Awakened by the creaking door, Kat watched through slitted eyelids as her mother glided quietly across the room. She kept her eyes closed and remained motionless while she enjoyed the remnants of the dream she’d been having. A minor indulgence before dealing with her mother.
Elizabeth stood next to the bed and touched Virgil’s face lightly. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he began to stir.
“Don’t try to move,” Elizabeth said softly, moving her hand to his shoulder. “You gave us quite a scare.”
Why is she being so nice? He and Arizona were the hired help at the Belmont Ranch before Daddy fired them. Virgil was no different from the driver he’d fired for using one of the Belmont cars to take his mother to the hospital. It didn’t matter to her father that it was an emergency and the woman would’ve died if he hadn’t. The man had done it without permission. Kat lifted her lids slightly. Dreaming was impossible now with this odd conversation filling the room.
Virgil gawked around the room, seeming disoriented until his gaze fixed on Kat. She clamped her eyes shut. “What time is it?” he asked.
Kat cracked her eyelids again to see Elizabeth squinting at her watch. “Close to two.”
“In the morning?”
“Afternoon. You’ve been out for quite a while”
He tipped his head toward Kat. “Has she been here all day?”
“And all night.” Elizabeth’s voice was soft and low. “Stubborn and thickheaded, just like you.”
“But still beautiful. Just like her mother,” Virgil managed to say, his voice weak and gravelly.
Kat opened her eyes just a smidge more as she processed the sentence she’d just heard.
“It’s a good thing too.” Elizabeth touched his hand and let the corners of her lips curve into a warm, generous smile. “It would’ve been tragic if she’d looked like you.”
Kat bolted up. “What did you just say?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, dear.” Elizabeth’s voice was effortlessly even.
Kat gave her a piercing glare. “Why in the world would you think I could look like Virgil?”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I said.” Her voice rose slightly. “You must have misunderstood.”
“Mother. I did not misunderstand. First you said I’m stubborn and thick-headed, just like Virgil.” She tripped as she tried to get up, fumbling with the blanket tangled around her feet. Kicking it from her legs, she let out a frustrated growl and threw it into the chair. “Then you said it would have been tragic if I looked like him.”
Elizabeth took in a deep breath and propped her cane against the bed before leaning forward and tucking the sheet up under Virgil’s arms. “We should talk about this later. Perhaps you can come out to the house for dinner?”
Kat stood at the end of the bed, hands planted firmly on her hips. “I’m not coming to the house, Mother. Just tell me what you’re talking about.”
“Oh dear,” Elizabeth said, letting out a sigh with which Kat was very familiar. “This isn’t the way I’d imagined telling you.” She let out another heavy breath. “Kathryn, your father and I never professed to have a perfect marriage.” Her eyes were still and focused. “Charles had many indiscretions.” She smiled at Virgil and spoke in a voice of contentment that Kat had never heard from her before. “I had only one.”
“Virgil?” Kat sank down into the chair feeling as though she’d just taken a blow directly in the gut.
“You see, darling, in my younger days, I had a fondness for horses, just like you. I spent many hours at my father’s horse ranch, which is now the Belmont ranch. Virgil and I became very close, just as you and Arizona did.”
Kat couldn’t imagine her mother having the same sort of feelings for Virgil as she had for Arizona—being so in love with someone you couldn’t imagine life without them, someone you’d give up everything to be with. If that were so, her mother would’ve had no choice but to leave her father.
Elizabeth smiled lightly as she reached over and held Virgil’s hand. “Charles was never concerned with what I did or with whom I did it. To him I was just part of a business deal between affluent families.” She returned her attention to Kat. “Until I became pregnant with you.”
“He knew?”
“Of course he knew. There was no question. We never shared the same bed.” She let out a short, maddening breath. “Charles only slept with his secretaries and tennis partners.”
Kat sat motionless, her mind spinning as she tried to absorb the flaming ball of information Elizabeth had just hurled at her.
