hope was that he would want to stick close to the house considering the ATV driver had been so close to Firebrand property.
When she reached the door and there was still no sign of him, she exhaled. Inside, she scanned the open layout. He was nowhere to be found. Until she looked up and saw a piece of hay floating down from the loft.
She raced to the metal staircase and took steps two at a time.
“It’s me,” she said, figuring he deserved a warning as she climbed.
“Go away,” came the response, his voice a low growl.
“No can do,” she countered, slowing her pace. She could try to justify not telling him the news, but she hoped he understood why it wasn’t her place to tell him now that he knew what it was. He had to know. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be up here.
She stopped as soon as he could see her. A muscle in his neck pulsed. Gaze narrowed, lips thinned, the man looked like he could rip someone apart with his bare hands. The moment they made eye contact her heart lurched. The intensity of his gaze warned her not to take another step.
“Okay, if I keep coming?” she asked.
“No,” he bit out.
Raleigh froze, unsure of what to do next. A growing part of her needed him to know how sorry she was and how awful she felt for this entire situation.
“There’s nothing you can do or say. It’s family business and that means none of yours,” Brax said through clenched teeth. His jab had the impact of a stomach punch.
Normally, she would be ready to fight back if someone came at her with anger.
But this was Brax. He just found out everything he believed about himself and his family was a lie.
It was impossible not to feel like she’d betrayed him in some small way but not telling him the minute she knew.
The no-win situation weighed heavy on her mind and in her heart.
But what could she say?
“I’m sorry about—”
“You’re sorry? Why on earth would you need to apologize?” Brax seemed to barely have a grip on his frustration. Like bottled up steam ready to explode.
“Forget it,” she said, refusing to stand there any longer, unable to look at him while he was in so much pain and not be able to do anything to make it better. “I’m going to go since my presence seems to be making this already awful situation even worse and that’s not my intent.”
Raleigh looked up and caught Brax’s gaze. He stood there, staring her down, not saying a word.
She tucked her chin to her chest to hide the tears welling in her eyes. And then headed down the winding staircase. The minute her boots hit the floor, she took off running and didn’t stop until she was far away from the barn, any Firebrands, and especially Brax.
“You up there?” Adam’s voice drifted up the stairs.
Brax had half a mind not to answer his bro…half-brother.
“I’m coming up. Don’t shoot.” Adam sounded like he was only half kidding. Hands high in the air, he made it to the top step.
“I don’t have a gun and you aren’t the problem,” Brax quipped.
“At least you’re still talking to me,” Adam said.
“Did you know?” Brax asked.
“Didn’t have a clue and it doesn’t change a thing between us as far as I’m concerned,” Adam stated with the kind of conviction that said he meant every word.
“How did you find out?” Brax asked.
“I ran into Mom,” he said.
It was a wise move not to plead her case right now. She’d had thirty-six years to tell him the news. Thirty-six years to find ‘the right time’ or ‘the right way’ or both, as she’d explained. Thirty-six years to come clean.
“I’m just going to sit right here, if you don’t mind.” Adam took a seat at the top of the stairwell. “We don’t have to say anything.”
Brax appreciated how well his brother knew him. And, no, he didn’t want to talk.
He couldn’t be certain how many minutes passed before he finally spoke up. Half hour? Forty-five? He flexed and released his fingers trying to work off some of the pressure that felt like a boiling pot with the lid still on.
“It’s messed up,” he finally said.
“I agree with you one hundred percent.” Adam’s voice was calm in the storm.
On the one hand, his father had cheated on the only mother Brax had ever known.
Then, there was the fact his own mother had died during childbirth.
How his family had managed a cover-up of this proportion was beyond him.
He guessed the Firebrand name could move some pretty big mountains considering his own birth certificate had been doctored.
“Wouldn’t someone have noticed an extra child showing up?” Brax asked.
“Our grandfather had a lot of influence. He obviously helped cover this up,” Adam said.
Brax shot his brother a look.
“Have you ever seen anyone question him? Or anything that goes on here at Firebrand?” Adam asked.
“Not really. Not when I think about it.” The old man wielded a lot of power.
He had a good side too. One that employed locals and gave generously to charities in order to help those who were less fortunate.
He pitched in for fundraisers and made certain the town had a proper Christmas celebration, covering all the expenses not raised.
All this and he personally had an empty house on the big days. Their grandfather was a man of contradictions.
“I can’t wrap my brain around any of this.” Brax issued a sharp sigh. “I’ve been your brother my entire life.”
“And still are,” Adam didn’t miss a beat.
The barn door opened and a familiar chorus of voices chimed in.
“Anyone up there?” Corbin’s voice cut through the air.
Eric’s quickly followed with his signature whistle. “Hey, man. What’s going on?”
Corbin whispered something unintelligible. Eric grunted an apology.
“Can we come up?” Eric asked.
They seemed to have locked onto Brax’s location. They didn’t wait for permission. They were already shuffling up the metal staircase by the time he told them they could do what they wanted.
“Free country,” he said under his breath.
“So, is that how it is now?” Eric asked, feigning insult.
“I don’t know what to think anymore,” he admitted, hating how this news might change his status among his brothers. He was the bastard child, the mistress’s son.
“All I care about is the fact you’re my brother. I don’t need a birth certificate to tell me that,” Corbin said.
