Page 18 of Reticent

“Gurl.”

“But what do you mean the cheating? Mama didn’t cheat.”

Okay. This is awkward because we both know she did. “She cheated on your dad with my dad.”

“No she didn’t,” Skylar says confidently.

I press my lips together. “But that’s how I got here.”

“That’s not what happened.”

I’m today-years-old hearing this. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe you should talk to your dad.”

Talk to my dad? Why would I need to do that? Facts are facts. Tina Livingston and Graham Wyatt were living together and in a committed relationship—had been for years—when she cheated on him with my dad. But Skylar seems confident that I’m mistaken. Maybe I am. “What is it that you know that you’re not telling me?”

Skylar pulls at her earlobe, darting her eyes around the room. “Mom sometimes had sex for money.”

I gape at her. “What?”

“My dad knew about it.”

“I’m sorry.” I chuckle humorlessly. “Are you saying that my dad was her john,” I whisper. “And your dad was her … pimp?” Before my mom relinquished custody, Graham Wyatt treated me like his own. It was obvious to everyone that I wasn’t Graham’s daughter, yet he cared for me, for all three of us, when my mother was too strung out to do so. Graham had his demons, but from what I remember, he loved my mom.

Skylar’s lips form a grim line. “Mom supported their habit after my dad hit rock bottom and his parents cut him off, so yes, he knew about it and benefited from it. And your dad was one of the guys who paid her for her …” She swallows. “Services.”

I can’t believe my dad paid my mom for sex. From the few details I know about their entanglement, I assumed they had a one-night stand, like Hunter and I did, when my father visited Houston for a Young Pastors conference. “Does Niko know?”

She nods.

“How did you find out?”

“She and my dad got back together about a year after you and Niko moved out. He was clean at the time, but she wasn’t. They used to fight a lot, and I would overhear things. But when he started using again, they didn’t fight as much.”

“Damn, Sky.”

“Yeah.” Her blues eyes shimmer as a sad chuckle falls from her lips.

“You’re amazing, you know that? You don’t look like what you’ve been through.”

“I try not to.” She picks up her glass and takes a sip of water. “So … Hunter.”

“Right.” I almost forgot what we were talking about.

“So, he’s not married. And no girlfriend?”

“No. He’s a player.”

“That sucks. But before we write him off as a deadbeat dad, let’s see how tomorrow goes.”

“You’re right. Let’s see if he redeems himself from our last phone call.”

Chapter Nine

It’s the next day. Sitting cross-legged on my bedroom floor, I look around at the baby’s crib parts scattered around me. I don’t feel like doing this. I’m tempted to wait for Niko to return from the gym so he can do it, as he offered.

There’s a knock on my door, and I’m thankful for the distraction. “Come in.”