Page 100 of The Life We Left Behind

“What? Oh, no, he’s fine. I think we both knew it was a long shot. He’s happy that it means you and Cade are staying in town. It’s just that…he wants to meet Cade.”

She stiffened against me, and I knew exactly where her mind had gone.

“He assures me that my mother won’t be there, and I haven’t agreed to anything. If you say no, then it’s an absolute no. He knows how hard this whole thing is for us, and he’s agreed that he’ll keep his distance for as long as we need him to.”

The relationship I had with my father was going to be difficult. He was just as much a victim of this whole thing as I was. There was no doubt in my mind that he hadn’t known what she’d done. I’d never seen him so angry with her. In fact, I’d never seen him so conflicted about what to do next. Part of me thought this might be it. This could be the thing that finally made him divorce her. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up. Regina was a pro at manipulation, and she wouldn’t walk away from this life easily.

Delaney sighed, and I stayed silent while she thought about what she wanted to do. I wouldn’t pressure her. This had to be one hundred percent her decision. If she wanted to wait, if shesaid it was never going to happen, then that was how it would be. I’d support her fully in whatever decision she made.

“Maybe lunch?” she eventually said nervously.

It was more than I thought she’d be willing to do. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Cade deserves to know his family, and your father has a right to meet his grandson.”

“Okay, if you’re sure you’re comfortable doing this, then I’ll let him know. But if you change your mind, if you need more time, that’s okay. You just need to say.”

Delaney nodded and snuggled in against me. I reached around her, pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, and tucked it around us.

This had been a hell of a day for her, and I wasn’t surprised she was done with the whole thing. I pretty much was as well. But it finally felt like we were moving forward. That everything was out in the open, and now we had a chance to find a way to heal. A way to live the life we wanted. To be a family.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

DELANEY

After the night of telling Trace the truth of my father’s involvement in this whole mess, everything fell into a normalcy that felt too good to be true. The entire week, I’d been deliriously happy and simultaneously waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was starting to worry I was at risk of giving myself an ulcer.

Cade was over the moon to have Trace coming to live with us. He was all signed up to start school after the break, and he and Trace had fallen into a routine of throwing around the baseball after dinner to get ready for tryouts. It was the end of the season, and he’d probably be on the bench for the last couple of games, but Cade didn’t mind. I think he just liked going to practice more than anything.

I sat down at the sticky table in Dylan’s Place as Blake slid into the booth beside me. This was one place in Willowbrook I’d never been able to come before I left. But now that I was here, I could see why the bar was as popular as it was.

“Emma texted me. She should be here in about ten minutes.”

Blake nodded before taking a drink from her beer.

“Blake?” She looked at me over the top of her bottle, her eyebrows raising in question. “You know you don’t have to avoid the house now that Trace is there, right?”

This had been bothering me for days. I saw her less and less, and I was worried that she was starting to regret saying she’d move to Willowbrook, especially considering that everything was changing so quickly since we’d gotten here.

“What? Yeah, I know that. Is that what you’ve been thinking? Lanes, you know you’re stuck with me forever.” She shoved me playfully, and I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been busy. And well, now’s probably a good time to tell you that I’m moving out of the house.”

“What? No! You don’t have to do that. There’s more than enough room for you, and if we’re making you feel?—”

“Oh, will you stop panicking, woman?Iwant a bit more space so I can set up and paint. Plus, you know me. I like to wander around in my underwear and paint until stupid o’clock in the morning. It’s time, Lanes. I’ve walked this entire town three times over, and now I want to put it on canvas.”

I could see the dreamy look in her eyes that she got when she was inspired, and I was happy for her. It was only then that I realized how long it had been since I’d seen it.

“Are you sure? You know we have plenty of outbuildings for you to be able to set up a studio at the farm, right? You could have an entire barn to throw paint around if you wanted to.”

That had her back straightening in excitement, and I smiled, loving to see her excited about her work again.

“That does sound pretty good. And I’m definitely taking you up on that one day soon. But for now, I need to be in a space where I can shut the door and breath the paints and just live with my muse for a bit.”

“You know breathing the paints is bad for you, right?” I joked. “Now I know why you’ve always seemed not quite right in the head. It’s the fumes you’ve been huffing.”

“Of course, it’s the fumes, but at least they stop me from being boring.” Blake waved a hand like it was nothing to worry about, and it had my mom-brain switching on and starting to panic.

“Who’s boring?” Emma asked as she slipped into the other side of the booth with a beer in her hand.

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