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about your risk factors.”
    “Sure, that sounds like a great idea,” Davis said.
    “I don’t think you need to do it,” Duff spat out, his voice sharp as he spoke.
    The doctor narrowed his gaze, and Davis whipped his head around, staring at Duff. He opened his mouth and closed it, unsure what to say. “Why not?”
    “It’s not a big deal. I just think it would be a waste of money,” Duff said. “Plus, you can just get on a healthy eating plan. You already workout, so that should be enough.”
    “Mr. Whitaker, I think it would be wise to have your son tested,” Doctor Barlow said.
    Duff sat up, his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned. “Could we have a moment alone?” Duff asked.
    “Sure.” Barlow stood and left the room.
    Silence filled the space until Davis cleared his throat, his gaze searching Duff’s face. “What’s wrong?”
    “We don’t need to have a test done,” Duff said.
    “I think I do. I mean, if I could get on some—”
    “Stop,” Duff barked out. “Don’t you get it? You are not my biological child. If you have heart disease, it’s not because of me.”
    Davis stared at Duff, struggling to understand what his dad had just said. His mouth hung wide as he blinked, trying to determine what the hell was going on. “I’m sorry, what…?”
    Duff’s gaze cut into him as the truth filtered over him. His stomach began turning as a sick feeling washed over him. A pain started deep in his brain and spread around his skull and down his spine. He was going to be sick.
    “Please, just listen,” Duff said.
    “I don’t… Dad, what are you saying?” Davis asked.
    “Can we not get into it here? I don’t think everyone in town needs to know what we’re talking about.”
    His head buzzed and he thought he was going to throw up. Everything he’d ever known had been a lie. How could his dad have lied about this? “Mom, what about her—is she my mom?”
    “Can we not get into this right now? I should have told you earlier. This is the wrong place to talk, but I didn’t want you doing DNA testing and finding out that way.”
    Davis popped up, knocking the back of his knees into the chair. His hands shook as he stared at the man who he'd thought was his dad. Was anything from his past the truth? And how could he face this man again knowing that it had all been a lie?
    “Davis, let me tell you—”
    He held up his hand and shook his head. “No. I can’t… I just can’t right now. I need a few minutes.” Davis ran out of the office and into the hall, stopping to catch his breath as he tried to wrap his mind around what he’d just learned. His dad wasn’t his dad. How the hell had that happened?
    Davis pulled the keys from his pocket and stared at them for a long moment. Leaving Duff here to get home on his own would be wrong. He may be angry, and he might not be able to stay at the ranch after hearing he wasn’t Duff’s biological child, but he wouldn’t abandon Duff in town.
    The door opened behind him and he turned as Duff stepped out of the office and into the hall. Their gazes met and held. Pain knifed his heart and he shook his head, turning away from the man who he’d thought was his father.
    “Can we talk about this when we get home?” Duff said.
    Davis shook his head. “I can’t. I… hell, I just can’t. Maybe later.”
    “Davis, there are things you don’t know, and I—”
    He held up his hand, cutting Duff off. “Not now.”
    Davis headed out to the truck with Duff following. He helped Duff settle and went around to the driver’s side, stopping before stepping one foot in the cab. The bomb Duff had dropped on him was too big. Who was he if he wasn’t Duff’s son?
    After a few deep breaths, he hopped into the truck and turned over the engine, popping it into gear. Duff didn’t say anything on the way home, and he was silent, too, unsure any words would be appropriate in this situation.
    When he pulled up at the ranch, he hopped out, not waiting for Duff to