Did You Miss Me? (62 page)

‘So that’s why he thinks she’ll back away from Cole. Good Lord.’

‘Kid had guts. And he loves you. He knew you’d stayed in that house for twelve years for him. He wanted you to have a life and be free of the Elkharts.’

Her eyes stung. ‘I’m very lucky to have him. I hope we can give Cole a better life. He seems starved for . . . normality.’

‘That’s kind of a relative term,’ he said.

‘More normal than he had with Doug or would have had with Hal if Hal had wanted him, which he didn’t. And I know how that feels, Joseph, to have your dad not want you.’

Joseph flinched, then lifted his eyes to the tree, his brow furrowed in a frown. ‘There’s something you need to know, Daphne. I don’t even know how to tell you.’

Dread had her heart fluttering unevenly. ‘Then just tell me.’

He blew out a breath, took her hand. ‘Lieutenant Ciccotelli’s wife has been at Beckett’s all day mapping the graves we thought we’d find on the property. This is her area of expertise. She’s one of the best in the country.’

‘Joseph, just tell me.’

‘So far they’ve found ten graves. Nine are filled with females. One an adult male.’

‘What?’

‘They, um, decided to uncover him first, because it was so unexpected. Caucasian male, late twenties. His skull was cracked open. He had his wallet, so they had ID. It was your father, Daphne.’

She shrank back to the corner of the sofa, staring at Joseph’s face. ‘My father?’

‘Yes. I don’t know what happened to him. What I believe is that he suspected Beckett after you drew that picture of a mother and father with a girl, when the therapist asked you to draw your attacker. I think he knew what you were trying to say.’

‘But at that point no one would have believed him,’ she whispered. ‘They were all so sure he did it. I tried to tell them that he didn’t. Oh my God, Joseph. How do I tell Mama? All these years she believed he left her. All these years . . .’ Her throat closed. ‘All these years I thought I drove him away. I thought he hated me.’

‘He was trying to avenge his little girl. And clear his name, I’d guess. I’m sorry, Daphne. Beckett’s taken so much from you and your family.’

‘I’m . . . well, stunned right now. I imagine it’ll hit me later. But I kind of feel better knowing. It means my father was a hero. Not a man who abandoned his family.’

‘That’s the way I hoped you’d see it.’

‘Wow. Any other major bombshells?’

‘Nope. I think that’s it.’ He let out a long breath. ‘I feel so much better now. I was dreading telling you that. I hate to bring you bad news.’

‘Hopefully we’re done with bad news for a while. But if it comes, we’ll deal.’ She pulled his head down for a kiss that started out sweet but quickly became demanding and when she pulled away they were both breathing hard. ‘We’ve had a long day,’ she whispered. ‘Let’s go upstairs and end it right.’

He smiled and her heart fluttered in her chest. ‘I like the way you think.’

She rose and tugged him to his feet. ‘But I’ve been thinking all day. I’m ready to stop thinking.’

‘I think I might know a few ways to make that happen.’

She slid her arm around his waist and walked with him to the stairs. ‘I kind of thought you might.’