“You do realize we’re the same age now,” Brax said. There was no rhyme or reason for his announcement, except it bugged him that his second-born status was in question.
“Have you spoken to our old man?” Corbin asked.
“No. And I don’t see a reason to,” Brax said. “Him and Mom had thirty-six years to come clean.”
“I would want to know what happened and why,” Corbin said.
He’d always been the quiet, serious one in the family, nose in a book during most of high school.
Which didn’t mean he was a slouch on the football field.
Friday night lights was important in Texas and all the Firebrand boys had played on the team.
All had been damn good too. All had been scouted by one college coach or another at some point. Most had declined the offers.
Football and family might be close to a Texan’s heart but so was cattle ranching. Corbin had gone to the University of Texas at Austin for academics, not sports. Which was also the reason he handled most of the numbers.
When Brax thought about it, he probably should have Corbin look at Raleigh’s books.
“I know I speak for the others who aren’t home yet when I say this news changes nothing,” Adam piped up.
“It changes everything,” Brax said before adding, “to me.”
Adam turned to face Brax, issuing a challenge with his eyes. “Do you think Prudence is less of a mother to Angel because of biology?”
“Did I say that?” Brax’s response came quickly but there was a moment of hesitation after when he realized the similarities.
“Didn’t you?” Adam asked, the hurt in his eyes stabbed Brax in the chest.
“Hell, I didn’t mean that and we both know it,” Brax stated, leaving no room for doubt.
“This situation is complicated, but I don’t see a difference in how any one of us feels about you,” Adam said, some of the tension had eased.
“Tell that to Kellan and the other side of the family. Once news gets out, they’ll have a field day,” Brax said.
“And we’ll put them in their places,” Eric responded. His hands fisted at his sides. That was one of the certainties about being a Firebrand. His brothers always had his back.
He couldn’t help but wonder who had Raleigh’s.
This wasn’t the time to be worried about her. Not after that bomb had been dropped on him about his own family. The annoying voice returned pointing out that she felt like family…his family.
The notion was insanity in its purest form.
“I appreciate each and every one of you,” Brax stated. “I mean it. In my heart where it counts, you guys are my flesh and blood.”
“Same,” the word was spoken in unison.
“It’s not our place to tell the others, so we’ll leave that to you,” Adam said.
“The only reason we know is the state we saw Mom in. We couldn’t let her walk away without telling us what was wrong.
” Adam put his hands in the air, palms up, in the surrender position.
“I’m not defending her, by the way. I’m sure her and Dad had reasons that are between you and them,” he stated.
“We stand behind and with you no matter how much we love our mom.”
Brax held back the biting comment they should all check to see if their birth certificates had been tampered with. Their show of solidarity touched him in a place down deep. “I appreciate you guys.”
“We love you, man,” came another chorus.
“Love you.” Brax walked over to the trio and embraced them in a bear hug. But his mind kept wandering to the way he’d treated Raleigh. Had he been unfair?
Raleigh figured it was time to rally the troops. She knew when she’d worn out her welcome and the time had come to move on. She closed down the computer in the Marshall’s office and then headed upstairs to pack. There wasn’t a whole lot in her suitcase so it wouldn’t take long.
She fished her cell phone out of her back pocket and debated making the call for a band meeting. She could easily put a message in the group text.
A question nagged her. Would leaving put them in danger? Could they slip out of town and under the radar again? Staying in one place could end up making them more vulnerable.
She checked the time on her phone. Shouldn’t Wade be here by now?
The text she decided to send was to her business manager. No response came.
And then Hardy poked his head inside her bedroom door. “Raleigh, there’s been a break-in at your grandmother’s place.”
“Nana’s?” she asked before realizing she didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“I just got off the phone with the local sheriff. He’s at the scene,” he said.
Could this day get any worse?
“Did he say how bad it was?” she asked, imagining the farmhouse in total destruction.
“It’s probably just overzealous fans in search of memorabilia,” he stated.
He was trying to make her feel better but the thought of losing her nana’s belongings threatened to pull her under.
The house, the furniture, the knick-knacks were all she had left of the woman who’d saved her, cared for her, loved her.
Raleigh wouldn’t be half the person she was today without Nana’s influence.
“I have to get over there and see for myself,” she said as panic squeezed her chest.
“Not a good idea.” He shook his head and gave her a stern look.
Of course, he was right even though it frustrated her to no end.
“They’re bringing a bomb-sniffing dog over from two towns over,” he informed. “The place might not be cleared for a while.”
Raleigh plopped down on the floor. She picked at the carpet fibers, wondering when this had become her life. She needed to think because…
She gasped.
Wade?
Was he in some kind of financial trouble? Syphoning money from the band to cover bad investments of his own or a gambling problem, and now someone was coming to collect? Had he gotten involved with the wrong people?
There was no way this could be a coincidence. Could it?
“Have you spoken to Wade today?” she asked.
“I was just about to give you an update on him.” Hardy bit hard on his back teeth. “He’s been picked up for questioning.”
“Oh. Where?” She thought he was on his way to the ranch. It would make sense why he was so late.
“At the border, heading into Mexico,” Hardy informed.
So, her world really was crashing around her. And now she’d lost Brax too. She was certain of it after the way he’d looked at her in the barn. Had she done the right thing by not telling him the minute she knew? She’d believed so at the time.
Now, everything just hurt.