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He wanted me to break your heart.
Seth sank back into his chair. Brandon could only guess at the pain he must be feeling, but he didn t have
time to offer comfort now. Too many questions were still unanswered. He trained his cop s eyes on
Patterson.  Morris thought if you hurt Seth badly enough, he d decide to try his luck with girls? As hard
as he tried, he couldn t keep the disbelief out of his voice.
Philip nodded.  Calder thinks that Seth has chosen to be gay. He thought that if Seth s first relationship
since the rape ended in disaster, the two bad experiences combined would make him give up on guys for
good. He looked at Seth s stony face.  As I m sure you ve guessed, Seth, I m not gay. That s why I
took the job to begin with. My girlfriend is pregnant. Not that it ll make you feel any better, but I don t
believe it s a choice. And Seth, if I was gay, I d consider myself lucky to be with a guy like you.
 How much?
Phillip was thrown by the question.  I m not following.
Brandon was relieved to hear some emotion in Seth s voice, even if that emotion was anger.  How much
did my father pay you to dick me around?
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 Fifty thousand. Twenty-five up front, the rest when the job was finished. That doesn t include what I put
on the credit card.
Brandon said,  Nice work if you can get it, but where does Nate figure into all this?
 According to Calder, Nathan is the reason Seth  turned queer to begin with his words, not mine.
When Seth started talking about seeing his brother again, Calder panicked. Then the newspaper guy s
son called and told them about the attack outside the doctor s office. Leda wanted to fly up right then,
but Calder stalled her by saying he wanted to reconcile with Nathan. He convinced her that he was
alright with the whole gay thing and wanted time to make things right.
 That s why he took it so well when I told him I was sure I was gay. He already knew because he had
my psych files. At least Mother wasn t in on it, too.
Phillip nodded.  As far as I can tell, Leda is fine with you being gay.
Brandon said,  So, what s Calder s plan concerning Nate? To come up here and pretend to accept our
relationship? I got that, but to what end?
Phillip shook his head.  That I couldn t tell you. Calder gives me just as much information as I need to do
my job, but we aren t exactly pals. He leaned back a little.  So, what s the deal here? Are you charging
me with fraud or am I free to go?
Brandon inclined his head.  That s up to Seth.
 When s your baby due?
Seth s question caught him off guard.  April. We hope to find out the sex pretty soon.
 You gonna marry that girl?
 That s why I took your father up on his offer. I m not really a prick, you know. That s just part of the
act. Shelby, my girlfriend, and I wanted to get married right before Thanksgiving. We were going to use
that money to buy a small house. One without wheels. Not that I deserve it, after what I ve done to you.
Seth was quiet for a few minutes. Then he did something that surprised the hell out of Brandon. He
smiled.
 I ll drop the charges on one condition.
 I m listening. It s not like I have a whole lot of bargaining room.
Seth pulled a checkbook out of his pocket.  This account draws directly from the trust my grandmother
left me. My father has no control over this money. It s mine, free and clear. Two-hundred-thousand of it
is yours if you agree to use your phenomenal acting skills to help me turn the tables on my father.
Brandon whistled.  Can you afford that?
 You really have no idea how much money our grandmother left us, do you? Nate said you didn t want
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anything to do with it, but I thought you at least knew how much we each started out with.
 No, and I don t want to know. Nate can leave it all to the kids after they come along. Until then, if
anything happens to him, it all goes to Amy so she can continue to help patients who can t afford to pay.
Even after we sign over power of attorney to each other, that won t change.
Phillip broke in.  I appreciate the gesture, Seth, but I owe you. I ll do it for free just to thank you for not
pressing charges.
 No. I m definitely going to pay you. If you can pull this off, it ll be worth every penny.
* * *
Brandon walked into his office and found just what he expected, a furious Calder Morris. So much the
better.
 You ve kept me waiting long enough, Nash. I want to see my son, and I want to see him now. Seth
walked in behind Brandon, his fingers tightly laced with Phillip s.  I m right here, Dad. I m alright, but we
need to talk. Phillip told me why you hired him.
Calder flushed and started to stammer, but Seth cut him off.  It s okay, Dad. There s no need to make
excuses. Phillip and I have talked through all of it, and we ve decided it doesn t matter. I love him enough [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]