Page 28 of Small-Town Secrets
"I don't mean to pry, dear," Mrs. Rosewood said, "I'm just so concerned about Laurence. It must be so hard for him, raising the twins all by himself. If only I knew who the father was."
What did she mean, if only she knew who the father was? "The father is his ex. The man who put that scar on his faces." I felt my features draw into a scowl. I couldn't help it. I hated that man.
"Oh, no, he's not. He—"
"Grandma!" Raph cut in, silencing her. "You're mixing things up again."
Was she, though? If Mrs. Rosewood was spouting nonsense, why did Raph look so upset? Besides, Mrs. Rosewood was a little peculiar, but not off her rocker.
What did she mean Laurence's ex was not his kids' father? And why did I detect a hint of panic in Raph's eyes when he looked at me?
Raph turned to Jake now. "What kind of tattoo were you thinking of?" he asked, clearly trying to change the topic. "I can do all sorts." He led my friend to the folders that were laid out on a table to the side.
I looked back at Mrs. Rosewood. "What you were saying just now—"
"Oh, don't worry about that, dear. I don't know what I was thinking."
Was she being serious? My eyes narrowed. Her reluctance to talk about this now only made me more sure that she hadn't spoken in error. Mrs. Rosewood never refused to talk about something. Shelovedto talk, and she had no filter.
But if Laurence's twins weren't his ex's... whose were they?
11
Laurence
"Daddy, can I call Paps?"
"What?" The question made me stop mid-motion as I tucked my son in bed Saturday night.
"On your phone," Tyler elaborated. "You have his number, right?"
I did, but my son's request made me want to delete it. "It's too late to make a phone call now. It's bed time."
"Why do you wanna call?" Chris asked from his bed on the other side of the room. "He doesn't wanna talk to us."
"Maybe he just gets too busy to call," Tyler said, his voice sounding small. I didn't recognize my little rascal like that at all.
"Don't be an idiot."
"Chris," I admonished my other son. "Be nice."
"I don't get it," Chris insisted. "Paps is an asshole. Why do you want to talk to him?"
"We don't use words like that," I said sharply.
Chris huffed and turned on his side, facing away from us.
Seeing as my ex had instilled a fear of alphas in Tyler, Chris was justified in 'not getting' why his brother wanted to talk to their paps. Tyler shouldn't be hanging on to a man who scared him. Sadly, most things in life weren't that easy. Especially not when it came to family—or who you perceived as your family.
I would deal with my pouting firstborn in a minute. For now, I needed to focus on Tyler.
"I think it's better if we don't call your paps right now. He's very busy."
"He's always busy," Tyler complained. That was true, and I'd been glad for it when we were still together. He'd barely been home.
"I know, sweetie, but let's talk about it some other time, okay?" I knew the way I kept putting this conversation off wasn't the best course of action, but I still had no idea how to break the truth to my children.
"Don't you miss Paps at all?"
