She’d add it to Nan’s collection back at the house, the first of many to come during her time at the beach, Hadley mused.
“Nice find,” a male voice said from behind her.
She turned to see Bryson standing just out of the surf, dressed in faded, well-worn jeans, bare feet, and a V-neck white T-shirt that showcased his tan, muscular chest and biceps to perfection.“Hey, stranger.”
“Hey, yourself.Enjoying your company?”
A laugh huffed out of her and she rolled her eyes.“I’m on the beach alone.Does that tell you anything?”
The kids had been fighting nonstop since Friday about Abby flirting with one of Max’s friends who was apparently quite the player.Hadley needed a break from the bickering—and Kyle’s constant hovering and attempts to make up.
A wave broke and she stumbled when it barreled into her knees.She managed to stay upright, thanks in part to Bryson’s quick reflexes.
He rushed forward and grabbed her elbows, the wave soaking the bottoms of his pant legs.
“Oh, no.Sorry about that.”
“You live at the beach, you’re gonna get wet.Should’ve put on shorts.”
She looked up in time to catch his gaze shifting from the direction of her mouth to her eyes.“Bryson, about Kyle—”
“Hadley, there’s something I—”
They both broke off, and she loved the way the little lines around his eyes crinkled when he smiled at her.“You first,” she said.
“Uh, well, I’d tell you to sit down but with the tide coming in—”
“That sounds ominous.Just tell me.”
“Okay, but you should probably brace yourself.I’m Mary Elizabeth’s son.”
She choked on a gasp.“What?”
Bryson tugged her out of the surf and up to dry sand, and she let him lead the way, too stunned to do anything else.
“Apparently I’m her biological son.She came to the house a few days ago and told me.”
“The same day the kids and Kyle arrived?”she asked.
“Yeah.”
“We saw her there but… I don’t understand.How?Who?Really?” She sounded like a bumbling idiot, but she couldn’t seem to form the sentences required.
Bryson told Hadley the story, adding the information his father had provided, and when he finished, Hadley struggled to wrap her head around the news.“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“And you had no idea?”
“Not until she showed up with the results of the DNA test.”
“I wondered why Tessa insisted on giving you a free trim.It seemed a bit odd, but then I figured she just wanted to get you alone to grill you because of our friendship.That or she wanted to flirt with you herself.Wow,” she said again, completely taken aback by the turn of events.
“It’s crazy, right?I’ve always been curious as to who my birth parents were.Now I know.”
Stunned.She was just stunned.First her mother’s affair and now Mary Elizabeth had a secret baby?What other secrets were the Babes hiding?“Are you…angry with her?”
Bryson shook his head.