“Why didn’t you say that when I confronted you?”
“She was pregnant. What good would it have done? What was I supposed to do?”
“Not marry her. Talk to me about it, and we could have figured it out.”
“Matt, you were nineteen! It wouldn’t have been fair to me to saddle you with that responsibility.”
“It should have been my choice.”
“I was the one who talked Heather out of an abortion. When she came to me, it was for money to do the procedure. I begged her not to. The only way she would carry the baby was if we got married, so I married her, and we had Ivy, and I’m sorry if this hurts you, but I can’t regret that. She’s the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“Of course I don’t want you to regret Ivy. She’s lovely.”
I heaved a sigh. “At the time, I did what I thought was best.”
“Without talking to me. God, I wanted to kill you that night I flew in from DC and confronted you.”
“I could tell.” I shuffled closer to him so my knees brushed his. “Matt, the truth is you fell for someone you didn’t even know. The man I was before I met you didn’t dare to dream of a life with you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s a reason I thought being with Heather and raising a child together was my best option. I didn’t think I was right for you.”
16
MATTY
Abox sat on the couch between Hudson and me. I had no idea what I was looking at. One second, he was saying the most clichéd thing ever that he wasn’t good enough for me, and the next, he’d left the room and returned with a box in his trembling hands.
Did I want to know what was in that box that was so powerful I’d doted on this man all summer, only for him to choose a woman he didn’t love? I wasn’t sure.
“What’s all this?”
Hudson bit his bottom lip, tightening his hand on the box for a second before he loosened his grip. “I didn’t plan on showing you, but I don’t want to lie to you anymore. I want this to be all out in the open.”
My heart thumped crazily. Was it that bad, then? “Maybe you don’t have to?—”
“You wanted answers, Matt. I’m not doing things halfway anymore. You have to know the full truth before you…decide.”
But what was there to decide? I’d spent all evening with him and his daughter. Watched cartoons with her. Read hera bedtime story and sat with her until she fell asleep. The decision was already made, but he seemed to want to undo it with whatever the hell was inside that box.
Hudson removed the cover and took out a wad of papers rolled up and secured by a rubber band. He handed them to me.
I took a deep breath and unrolled the bundle, nerves sinking in more than I wanted to admit.
The first page was a court document. The State vs. Hudson Granger. Beneath the header, legal jargon blurred, as I scanned the piece of paper for what mattered.
Destruction of property.
My stomach twisted.
A police report followed, dated a couple of years before we met. The words jumped out at me. “Unauthorized use of a vehicle,” “reckless endangerment,” “intoxicated.”
I kept flipping.
Defendant identified as Hudson Granger drove a 1968 Mercedes-Benz into the family estate gate while under the influence. Estimated damages $60,000.
I blinked. “This… this was your family’s car?”
