The biker meeting was a few days behind them when Anthony finally had the chance to talk to Kit, who’d agreed to go to the gathering specifically to have some alone time with Christy on Anthony’s behalf. On his way back from an investment meeting in Miami, Anthony stopped at the sprawling ranch house Grizz had built for Kit.

They sat at the kitchen table and talked over coffee. It was just the two of them.

“You’re not betraying a confidence if it’s information I already know, Kit.”

She looked at him sideways. “The reason she’s struggling with telling you is deeper, Anthony, and it should come from her. Not me.”

“I know without even seeing proof that her father raped her and got her pregnant.” An odd expression came over his face then, and he could barely believe the next words that came out of his mouth. “Unless.” He paused. “Unless, it wasn’t rape?” It came out as a question since he couldn’t allow himself to believe it. “Could she have been having consensual sex with her father?”

“No!” Kit was quick to answer. “It absolutely, positively was rape. And you’re right. It was her father.” She saw the guilt on his face for having let himself even think it could’ve been consensual followed by the relief of knowing it wasn’t true.

“She still hasn’t told me she’s pregnant. And I know she’s pregnant so don’t tell me she isn’t.”

“Yes, she’s pregnant. Christy and I snuck away from the meeting and went to a clinic to confirm it.”

“Do you think she hasn’t told me because she doesn’t plan on keeping it?” he asked. He couldn’t mask the pain in his voice.

Kit reached across the table and took his hand. “Anthony, she definitely wants your baby. But she is hiding some things. And they aren’t big awful secrets. But she thinks they are. She told me that you seemed fine when you asked her if Van was Abby’s father, but she still denied it because she couldn’t bear for you to know it’s the truth. And I get that and I believe that it’s not her shame to carry. But she does. And there are other truths she shared with me that you will have to hear from her. Nothing earth-shattering, but it’s messing with her head. If you can get her to tell you, I think it will relieve her anguish.”

“I’ve tried with her, Kit. I’ve never been so patient with anyone in my life. If she won’t open up to me, I can’t think of anyone else who’ll be able to fill me in on what’s really happening in her head.”

Kit looked thoughtful and resting her elbows on the table, she said, “Maybe you should go back to the beginning. Talk to someone who’s always been there.”

Anthony pulled his long hair back behind his shoulders. “You mean Litzy? I finally talked to Litzy and she hasn’t told me anything I don’t already know.”

“Christy told me that Litzy was hired when she was still a baby. Is there anybody who was around before that who could shed some light on this family?” Kit asked.

He slowly shook his head, but then remembered a conversation he’d had with Christy a couple of years ago. They were talking about who she would like to see in charge of the dealerships. She’d suggested Bobbi’s longtime friend and assistant, Valerie. Valerie had been offered the job, but opted for retirement.

He could hear Christy’s words as if she’d spoken them yesterday.

Who better to manage the dealerships than someone who knows my family inside and out? Someone who’d been at Bobbi's side since the beginning?"

“How long have you known I’m pregnant?” Christy asked, her blue eyes brimming with tears that threatened to spill over.

“Since before we went to the biker meeting,” he answered, pulling her close. He’d taken her to the beach, the same spot where he’d proposed. “What I can’t figure out is why you haven’t told me.”

“Well, I would’ve eventually,” she confessed. “I guess I needed to prepare myself. There is so much about me that is messed up, Anthony.”

They were sitting side by side on the sand, staring out at a crystal blue ocean that didn’t come close to rivaling her eyes.

“I know everything, Christy. I’m pretty sure I know even more than you do.”

She pulled away from him and looked up.

Before she could question him, he said, “I’ve waited more than enough time for you to tell me the real reason you wouldn’t marry me, why you took the birth control pills behind my back, you lied about Litzy being Abby’s mother, about Abby’s paternity. I deserve answers. And I’m not giving you any until you give me some.”

Her eyes went wide. “You knew about the pills? How?”

“I found them the day I talked to Lenny Renquest. I met with him to invite him to the dedication of his daughter’s park. Only to find out he wasn’t Abby’s father. I went home and looked through your shoebox, hoping to find proof that Van was her father.”

Christy gasped, but he kept talking.

“I found six months of pills at the bottom of the box. And I don’t regret for one single second that I snuck one of them to a friend who deals in pharmaceuticals. He was able to replicate your exact pill packages using placebos. I swapped them all out with the fake ones.”

“I suppose I deserved that,” she said quietly.

“And again, I can’t figure out why. Are you going to tell me or keep me in the dark for another three years?”

She stood abruptly and looked down at him.

“Why?” she screamed. “You want to know why? How about because you were right? You were right when you guessed that Van sexually abused me. Repeatedly. My father was my daughter’s father. Do you know how screwed up that sentence is? Do you think that’s something I would want to admit to the man I love?”

Christy’s face was turning red and her hands were balled into fists at her sides.

Let it all out, Owani, he thought. Let it out, baby.

“And can you blame me for not wanting to get pregnant? Not wanting to marry you? I couldn’t risk having another baby that might, that might…” She held up a finger. “One. Die of a serious illness. I can’t lose another child, Anthony. I couldn’t bear for you to go through what I went through when Abby died. It’s a pain you never recover from. There’s no guarantee that our child wouldn’t have the same illness that took Abby’s life.” She then held up a second finger. “Or, two. Give birth to a child who inherits its grandfather’s gene for perversion? The thought of passing any form of Van, or even Vivian, down to a child is revolting. It’s in our family’s blood, Anthony.”

She waited for a reaction from him and braced herself for the revulsion and judgment he wouldn't be able to disguise. All she got was a faint nod that urged her to continue. She was certain that when she revealed the rest, she would be saying goodbye to a future with Anthony Bear. She inhaled deeply, allowing the salty ocean air to fill up her lungs. Releasing a tortured sigh, she continued, "It's not only that I gave birth to my sister. It's so much more than that, Anthony. You have no idea."

Knowing that she couldn’t bear the disgust she would read in his expression, she averted her eyes away from his and shared the rest of her story. She didn't give him time to react as she continued, torment in her voice, "So you see it's not just about Abby. And before you ask me how I know it's true, I heard my grandmother arguing about it with Van." She kicked at the sand and continued, "I was just a kid and I don't know how I ended up at the dealership that day, but a storm broke out and I hid in the closet in Van's office."

“I know, Christy. I know.” He reached for her then and pulled her down onto his lap. “But it still doesn’t explain why you won’t marry me. You could’ve married me and still hid the birth control pills from me.”

She looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks. Shaking her head slowly, she told him, “For no other reason than to give you an easy out when you figured out how screwed up I am. I almost left again after you asked if Van was Abby's father, but you seemed to believe the story I told about Lenny.” She swiped her arm across her face. “I knew you would eventually find all of this out and that I was living out my days with you on borrowed time. I was making it easy on you for when this day came. No messy divorce.”

“Except that you were wrong. There isn’t anything you could tell me that would make me love you less. Not a thing, Christy.”

“You said you already knew.” She hiccuped. “Did Kit tell you?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I paid a visit to an old friend. Someone who’s been around since the beginning. Valerie retired, but she decided to stay in Florida.”

“Valerie?” Christy asked.

“Your grandmother’s administrative assistant,” he quickly added.

“I know who she is, Anthony. I’m just surprised you went to see her.” She glanced toward the ocean, purposely avoiding his eyes. “So, what did she tell you that even I don’t know?” she asked. Her chest ached from crying and her voice came out weak and laced with defeat.

“Everything, Owani.” He paused, and turned her chin upward. Gazing into her eyes, he told her, “She told me everything.”