Page 25 of Truths

“Mom was right. God, those three words have never come out of my mouth before, and they taste like acid.”

Rubbing her back, Lex gives her a sad look. “Not anything like you imagined, huh?”

“Worse than I imagined. I didn't exactly have fairytale ending expectations. He's a criminal, and I looked up his record. So, not high expectations at all. In fact, I don't think the bar could have been lower before meeting him. But he was worse than I thought. And hehatesmy mom. Not that I can blame him, but damn.”

“Did you tell him who you were?”

“No!” she shouts. “I'll never tell him who I am. Not after who I met. I don't want to know him any more than that, either. Atleast I'm not attached to that taco place. I refuse to go back there until he inevitably gets fired or locked back up in prison.”

Taking the third bowl of ice cream Sutton assumes was purchased for her, she takes a slow bite, letting the strawberry sweetness calm her a bit.

“What's really going on?” Lex asks. “You wouldn't be this upset just from meeting a man you already assumed was a lowlife.”

“That's who I come from,” Sutton says. “That's what's wrong. I mean, I always thought Cannon was my dad. My last name is Cannon, but Ryan Hennessey's my father. That's who I share DNA with?”

“It's not all about DNA,” Hannah says. “And Cannon still loves you like he always has. None of this changes anything.”

“You don't know that.”

Lex laughs. “The hell we don't. Besides, just because you come from someone like that doesn't mean you're going to be like him. Nurture versus nature and all that.”

“Oh, like if Ted Bundy had a kid, they wouldn't be a serial killer?”

“Pretty sure his daughter hasn't killed anyone. I think that would have been national news.”

Letting out a sigh, Sutton leans back in the chair. “Is it selfish of me to want Cannon to be my dad still?”

“No!” Hannah exclaims. “He is still your dad, kid.”

“But it feels selfish.”

“That's because you're a good person. A terrible person would feel giddy and take advantage of both of them.”

She lifts an eyebrow. “What the hell would I be able to get from Ryan?”

Lex shrugs and takes a bite of her salted caramel ice cream. “He'd probably steal something for you. Something big. Hey, do you think he could get us an exotic car? I've always wanted to drive one.”

“Shut up,” Sutton says and pushes her slightly. “He's more of a Toyota Corolla stealing guy. Or home stereo systems.”

“Doesn't he know we're going old school again? No one needs stereo systems. We're going back to vinyl.”

Sutton feels a little better about meeting Ryan now, but it still bothers her to know this is the man who conceived her. She shares DNA with a criminal. Yeah, she thought she was related to a motorcycle club member, but this is different. So different. In her mind, at least. Maybe it's not all that different, after all.

Chapter Ten

Summerville

Cannon

Sitting in the clubhouse, Cannon debates whether or not he should call Sutton. Not talking to her feels anything but natural, and as much as he wants to respect her wish to give her space, he's going crazy. He wants to talk to her more than anything. To talk about how they both feel betrayed and hurt by her mother, but he also wants to let her know nothing changed for him. This means nothing as far as he's concerned. If anything, he wants to forget all about it.

If he's honest, he wants to know if learning Ryan Hennessey, an asshole he's never liked, is her father changes things for Sutton. His biggest worry is that the past twenty-three years don't mean that much now that she has a different father. Thathe's lost his buddy to this lowlife who will use and hurt her to get whatever it is he wants. Who won't love her like a daughter like Cannon does but will exploit her vulnerability at learning the truth about her DNA.

The door opens, and he turns to see Sutton walking inside for the first time since she stormed in, accusing him of lying to her. From the redness of her eyes, he knows she's been crying.

“Hey, sweetheart. Everything okay?” he asks, suddenly concerned.

“Hey, Da-” she stops herself. “Hey.”

---