“For a bit. Eileen died when Sierra was eight, and her kids sold the house.”
“What about you?”
She smiles sadly. “We weren’t in the will.”
“Then why didn’t you come back here?”
She exhales and looks across the room, so forlorn that I want to hold her close and make it all come right. “I was ashamed. I was afraid.” She shrugs. “I told myself that it would be better for Sierra in the city.”
“Because you remembered how it was for Luke.”
She shrugs again and smiles a little. “We did okay.”
But it wasn’t easy for her. She doesn’t have to say it. I know she gave up her art, but I’ll bet Sylvia gave up a lot more. “Where do we go from here?” I have no idea, but it’s also not just up to me what happens next.
“I don’t know.” She dries her tears and gets a stubborn look. “You could get a paternity test.”
“What for? I believe you.”
Her features soften a little then but her voice is still hard. “You could probably sue for custody, or even take her away from me.”
“No, Sylvia. Never!”
“You can afford her better than I can,” she says, her chin up and her gaze fierce. She’s challenging me and she wants a promise.
It’s exactly the one I intend to give her.
“Never,” I vow, but I’m stuck on those letters. It makes no sense. If there were letters and I never got them, then someone is lying.
I don’t want it to be anyone in my family.
I don’t want it to be Sylvia either.
She’s watching me and I don’t need to guess what she’s thinking. “You can’t think I’m lying to you. Why would I do that?” she demands. “Why would I hide her from you? Why would I lie to you now? Do you really think that little of me?”
“Fair’s fair, Sylvia,” I say. “Why would you assume that I would take Sierra from you? Why would I be such an asshole?”
She takes a breath and eyes me.
She doesn’t have to say it.
“Because you think I was an asshole before.”
She doesn’t reply. She doesn’t have to. I see the truth and it changes everything. Because if Sylvia doesn’t believe inhappily-ever-after anymore, it’s because of me, and that means this is my mistake to fix.
She has her arms folded across her chest again, as if she’s holding herself together and I realize that this is the moment she’s been dreading. “What are you going to do?” she asks and her voice is smaller than usual.
“First things first,” I say. “I have an obligation to provide for our daughter, to pay my share, and we’re going to make that right.”
“What do you want? Custody?” Her voice breaks on the word.
“How could I live with a teenage girl? I’d have no clue where to even start with that, and this place, as you’ve noted, isn’t exactly a home.”
“What then?” Some of the edge has gone out of her voice.
“I want an agreement that works for all of us, Sylvia. Make a list of what you want and I’ll make a list, then we’ll meet with Daphne Bradshaw to sort it all out. I’ll bring my tax returns and she’ll make sure we don’t forget anything.” I hold up a finger. “The first actionable item should be finding an orthodontist. There must be a good one in Havelock and I’m covering it.”
“Do you even know what it’ll cost?”
