He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t. She found out while researching Wade’s past.”
“Dude,” Ken said.
“Yeah,” Jon agreed.
“That’s messed up,” Ken observed.
“Yeah,” Jon agreed.
“So, you lied by omission.” Ken pursed his lips.
“Pretty much. So, when she left here to work with Wade, she was just hurt and felt betrayed and, honestly, was a little bit angry.”
Knowing his brother’s propensity to hit the bottle when life overwhelmed him, Ken decided to do a quick status check. “How’s the drinking?”
Jon shook his head. “I’m not doing that right now.”
That impressed Ken. Jon had discovered alcohol at a high school party. Actually, all three of them had at the same party. Brad had accepted a beer and sipped on it for hours. Ken and Jon drank like their lives depended on it. Jon had done fine. He laughed too much, talked a lot, made friends with everyone at the party, and woke up the next morning without an issue.
Ken had fallen deep into his own psyche. He’d examined every moment of his life and saw everywhere he came up short. He couldn’t walk, couldn’t speak, everything spun and appeared to fall apart then come back together. The next morning, he thought he’d died and gone straight to hell. Then he wished he could die. He never took another drink in his life and didn’t plan to ever again.
He studied his brother. For maybe the first time, Ken realized that Jon was actually committed to his sobriety this time. “That’s good, Jon. Welcome to coping with your emotions without a buffer.”
“You’re so pretty.”
“Yeah, that’s what mama says.” Ken brought them back to the serious matter at hand. “Are you two speaking?”
“We are. I made her promise to call me at least once a day. So far, she’s been terse, but she laughed this morning, so I have that going for me.” He sighed and rested his elbows on his knees. “I can’t lose her, man. She is everything to me.”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I know what you mean.”
Jon stared at him. “Still no Daisy?” He frowned. “What happened there, anyway?”
Ken scoffed. “She’s pregnant.”
“What?” With wide eyes, Jon sat up straighter. “What are you doing here? Go get that girl!”
“It’s not mine.” Jon quit speaking and waited. Finally, Ken spoke very succinctly. “She dated a guy before me. Married guy. It’s his.”
“Dude,” Jon said.
“Yeah,” Ken agreed.
“That’s messed up,” Jon observed.
“Yeah,” Ken agreed.
“So she lied by omission,” Jon said.
“Pretty much.” Ken shifted the ball cap on his head. “I love her, Jon.” He pursed his lips and uncharacteristically elaborated. “I need her.” He met Jon’s eyes. “I never needed anybody. But I need her. And I love that baby as if it were mine.”
“Can you, though?”
Ken just stared at him.
Jon said, “Look, I know how I felt when Alex told me she was pregnant. First, I was afraid. Then I was ridiculously happy. But, the baby’s mine. The fear faded pretty quickly and left nothing but joy.”
Ken kicked his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just know her baby has filled my heart the same way she did. I never think about the fact that my DNA isn’t there. It truly doesn’t matter to me.”
