Page 19 of Make Her Mine
“Dyllan asked her.” I smiled, knowing that got me out of the hot spot. “He’s nosy like that.”
“Oh.” Her arms came down to her sides and her eyes widened. “Why hasn’t he asked me if I’m single?”
He knew I had a thing for her is why. Even though I protested that I didn’t, my brothers knew better. “Who knows? Who cares?”
“Oh, this is it right here.” She pointed at a large pink house with a pink Cadillac parked in the driveway. “This is where Hilda lives. That’s her car. Your grandfather gave her that, too.”
Parking the truck, I felt a little nervous. “How am I supposed to do this?”
Ella opened the door. “Come on. Don’t fret. I’ll be with you. I’ll start the conversation.”
As we got out, I wondered why in the hell she was so helpful out of the blue, but I didn’t dare ask. Following her on the sidewalk, I stayed behind as she rang the doorbell. Moments later, a woman who slightly resembled my mom opened the door with a frown.
“Ella, what are you doing here?”
Ella took a step back and reached for my hand. Taking it, she pulled me forward. “Hilda, this is your great-nephew, Brandon Gentry. He wanted to meet you.”
We both just stood there, staring at each other. I saw my mother in her, and she probably saw the same in me. “I’d like to ask you some questions, if I may?”
She nodded, then stepped back. “Come in.”
The living room, filled with expensive furnishings, looked like it was a showplace instead of a habitat. “Nice place.”
Hilda nodded. “Thank you. When Collin was here, he wanted things to be nice.” She took a seat on the sofa, crossing her long legs. “I suppose you’ve heard about our relationship.”
Nodding, I took a seat next to Ella on the loveseat across from Hilda. “Yeah. My grandfather drove my mother out of town. And the marriage of my parents happened anyway. What happened between you and my grandparents sending you to Shreveport in the first place is beyond me.”
“It won’t hurt to let you in on things.” Hilda closed her eyes as if she was going back in time. “We met in high school, Collin and I. It started way back then. Everything we did was shrouded in secrecy. Our families never knew a thing about us. We graduated from high school, and he went to college. He lived in an apartment in Lubbock, and he got me one as well.”
“Still, he kept you a secret then?” I inquired.
She nodded. “Yes. Even when there was no one to hide from.”
“That had to be upsetting,” Ella sympathized.
“It was. But I’d take whatever Collin would give me. Any time he had for me, I was available.” Hilda took a deep breath. “While in college, he met Fiona. He took her home to meet his family. I remained in Lubbock alone. When he got back, we argued about what he’d done, and he announced we could never become more. He’d asked her to marry him in front of his family and she accepted.”
Ella put her hand over her mouth. “Oh, Lord.”
“Yes,” Hilda said softly. “That’s when I lost it. I went to Fiona and told her everything about us. That didn’t work out as I had expected it to. She told me to leave him alone. He was nowherfiancé and soon to beherhusband, and our fling was over.”
“But it didn’t end, did it?” I asked.
“Not at all.” Hilda smiled. “Your grandfather loved me. He came to me that very night and cried on his hands and knees. He begged me not to end things with him. He said he’d still have time for me, too.”
“So, you kept on seeing him,” Ella said. “Even though you knew you’d always have to stay concealed.”
Hilda nodded. “I knew my place in life. I was from a poor family, not in the same league as Collin Gentry’s wife. Fiona truly belonged there. She came from a prestigious family in Dallas. She was refined and elegant. And she gave him a son just under a year after they were married.”
“You and he never had children?” I requested.
Her face told me the answer wasn’t a good one. “Your grandfather took me to a doctor in Dallas when I was eighteen. We had a pregnancy scare the year before, and he didn’t want that to take place again. I had my tubes tied.”
“He ruined you,” Ella gasped.
Hilda nodded. “Yes, he did. You see, Fiona wore his wedding ring, and I wore his collar. I was his mistress, nothing more nor less. One day Fiona found out. After sixteen years of devotion to that man, his wife ended it. At least for a while.”
My grandmother sent Hilda away. “She paid for you to move to Shreveport and got you a house there. How did you pay your bills? Did you get a job?”
