Accidental Knight: A Marriage Mistake Romance(81)

He holds up a finger and takes the last swallow of his beer.

Holy hell. I can’t help but glance up at Drake, thinking about him and his father, and the reason he stayed here to help Gramps.

Guilt. That’s the poison threads that bind too many lives.

Drake doesn’t look at me, just takes a thoughtful swallow off his beer.

“But I heard there was a deal? An understanding Gramps made with you so Mom would have to let me see him?”

“Yeah, we’re getting there,” Dad says. “I also knew my father. So I made him agree to a custody agreement, because I knew if I didn’t, he might find a way to take you away. Even though I couldn’t deny him from knowing you, I wasn’t going to let him take you away from me and your mother. Just like I wasn’t going to let her hold you back from knowing your grandfather.”

My eyes burn from the tears forming. “Jesus. Why...why didn’t you ever tell me any of this?”

Dad shakes his head solemnly, sincerity filling his eyes. “Because I’d hoped it wouldn’t matter. Ever. I hoped you’d have your memories, without any need to tarnish them. But when your mother told me you two were married over a month ago, I knew Dad played his trump card. Found a way to take you away from us after all.”

God.

God, this clusterfrick makes my head spin. I don’t know what to think or feel or decide about any of it.

I don’t hate Gramps, I loved him too much for that to ever happen.

I don’t hate my mother, either, not anymore. Even if I won’t give in and she’s made my life a living hell.

I definitely don’t hate my father either. Now, I’m starting to understand why he’s always been so mute, so ground down, so quiet. He’s tried to be the peacemaker in an impossible fight.

I get it, I really do, but have no earthly idea where that leaves me.

Or this madness I’ve gotten myself into.

“I just don’t understand you, Drake,” Dad says, cutting through my thoughts. “What he did to make you go along with all this? Dad was always quite the deal maker, but his deals were always for his benefit. You can’t come out a winner in this; it’s impossible. But I looked the will over, had our own estate lawyer check it, too, and...there’s nothing written in it for you beyond a very normal salary and severance package.”

A chill washes over me as I look at Drake. I wonder, too.

Guilt or no guilt, does it really explain why he’s sticking through this?

He gives my hand a squeeze before releasing it and leaning forward to set his beer on the coffee table.

“I’m not looking to come out a winner,” Drake says. “When the time comes and I leave here, it’ll be with nothing more than what I owned the day Jonah died.”

“Why then? Why’d you agree to his demands?” It’s the first time in this whole discussion Dad’s voice gets an edge to it.

I sense he doesn’t believe Drake. The desire to lay a hand on his arm is strong, but I ball my hand into a fist to keep it from happening.

Jesus. Have I been too quick to believe all he’s told me? Parts of my father’s story jibes with Drake’s story, but others don’t.

“Like you said,” Drake tells him, “Jonah was lonely when we met. Had been for years. When he pulled me out of my truck in a blizzard, I was lonely, too. My father died shortly before then, and I guess Jonah and I both needed a friend. That’s what we became. When he needed a caretaker as his health slipped, I knew there was no one better who could do the job.” He glances at me. “No one better he wanted to come to take care of him, I mean. Because he didn’t want them to see him breathless and frail. So I stayed. Up till the very end.”

Dad nods, rubbing his chin, something he does a lot. It always reminds me of Gramps.

“And?” He shrugs. “What does that have to do with marrying my daughter?”

Drake’s face is expressionless, which makes my insides jittery.

“Jonah told me his version of what you just shared with us,” Drake says. “There are some differences, but it’s a familiar story. He never mentioned you working for Jupiter, though. It does explain why he hated the company even before Briar took the helm and approached him for a buyout.”

Dad folds his arms. “Please go on. I’m listening.”

“Jonah’s office has a file full of intel on the company. Its employees, its infractions, its prospects. He was convinced that as soon as Bella inherited everything, Jupiter and Avery, specifically, would pressure her into selling out.”

“So you agreed to marry a woman you didn’t know to prevent that? Simply because you were his friend and caretaker?” Dad scratches his head.

Fishy is the word Gramps would use for this scenario. That’s what Dad’s thinking, too, and for a second, part of me wonders the same, even though I’ve already gone over it a hundred times.

“No,” Drake says. “I did it because I believe in saving lives. Jonah had the right intent, wanting to protect the town.”

My entire being shivers, and I slide my hands under my thighs to hide how they tremble.

Dad’s frown deepens. “What are you saying?”

I bite my bottom lip, wondering how Dad will react when Drake says Gramps was afraid something could happen to me. Something worse than being bullied by Mom, or Avery, or God knows what.