question?”
He braced himself. “Sure.”
“Do you know much about your father or his side of the family? Was he a professional? Maybe a doctor?”
The fact that she’d skipped over him and assumed their son might have inherited his high IQ from a relative of Will’s, tweaked his pride. “I know very little about my birth father.” Only that the man was a cruel bastard.
“Have you ever had your IQ tested?” she asked.
Will laughed—the sound a harsh bark, not a heartfelt chuckle.
“I know you didn’t apply yourself in school,” Marsha said. “But a lot of high IQ kids don’t, because they’re bored in class.”
Will might as well set Marsha straight, but he hated discussing his handicap. When he’d been sent to the special-education center in elementary school, he’d convinced his friends that he was being punished because he refused to do his class assignments—not because he had trouble reading. He was tempted to lie to Marsha, but lies had gotten them into their current situation. “I was diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade.”
“Really?” Marsha frowned. “You hid it well.”
“So now you know that Ryan couldn’t have inherited his intelligence from me. He must have gotten his genes from your side of the family.”
“Will, dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence. Besides, I wouldn’t know if Ryan inherited his smarts from my side of the family.”
“How come?”
“You never heard?” she asked.
“Heard what?”
“That I’m adopted.”
Shocked, he gaped at her. “I had no idea.”
“I don’t talk about it much, but my close friends in school knew.”
“Have you kept in touch with your birth parents?” he asked.
“They’re dead. I lived with them until I was two, but I don’t remember them.”
“What happened?”
“My parents were drug-addicted teenagers. One day a neighbor called the police and reported a toddler walking in the parking lot of the apartment complex wearing only a diaper. When the police arrived, they found my parents dead from a drug overdose inside the apartment.”
“You had no relatives to take you in?”
“No one came forward to claim me.”
Will’s mother had come and gone through the years, but his grandparents had always been there for him and his siblings. “Considering what happened to you, I’m surprised you didn’t go through with the abortion.”
“I was raised in a religious home. Abortion wasn’t an option.”
Will hadn’t sorted through all his feelings about Marsha keeping Ryan a secret and thought it best to keep his thoughts to himself lest he ruin their afternoon together. “You must like teaching, because it gives you summers off,” he said, changing the subject.
“I never take the summers off. I usually teach summer school, but since I’m spending almost three months in Stagecoach, I took a job as an online tutor for the UCLA science department. I’d like to work as a professor at UCLA so I can earn more money.”
“Do you have a lot of student-loan debt?”
“Not really. I was on full scholarship my first four years of college, then I received a grant, which paid for my master’s degree. My doctoral degree was expensive and I haven’t paid off those loans yet.”
“Did your parents help you financially after you had Ryan?”
“Yes, but I wish I wouldn’t have taken their money.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because they used up most of their retirement savings fighting Dad’s cancer and there’s little left for Mom to live on after he passes away.”
While Marsha coped with all her responsibilities, Will went about his day-to-day activities only caring for himself. Had one of the reasons she’d kept Ryan a secret from him been that she believed she couldn’t count on him for financial support? A pit formed in the bottom of Will’s stomach when he recalled his father’s shadowy image standing behind the door. Will couldn’t decide which rejection hurt the most—his father’s or
He braced himself. “Sure.”
“Do you know much about your father or his side of the family? Was he a professional? Maybe a doctor?”
The fact that she’d skipped over him and assumed their son might have inherited his high IQ from a relative of Will’s, tweaked his pride. “I know very little about my birth father.” Only that the man was a cruel bastard.
“Have you ever had your IQ tested?” she asked.
Will laughed—the sound a harsh bark, not a heartfelt chuckle.
“I know you didn’t apply yourself in school,” Marsha said. “But a lot of high IQ kids don’t, because they’re bored in class.”
Will might as well set Marsha straight, but he hated discussing his handicap. When he’d been sent to the special-education center in elementary school, he’d convinced his friends that he was being punished because he refused to do his class assignments—not because he had trouble reading. He was tempted to lie to Marsha, but lies had gotten them into their current situation. “I was diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade.”
“Really?” Marsha frowned. “You hid it well.”
“So now you know that Ryan couldn’t have inherited his intelligence from me. He must have gotten his genes from your side of the family.”
“Will, dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence. Besides, I wouldn’t know if Ryan inherited his smarts from my side of the family.”
“How come?”
“You never heard?” she asked.
“Heard what?”
“That I’m adopted.”
Shocked, he gaped at her. “I had no idea.”
“I don’t talk about it much, but my close friends in school knew.”
“Have you kept in touch with your birth parents?” he asked.
“They’re dead. I lived with them until I was two, but I don’t remember them.”
“What happened?”
“My parents were drug-addicted teenagers. One day a neighbor called the police and reported a toddler walking in the parking lot of the apartment complex wearing only a diaper. When the police arrived, they found my parents dead from a drug overdose inside the apartment.”
“You had no relatives to take you in?”
“No one came forward to claim me.”
Will’s mother had come and gone through the years, but his grandparents had always been there for him and his siblings. “Considering what happened to you, I’m surprised you didn’t go through with the abortion.”
“I was raised in a religious home. Abortion wasn’t an option.”
Will hadn’t sorted through all his feelings about Marsha keeping Ryan a secret and thought it best to keep his thoughts to himself lest he ruin their afternoon together. “You must like teaching, because it gives you summers off,” he said, changing the subject.
“I never take the summers off. I usually teach summer school, but since I’m spending almost three months in Stagecoach, I took a job as an online tutor for the UCLA science department. I’d like to work as a professor at UCLA so I can earn more money.”
“Do you have a lot of student-loan debt?”
“Not really. I was on full scholarship my first four years of college, then I received a grant, which paid for my master’s degree. My doctoral degree was expensive and I haven’t paid off those loans yet.”
“Did your parents help you financially after you had Ryan?”
“Yes, but I wish I wouldn’t have taken their money.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because they used up most of their retirement savings fighting Dad’s cancer and there’s little left for Mom to live on after he passes away.”
While Marsha coped with all her responsibilities, Will went about his day-to-day activities only caring for himself. Had one of the reasons she’d kept Ryan a secret from him been that she believed she couldn’t count on him for financial support? A pit formed in the bottom of Will’s stomach when he recalled his father’s shadowy image standing behind the door. Will couldn’t decide which rejection hurt the most—his father’s or
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