“I was my mom’s only child.”
“So, Paul is your dad’s kid, then?”
“No.”
“I’m confused.”
I glanced at the stage, then back at her. This dive bar wasn’t the place to unpack this particular mess. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Let’s not. I want to know who you are. And you obviously want me to know, or you wouldn’t have brought me here tonight.” Her tone left no room for argument. “Just tell me.”
I rarely talked about my siblings because it felt like a lie. No—itwasa lie. But if Michelle was going to know me, she had to know about them.
“After my mom died, my dad dropped me off at my aunt and uncle’s doorstep. Said he’d be back soon. I’m still waiting.”
Michelle blinked, clearly not expecting that. While shesearched for the right words, I fought the old anger. It never softened, no matter how hard I tried to make peace with his abandonment. He’d failed me so completely that every day of my life had become a personal crusade to never become him.
“Were you adopted by them?” she asked, gently.
“No. The idea was that my father would come back. But months stretched into years, and I was just… absorbed into Jim and Sue’s family. Eventually they wanted me to call them mom and dad, and my cousins, brother and sister. I hated it. It never felt like they were mine. But it was the price of admission.”
Michelle reached for my hand. That simple touch steadied me more than any well-meaning sympathy could have.
“I was never theirs to begin with,” I said. “That’s why it was so easy for them to kick me out when April got pregnant.”
The words hung between us. I didn’t fill the silence. Neither did she. Michelle had never seen this side of me. I’d always kept things light so she wouldn’t look too closely.
This wasn’t light.
And for once, I didn’t know how to lead us through it.
13
MICHELLE: IN THE AIR TONIGHT
It was clear Scott’s abandonment wasn’t something he talked about, and I had no idea what to do with it. I’d never experienced real loss, not like that, so comforting those who’d lived through heartbreak wasn’t a skill I’d ever developed.
Who would have thought the uncomplicated guy from the gas station would carry so many hidden layers? Depths that scared me, if I was honest, but I couldn’t just leave him sitting in that ache. He’d carried me this far, making the plans, creating the moments that kept us moving forward. Now it was my turn.
“Come with me,” I said, tugging his hand.
“Where are you taking me?”
“I’m going to show you my world.”
He followed me out of the bar and to my car. Because of the nature of our secret relationship, Scott couldn’t pull up to my front gate and pick me up. We had to meet in parking lots all over the county, and then I’d usually hop into his truck and off we’d go. But tonight I’d met him on Sunset Strip—a midpoint for us—and for once, he got in my passenger seat.
We drove until the noise of the Strip faded and the neon signs gave way to sprawling coastal houses. I parked in thedriveway of a small, one-story beachfront bungalow. I didn’t have the key, but that didn’t matter. We weren’t going inside.
Kicking off my heels, I grabbed Scott’s hand and led him down a narrow path between tall hedges.
“Uh, Michelle,” he whispered, “not that I’m against trespassing, but—”
“We’re not trespassing.” I shot him a look. “This house belongs to my father.”
“Right.” Scott paused. “And if he shows up… am I running, or taking the hit?”
“My father would never get his hands bloody. And don’t worry. He doesn’t come here. No one does.”