“I know, I should have told you sooner,” Elizabeth said. “But with the way things were between us—”
“And Rebecca?” Kat cut her off mid-sentence. “Who’s her father?”
“I’ve had only one love in my lifetime.” Elizabeth attempted to move closer, but Kat launched herself from the chair. “Please, Kathryn. You have to understand that life was different then.”
Kat stood at the end of the bed, giving Virgil an unbreakable stare. The man she trusted more than anyone else in the world had lied to her. “You knew about this all along?” Her voice wavered, barely rising above a whisper. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she could hardly speak.
“Your mother didn’t tell me until after you and Arizona were married and had built the ranch. The two of you weren’t blood-related, so there was no reason to keep you apart.” Virgil winced, trying unsuccessfully to shift his body. “She asked me to look after you because she couldn’t anymore.”
DJ came through the door with a cardboard drink holder containing three cups of coffee. “You’re awake.” She looked at Virgil with a huge smile, but he didn’t return it.
Kat glared at her. Another unforgivable lie. “You knew about this too. Didn’t you?”
DJ’s forehead crinkled and her face went blank. “Knew about what?”
Kat narrowed her eyes as her anger bubbled inside. “Of course you did.” The words flew out quickly as the wave of betrayal rushed through her. “You know everything about me. It’s all in that little file of yours.” She swallowed hard, forcing back the tears, and her voice became low and unsteady. “You knew Virgil was my father all along.”
“What…no,” DJ said. She seemed honestly confused, but Kat had already learned she was a very good liar.
“I have to get out of here.” Kat rushed by her, splattering the tray of coffee across the front of her shirt.
The hot liquid burned DJ’s face and chest. She had no idea there was any question about who was Kat’s father. Elizabeth had done it to her again. “What the hell is going on here?” She dropped the empty tray into the trash can and swiped her sleeve across her face.
“Danica, go after her,” Elizabeth pleaded.
Totally befuddled and still feeling the sting of hot coffee, DJ rushed out the door. She searched the hallway and caught a glimpse of Kat entering the stairwell. She bolted in after her and caught up with her on the ground floor.
DJ reached over her shoulder and pushed the door closed as Kat tried to pull it open. “Wait a minute.”
“Just leave me alone, DJ. You’re as bad as they are.”
DJ held the door firm as Kat struggled to open it. “You can’t really believe I knew about that.”
Kat yanked hard at the door again. “Why not? You knew about everything else.”
“Kat, I swear, I didn’t know. You have to believe me.” She’d given her no reason to trust her and plenty of reasons not to.
Kat jerked around to face her, and DJ saw the pain in her eyes. She pounded her fists hard into DJ’s chest, then pushed her and tried to open the door again. “Let me out of here, damn it,” she said, her voice cracking.
“You’re not going anywhere like this.” DJ would never forgive herself if something happened to Kat.
DJ held her hand up to her shoulder and let it hover momentarily. She wanted to console her but wasn’t sure how.
Kat pressed her forehead against the door. “It all makes sense now. I always knew I wasn’t anything like him growing up.” She lifted her head and let out a short laugh. “All along the only man I ever considered any kind of a role model in my life turns out to actually be my father.” She stood rigidly as though contemplating her next protest.
DJ waited, bracing herself for another flailing-fist attack. She was at a loss as she rubbed her face absently, trying to figure out what Kat needed right now. Comfort, support, space. She didn’t know if any of those would help.
“It looks like Virgil is going to be all right.” DJ hesitated before touching Kat on the shoulder lightly. “Why don’t you come home with me and rest?”
“I’m going to the ranch.” Kat turned to face her, revealing the just-try-and-stop-me look burning in her eyes.
“You can go anywhere in Austin you want.” DJ removed her hand from the door. “I’ll even find you a hotel room. But there’s no way in hell I’m letting you on that highway today.” Her stomach knotted at the thought of letting her go. She wanted to hold her, to help her through this, to just make it all go away somehow.
“Then I’ll take the hotel. And make it an expensive one.” Kat whirled around and yanked the door open.