"How?" I asked.
"By how good-looking they were." Mason gave a bitter laugh. "Or weren't."
By now, I was so disturbed, I hardly knew what to say. Still hoping to findsomesilver lining, I persisted, "But with the other guys, was it to help support the family?"
"No. To support her habits."
Yikes."So…did Brody and Chase know what was going on?"
"No. And they still don't. And that's why this stays between us."
"But why?" I asked.
With a ghost of a smile, Mason replied, "You think I wantthemas jaded as I was?"
In spite of everything, I almost smiled, too.
Wasjaded.
As in the past tense.
Nowthatwas a silver lining. I told Mason, "I won't say a word. I promise."
He gave me a sideways glance. "And that includes Arden, too. You know that, right?"
I did.Given Arden's relationship to Brody, Mason's concern was totally understandable. "You don't need to worry," I assured him. "I won't tell a soul."
And yet, Iwasreeling. "Sothat'swhy your dad left while she was pregnant? Because the baby wasn't his?"
"Supposedly."
I gave Mason a perplexed look. "What do you mean?"
"So my dad takes off, and my mom has Willow – except surprise, surprise, it's my dad's kid after all."
My jaw dropped. "What?"
"Yeah. Isn'tthata kick in teeth?"
"Yeah, but…Isn't thatgoodnews?"
"Sure," he said, "if my dad were still around. But he's not."
"But if he's gone, how could you be sure that Willow was his?"
"We weren't," Mason said. "Not a hundred percent. But my dad, he's got this rare blood type. Me, too. And even though we can't be sure, we're sure enough." He paused. "And she's definitely not the fighter's."
"For sure?" I asked.
Mason nodded. "Zero chance."
"So your dad must've been happy then. I mean, someone told him, right?"
"Yeah," Mason scoffed. "Me."
"So…was he happy?"
"He should've been."
