CHAPTER 34
Finn jammedthe key into the ignition harder than necessary and threw the truck in reverse.
His hands clenched the wheel. His pulse thundered in his ears, racing so fast he felt like he might pass out.
Luke was his son.
He was as sure of that as he was that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
The thoughts slammed into him, fast and furious.
Disbelief.
Hurt.
Rage.
Why hadn’t she told him? Had she ever planned to? Did Luke know who his dad was? Had he ever asked? Did Lainey ever say his name? Had he ever cried for a father while Finn just went on with his life? Clueless? Content?
Damn it! How many birthdays had he missed? How many bedtime stories he wasn’t there to read? Skinned knees he didn’t kiss, lost teeth?
Finn blinked hard, his jaw clenched tight as he barreled down the street. She made the choice for both of them. And now he had to deal with the pieces.
“You might want to slow down,” Dex said beside him. “I don’t want to die tonight.”
“What?”
“Slow down,” Dex repeated.
Finn jerked his gaze back to the road, shaking off thoughts of Luke. He needed time to process this. Time to wrap his head around the fact that he was a father to a son he’d never met.
Dex stayed silent for a minute. Then carefully, he said, “So … are we just going to pretend we didn’t see what we just saw?”
Finn didn’t answer.
Dex let out a breath. “He’s got your eyes.”
“I noticed,” Finn said quietly.
“And your hair.”
“I noticed,” Finn repeated.
“And we can’t forget the chin dimple.”
“Shut. The fuck. Up,” Finn yelled. “I noticed, okay?”
Blessed silence. For a short minute.
“What are you going to do about it?”
Finn stared at the road ahead. Whatwashe going to do about it? No way was he letting this go. No way he was confronting Lainey until he got his anger under control. And no way in hell was he wasting another second not getting to know his son.
“I never got a chance,” he said, his voice low. “And if he’s mine…” Finn swallowed hard. “Shit, I know he’s mine.” He took a deep breath. “I missed everything.”
Dex didn’t say anything after that. He didn’t need to.
Finn kept driving, but his hands hadn’t loosened their death grip on the wheel as he turned toward home. He needed some quiet time to think so he didn’t do something stupid. Like turning around and facing Lainey with his fury, his grief.
