Chapter 60
Anna
Across from me, Flynn grew very still. "Gordon who?"
Talk about awkward.Still, I couldn’t exactly avoid it. "You know. Gordon Burke, the guy who owned the gas station where you worked in high school."
"You mean your dad?"
"No." I gave a decisive shake of my head. "He's not."
"What do you mean?"
"He's married to my mom. That's it."
"So he's your stepdad?"
A bitter scoff escaped my lips. "I guess."
"But you have the same last name."
"Hey, it wasn'tmyidea," I said. "I wanted to keep the last name I was born with." My tone grew wistful. "Sanderson. That was myrealdad's name,myname, too, back when I was a kid in Wyoming."
His eyebrows furrowed. "But I thought this was your hometown."
"It is," I said. "I mean, we moved here when I was pretty young, so yeah, I consider this home."
"When you moved, how young were you?'
"Seven, just starting grade school."
"So why'd you movehere?" he asked.
"Because that's where Gordon was." At Flynn's perplexed expression, I added, "He and my mom met through a dating service just a few months after my dad died. But Gordon was here, and we were there, so…" I shrugged. "You can probably guess the rest."
Flynn studied my face. "So you moved."
"Yup. Right after the wedding. I mean, Gordon wasn't gonna move. This was his kingdom, you know?" At a sudden recollection, my stomach lurched. "Funny to think he'll be back."
Flynn shook his head. "I’m not following."
"I mean he's up for parole in just a few weeks." I sighed. "Unfortunately."
"What, you don't like him?"
"Hell no."
Flynn's voice grew very quiet. "Why not?"
"He's just, well…." I forced a weak laugh. "I shouldn't have to tellyouof all people. I mean, you don't like him either, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm not his daughter."
I stiffened. "Step-daughter. And eventhat, I should've changed a long time ago."
"How so?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I guess, I could've at least changed my name back to the original." At the thought of myrealdad, I blinked away unshed tears. "But that's not important…"
