The Object of His Protection - Brenda Jackson [30]
“But Harmon always kept up with what was going on with you, Drey,” his mother said, breaking into his thoughts.
“And how would you know that?” he asked, wondering if this was where she would admit that she and Harmon had picked back up their affair after she’d married, and that in doing so, she had been unfaithful to his father.
“Because he told me he always would,” she replied. “After Ronald was killed and he saw how hard you were struggling with his death, he reentered the picture to be there for you and eventually became your mentor. I wasn’t happy about it, but as long as he kept his agreement and didn’t tell you he was your biological father, I told him that I wouldn’t stop him from building a relationship with you. And he wanted that, Drey. Harmon wanted to get close to you. He felt being your mentor, being there when and if you ever needed him, would be the only way he could have anything close to a father/son relationship with you.”
Drey inhaled deeply, trying to keep his control from snapping. He felt as though his entire life hadn’t been anything but a lie. He’d always liked the congressman, but now he wasn’t sure how he should feel about him. The man had totally used his mother when it had been convenient, and then walked out of her life, only to return years later when his conscience probably had begun bothering him.
And then Drey thought about his siblings. It had been hard to gaze into Malcolm’s face earlier that day without thinking that they were brothers. And how would he deal with Tyson and Shondra when he saw them again? And what about Evelyn, Harmon’s widow? How would he deal with her as well? Her husband had been having an affair while she was pregnant with their first child.
However, as far as he was concerned, the person who had suffered the most was Ronald St. John. His father had loved his wife deeply, only to be given part of her love in return. Drey thought of all those years he had allowed Harmon to be his mentor when he had no clue he was the man’s son. A part of him felt an outright betrayal to Ronald, the only father he’d ever known.
He pushed back his chair and stood, devastated and unable to hear anything else for now. “Look, Mom, I need to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“No, Drey,” Daiyu said in a firm tone as she came to her feet. “I won’t let you walk out on me again, and I refuse to let you think I didn’t love Ronald, because I did. I grew to love him in a way that I could never love anyone else, including Harmon. Ronald was everything to me like he was everything to you. Your father was my whole world. Even now I miss everything about him. I miss his warm and loving nature, the times we shared together, our special love.”
Drey pulled in a deep breath when he heard the sadness in his mother’s voice. Then he saw the tears that clung to her lashes. He felt like an ass for making her cry. Gritting his teeth, he moved around the table to pull her small frame into his arms.
“I’m sorry, Mom, I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just hard finding out Dad wasn’t my father.”
His mother pulled back slightly and gazed up at him. “But Ronald was your father in every way that counted. He gave you his name and his love. He could not have loved you more if you had been his natural child. He said so many times.”
Drey believed her. He also knew talking about his father had taken a toll on her, but there was one other question he needed for her to answer.
He eased her away from him slightly but maintained an arm around her shoulder. “Mom, do you have any idea why Braddock was trying to reach you the night he was killed?”
She shook her head. “No, but he called several times that week before finally getting me. Our conversation was short because he had a call come in on his other line. He said he would call me back but he didn’t.”
Drey met his other gaze. “Can you think of anything else I need to know?” he asked, knowing the question was still out there as to why Harmon had tried calling his mother that night.
His mother lowered her