They sat. Jake studied Ace, making no effort to hide it. And Ace, in turn, studied him back.
“So she summoned you home to tell you the truth?” Ace finally asked.
“Micheline? No.” Jake took a drink of his c
offee. “She still hasn’t told me. She tracked me down to tell me she had cancer.”
“Do you believe her? She said something about that when she stopped by Colton Oil.”
“I’m not sure,” Jake admitted. “I swear she seems desperate now, closer to being truly mentally ill than I’ve ever seen her. Of course, it’s been twenty-three years since I left home. Obviously, she must have deteriorated in all that time.”
“Twenty-three years? Wow.” Ace whistled. “Your life must have been hell for you to take off at seventeen.”
His life. The life that should have been Ace’s. “I wouldn’t wish it on you, man,” Jake said. “None of this is your fault, or mine. I’m still reeling with the knowledge that I’m really not related to that b—” He broke off, realizing Micheline was actually Ace’s biological mother. “She’s crazy,” he finally amended. “Truly delusional.”
“Great, just great.” Glum now, Ace gazed out the window with a contemplative expression. “That means it runs in the family.”
Just as Jake was searching his mind for how to respond to that, Ace laughed. “This is so messed up.” He eyed Jake. “You know you’re going to have to take a DNA test. I did, and it confirmed what we already know.”
“I figured. And I will. But you should know, I’m not after anything. I like my life. I’ve worked hard and own a small ranch north of here. If anything, I’d just like to get to know your family. My family, too, I guess.”
Ace met his gaze. “That can be arranged. I’ll just need a little time to get them used to the idea. Everyone is still in shock.”
“I can understand that,” Jake said. “I’m in the same state myself.”
Clearing his throat, Ace nodded. “I’m sure you’ve read about me being framed for attempted murder. I was exonerated and the actual gunman was caught.”
“I did.” Jake wasn’t sure what else to say. “That must have been tough.”
“It was.” Ace eyed him. “You do understand, once all the smoke clears, you’ll most likely be able to assume a position on the Colton Oil board. You could even move to the Triple R if you want.”
“I have my own ranch,” Jake answered quickly. “But thank you. What about you? What will you do now?”
Ace grimaced. “I might start an energy consulting firm but that is still up in the air. I suppose at some point, Micheline is going to want to spend some time with me, too, and get to know me. Though she hasn’t cared for forty years, so why would she care now?”
“Don’t take it personally,” Jake advised. “That’s just the way she is. She cares about herself and only herself.”
“But what about all those people who belong to AAG? Surely by now, at least some of them would have noticed she isn’t what she seems.”
“You’d think.” Jake took another deep drink of his coffee. “But they see what they want to see. And Micheline is a very good actress. However, I’d still like to know why she switched us as infants.”
“Me too.” Ace sighed, also sipping his coffee. “Tell me about yourself,” he urged. “I know we’re not really related, but I feel like we could be brothers.”
Though Jake preferred not to talk about himself, he complied. Ace Colton was surprisingly easy to talk to.
“I’m sure you’ve read about what happened to me,” Ace said.
“When your—our—father was shot?”
“Yes.” Ace nodded grimly. “I was framed for that. As if I’d ever hurt Payne. Luckily, they caught the guy who did it, a man who had a real grudge against my dad. But they suspected me because we all heard the news that I’m not really a Colton, at least by blood. That little bit of knowledge got me ousted from the board of Colton Oil and Dad and I got into an argument.”
Jake winced. “Ouch. Though I know it’s not my fault, I feel like I should apologize.”
“No need.” Ace waved him away. “My life is still good. I know my family—our family—still loves me, even if we don’t share the same blood. I even recently learned I have an adult daughter from a long-ago relationship. Her name is Nova and she’s pregnant. Which means I will soon be a grandfather.”
“Wow. At our age?”
This made Ace laugh. “Yes. I’ll be a young, hip grandpa.” He leaned forward, his expression going serious. “Now tell me what it was like being raised by Micheline.”