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Tae stood, clearly finished with the conversation.

“I came here to handle this shit about our father, not discuss Gabi. Let me know when you get that appointment scheduled,” he replied.

I stood and dapped Saint up before following my brother toward the door.

“Appreciate you, bruh. Just send us the information when you get everything set up,” I told him.

“Bet. I’ll holla at y’all,” Saint replied.

Neither one of us said much as we headed back to my truck. Tae was still pissed about Gabi, and I wasn’t about to get in the middle of that shit. He’d have to figure out what he wanted to do about his relationship on his own.

As for me, I had enough on my mind dealing with Kat and the possibility of finding out who my father was.

I didn’t know what the DNA results would reveal, but one thing was certain. Whether Saint turned out to be our brother or not, Kat had a whole lot of explaining to do.

And unlike all the other times we’d asked her about our fathers, I wasn’t accepting another half-assed answer.

Chapter Sixteen

Katrina ‘Kat’ Brooks

The first time I noticed Saint’s resemblance to Frank St. Clair was at Ajoni and Tori’s wedding. I’d known Saint for years, but something about his smile that night reminded me of a man I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Frank had been one of my favorites back in the day. He was handsome, treated me good, and knew how to keep my attention. I’d genuinely cared about him, but I wasn’t interested in settling down. I had other men in my life, and eventually, Frank and I stopped dealing with each other.

When I saw Saint again at the baby shower, I couldn’t help wondering if there was a connection. After hearing him confirm his father’s name, I opened my mouth without thinking about where we were or who was listening.

Now both my sons were pissed at me, and I couldn’t blame them.

A few days later, I stopped by Ajoni’s house to visit Mama. Pat was there too, sitting at the kitchen table while Mama finished cooking.

“Hey, Mama. Hey, Pat,” I greeted, taking a seat.

“Hey, Katrina,” Pat replied.

“Hey, baby. You hungry?” Mama asked.

“No, ma’am. I’m good,” I answered.

We talked for a little while before Mama brought up what happened at the shower.

“Kat, I remember Frank,” she told me. “He used to come around here in that burgundy car.”

“That’s him,” I confirmed. “Frank was good to me, Mama. I actually liked him.”

“Then why you never mentioned him when the boys started asking about their fathers?” she questioned.

“Because I didn’t know if he was either one of their daddies,” I admitted. “I was dealing with other men around that time, and I didn’t wanna give them false hope.”

“That should’ve been their decision, Kat,” Pat voiced. “Even if you weren’t sure, they deserved to know who the possibilities were.”

“I know that now,” I admitted. “I just never thought about it that way.”

“And you had no business bringing it up at Tori’s shower. You could’ve talked to those boys privately,” Mama fussed like she always did.

I didn’t need either of them reminding me how badly I’d handled things. I’d seen the anger on Tae’s face and the disappointment on Ajoni’s. Neither one of them wanted anything to do with me right now. Hell, Tae never did. Joni was somewhat cordial, but I was pretty sure that was out the window now.

Mama went back to checking on dinner while Pat gathered her things from the counter. I was getting ready to ask Mama if she needed any help when we heard the front door open.