Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
“Only if you’re going to be straight with me.” It wasn’t like I didn’t trust my father. I did. He had his reasons, even if I wouldn’t agree.
“I know you, Mitchell.” The fact that he’d used my full name was a terrible start to things. “As soon as you heard you’d knocked up some girl, you’d have to do the right thing.”
“Yeah? What’s wrong with that?”
“The right thing isn’t always right. I didn’t know that girl from a pot to piss in. I didn’t know if she was telling the truth or not. She showed up on my door with her mama, who was spitting mad. And I know damn well I taught you boys better than to go bareback, especially with some girl you just met.”
“I didn’t,” I said in my defense. The damn thing had busted. I’d been too drunk to recognize when things felt far different than they had in the beginning.
“See? So I offered her a deal. It was clear they wanted money. I gave part of it to her on just her word. Then another part when the baby was born. I gave her the rest when the baby was old enough you could tell who she was kin to.”
“You knew, and you still didn’t tell me?”
He averted his eyes. “I made a judgment call. I didn’t have full proof that was your kid.”
“She looks like Mom.”
“Maybe so, but that wasn’t enough. If I’d told you, you would have given up your future and worked at the lumberyard or in the mines. That was never your fate.” He tapped his temple. “That big brain of yours would have been wasted.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make,” I said.
“It was, and I did. You can hate me for it. But you are in a better position to take care of that girl now. Otherwise, you’d be living paycheck to paycheck. I couldn’t risk that life for you.”
I kicked at the gravel, knowing he was right in some ways. “You should have given her more. Have you seen the trailer she lives in?”
“I grew up dirt poor. It made me a better man. Besides, Haley could have come around when things got tough. She knew exactly where I was,” he said in a measured tone.
“You’ve been gone since Mom died.”
“Yeah, because you and your brother put me away like a cow to pasture.”
“You didn’t tell us what was going on. You were acting crazy, letting the ranch go to shit, and not telling us where the missing money was.”
Dad turned red faced. “It was my goddamn money. I didn’t owe you an explanation.”
“But you did. You knew I had a daughter and even after I graduated college, you didn’t tell me about her.”
He fisted his hands, and I fisted my own. “You needed to find your place as a lawyer. At that point, Zoe didn’t know you. She was still young.”
“Now I’ve missed six years of my daughter’s life. Six years.” I relaxed my hands. “Six years, Dad,” I repeated.
“I had good intentions. I lost my way without your mom.”
I lifted my head. “Did Mom know?” Had that been the reason she’d begged me to come home?
“No. At least I didn’t tell her.”
The more I thought about it, Mom couldn’t have known. She wouldn’t have been able to ignore her grandchild. That was something I regretted. Then again, Zoe had been spared the pain of Mom’s death because they would have loved each other.
Unlike Haley’s mom, a spiteful woman who looked for gain in everything, my mother would have showered my daughter with love. Hell, Haley would have been invited to live in the house just so Mom could have spent more time with Zoe. That brought me back to Zoe’s living conditions.
“They lived in a trailer, Dad. A shit trailer.” I didn’t have to snoop to see they had very little. The furniture I’d seen was old, but well cared for. “I could have gotten them a house. A place in Mason Creek where the little shits in Mountainside didn’t bully Zoe about her mother and not knowing who her father was.”
James blew out a breath. “I said I made some mistakes.”
“I need to know I can trust you, Dad. Is there anything else you’re keeping from me?”
He didn’t waste time with a response. “I’m seeing someone.”
I opened my mouth for no words to come out. Sunshine had given me the heads-up, yet I still felt blindsided. The words came out like some spoiled child before I could stop them. “What about Mom?”
He reached out and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I will always love your mother. She was and is the love of my life. But she’s been gone some years now. And I met someone who understands the pain I feel. She lost her husband of fifty years. We were just friends for a long time, but there’s something more. We both understand it will never be what we had with our spouses, but it’s nice not to be alone.”