Page 55 of Losing Hope

“And didyou?”

“I went home and told your mother. That was even harder than telling her about the affair.”

Hope’s hand went to her mouth as it dropped open in surprise. “My God, Daddy! Poor Mother! She had to deal with all of this. She must have been somad.”

“Yes, she was furious. But only at me. She felt only compassion for Faith and insisted we do whatever needed to care for her. She demanded she be there the next day to also speak with Faith. So, that leads us to the night of the accident.”

“That was the next night?”

“Yes, your mother came into the office around three, and around four, Faith arrived. I’m not going to lie. It was quite a scene. I don’t think it was until that moment that Faith realized I truly had no intention of leaving your mother, no matter her current condition. I know it broke her heart, too, which is something I’ll never, ever forgive myselffor.”

He let out a long sigh, his face heavy with grief. “Your mother was the one to finally calm Faith down. She spoke to her like she was her daughter and not her husband’s mistress, assuring her we would help. She made sure Faith understood that we would be in the baby’s life no matter what; we wanted to be there, whether it was to help her raise it or adopt it if she didn’t want to keepit.”

He looked at Faith then, his eyes sad and moist at the edges. “Your mother was an amazing woman. If I had any idea what was going to happen…”

Her father drew in a deep breath and nodded once as he finished his story. “Your mother insisted on taking the car and driving to Faith’s to get some of her things. She was going to have her come back and stay at the house so we could care for her properly. The weather was turning, but your mother scoffed at me and reminded me that she grew up driving in snow storms. I wasn’t quite comfortable with the arrangement, but I daren’t argue with her at that point. I decided to stay back at the office and wrap up a few loose ends, and then I was going to meet them back at the house later.”

“So, it really was just an accident that killed Mother and Faith?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded slowly, eyes full of despair. “And your sister, Hope. You would have had a little sister.”

“Oh, Daddy.” She fell into his arms then as he wrapped them around her and held her tightly. “How could you have kept this fromme?”

He murmured over the top of her head, “I’m so, so sorry, darling.”

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