Page 50 of The Life We Left Behind

“You know I was young when I became your mom, right? Well, I was living here and there was a boy I was so in love with, and we were blessed with?—”

“Mom, I know how babies are made.”

“Okay, but let me just pretend that you don’t for a bit?”

He chuckled, shaking his head.

“Where was I? Right, we were blessed with you before we were really ready. And finding out we were going to have a baby when we were that young was kind of scary. We didn’t have any plans yet. We were still in school. I was lucky enough to have Grandpa in my life. He made sure that I had all the support I needed, and even though I was scared, he made sure that I always had someone at my side to help. But your dad didn’t really have that, buddy. His parents aren’t like Grandpa was, and when they found out I was pregnant with you, they didn’t give your dad the support he needed, and they pushed me away. So, I had to leave, and I went to go and live with Aunt Adelaide. I was lucky enough to meet Blake and then you were born. It was hard sometimes, but I think we made a really good life, you and me.”

Cade nodded. He didn’t look as sad as I thought he would, but I could tell he was thinking through the little information I’d given him.

“Why didn’t you stay here?” he finally asked.

“Because your dad’s family has a lot of money and a lot of influence, and they didn’t want me to.” I might be coming clean to him, but I wasn’t about to tell him all the terrible details.

He nodded as he stared out into the night. I waited patiently for any other questions he might have.

“You don’t want to live here because of them, then?”

“I didn’t want us to live here because this town is really small, monkey. And I didn’t want you to have to live a life where they had the chance to make you feel bad about yourself.”

“Because they didn’t want me?”

“I honestly don’t know what they were thinking, monkey. What I can tell you is that I wanted you so much. I would have fought through anything to have you with me. And now that I’ve got you, I’m never letting you go, kid.”

He smiled sadly. If there was one thing I knew, it was that Cade would never doubt how much I loved him. I made sure to prove it to him at every available opportunity.

“Booker really isn’t my dad, then?”

“No. He’s your uncle. And I know he would really like a chance to get to know you if that’s something you’d want to do.”

Cade thought about it, and then he nodded. “Am I going to see my dad at Grandpa’s funeral?”

“I don’t know, monkey. I need to talk to him. If he wants to, would you like the opportunity to talk to him too?”

Cade shrugged, and I decided not to push him. I couldn’t blame him for needing time to think about what he’d learned.

“I think I’m going to go to bed,” he finally said.

“Okay, honey. Do you want me to come and tuck you in?”

“No, it’s fine.” He walked back into the house without even looking back, and my heart cracked.

“I should tell them all to stay away from the funeral,” I decided. “Tell them to leave us to grieve in peace without having to face their drama.”

“You could,” Blake said as she leaned back against the porch railing. “Or you could keep them at a distance. It sounds likeBooker would want to help you through it. Maybe he can act as a buffer for you.”

I sighed, sagging back onto the porch swing. I needed to talk to Booker. Probably explain everything that happened rather than losing my temper and storming out. If he wanted to be part of Cade’s life, then I’d let him. It seemed like he’d been completely kept in the dark about everything. He’d looked genuinely hurt. Had Trace been that ashamed of me that he hadn’t even told his brothers?

“I hate him,” I whispered to Blake. “I hate that, for even a second, he made my son doubt himself.”

Blake came back to sit on the swing and wrapped me in a hug. “No, you don’t. And I think that’s probably the problem.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

DELANEY

I’d felt off since I saw Trace leave yesterday. Having to explain to Cade what had happened was difficult enough. I guess I’d thought I’d have more time, even though it was inevitable now that we’d come back to Willowbrook. I really should have done it years ago. I was just as bad as Trace for not letting Cade know about his father once he was old enough to understand.

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