She tucks in under my arm. “Kerry said there was something, but she refused to spill the details.”
That puts theA Kincaid, of courseinto some context, I suppose. “So I went to Owen’s place this afternoon, and this big, brawny cowboy answered the door. Introduces himself as Zane. Zane Kincaid. It turns out, we have a whole branch of the family out west.”
“What?” She stops and stares at me. “How?”
“It’s a really long story, and he says a lot of it isn’t his toshare, not yet. But my dad’s sister is alive and well, and has four grown boys.”
“And they all have her name?”
“Now they do, yeah. They grew up with a different name, but their father was an abusive piece of shit, and as adults, they all took her name.”
“Oh my God.” She throws her arms around me and gives me a tight squeeze. “That must have been so intense to learn.”
“Rocked my world, that’s for sure.”
She guides me into a nook halfway down the hall and gently presses me against the wall. “Was it just him?”
I sag back, nodding. “He’s taken the lead. He found Owen, and they connected a month ago. He flew out to surprise everyone today, and we’re going to organize a trip out West to meet our aunt at some point soon.”
“Wow.” She searches my face. “How do you feel?”
“Overwhelmed.”
“Of course.”
“It, um…” I swallow around an unexpected lump in my throat.
“Yeah.” She steps in close and leans against me, giving me her warm little weight.
I close my eyes and lower my head to rest my cheek on the top of hers.
“I wish my dad was still alive,” I manage to get out.
“Me, too,” she whispers back.
“This morning feels like so long ago.”
She exhales slowly. “It really does.”
“I need to tell you something.” I wrap my arms around her in case she wants to bolt. I’m not letting her do that. “I told your dad that we’ve been struggling since the spring. Ineeded him to know that when he told you that you might lose me, that was pushing on a bruise.”
“Oh.”
“I told him in private. And it’s a variation on the truth, in a way.”
“I told Dani the whole truth.”
I shift so I can see her face. “You did?”
She nods, her eyes darting as she searches for my reaction.
Both of us uncertain. But oddly on the same page. It’s a good feeling.
“That’s good.” I take a deep breath. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to.”
“You tried to tell me that it would be okay.”
“You were scared. I get it.”
