Page 64 of The Life We Left Behind

“Gage started shouting at me, and we got into a fight. My dad had to come in and break us up. Gage told my dad everything, and I denied it. I told them that it wasn’t true, but they wouldn’tbelieve me. My mom took Chelsea away, and before I knew it, I was being packed in the car to ‘go away for a while so they could sort it all out.’ I thought I’d done something wrong, and I was so ashamed that my own family thought so little of me that they’d immediately believe something like that. They sent me to some ski resort that Xander was at for the weekend with his friends, and it wasn’t until I got there that I realized I didn’t have my phone. I told him everything, and I was so relieved to have someone believe me. He didn’t have your number, but he sent Gage a message asking him to get you to call him, but you never did.”

Delaney looked so broken as she quietly listened to my story. But not once did she push me away, and I had to take that as a good sign.

“It gets worse, doesn’t it?” she whispered, and I nodded sadly.

“When I got back, Chelsea was at the house. She told me how sorry she was, that she didn’t mean to. She said she was embarrassed that Gage had walked in and seen, and then it all got out of control. Then she gave me your letter.”

“I never wrote you a letter,” she told me quietly.

“I didn’t know that then. It basically said that Chelsea had told you everything, but you didn’t know if she was telling the truth or just trying to protect me. There was some other stuff, and then it said that you were moving away, that you were fed up with living in a small town, and this was your chance to be free and start a better life somewhere else. I ran to my room to grab my phone, and I called you. I thought if you just heard the truth from me, you’d understand, but you never answered any of my calls or responded to any of my messages. Eventually, I just accepted that you didn’t want me in your life anymore.”

Delaney burrowed her face in my chest, her arms holding onto me as tightly as she could. “I’m so sorry, Trace. I never gotany calls or messages from you. I would have answered them if I did.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s not either of our fault.”

I didn’t know how long we sat like that. Holding each other, grieving the life that had been stolen from us. My mind was spinning with what to do next. How to make this up to the beautiful woman in my arms. But then the lies and the depth of the deception started to sink in. The lengths they’d gone to so they could manipulate us both.

“I can’t believe she did this,” I exploded, sucking in a deep breath through my nose, trying to calm myself down. This wasn’t the time for my anger. I had so many other things to do first. “Chelsea, she…but my mother? She’s always trying to control everything. But this? This is too much even for her. How could she think…”

I realized I was crushing Delaney against me, and she endured it wordlessly as I slowly loosened my arms, trying to reel my anger back under control.

I had other things that were more important than my family.

My son.

“Can I…can I meet him?” My voice cracked as I spoke.

I needed to get my emotions under control. Swinging from one side of the spectrum to the other was giving me a blinding headache, but I couldn’t stop it. Whenever I thought of my son, all I could concentrate on was what they’d done to us, and the anger flowed back inside.

“Of course you can. I never kept you away from him on purpose, Trace. What are we going to do about your family, though? They’re not going to be happy when they realize I’m here with Cade. I don’t think she really has any power over me anymore, but…”

I felt the growl of frustration inside me. I didn’t want Delaney to have to worry about my parents on top of everything else shehad going on. Fucking hell, the funeral! How did my family keep consistently making her life more difficult? This was already too much for one person to deal with.

“They’re not going to do anything,” I reassured her. “I’m going to make sure of it.”

I was so ready for this argument. It had been brewing between us for years, and it was about time I put my mother firmly in the past where she belonged. I was done. If that meant leaving Willowbrook, I’d do it. I had my own family now, if they could forgive me enough to let me have a chance with them.

I looked down at Delaney to find her gazing up at me. Her tears had finally stopped, and I could see the fierce determination on her face that only a mother could have. Well—any mother but mine.

“Do what you need to do,” she said. “I need to talk to Cade and tell him the truth, but we’ll be at the farm waiting for when you’re ready.”

Dread filled me fast and strong. “Does he know what happened?”

My kid was going to hate me before I even had a chance to know him. How did you come back from that?

“He knows some of it. But I promise you, I never spoke badly of you to him. Until yesterday, well, we never really spoke about you at all. He asked me yesterday, and I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer because everyone would be at the funeral. He doesn’t hate you,” she added quietly, almost like she could read my mind.

We both finished dressing in silence. I tried not to let the anger brew inside me. I tried to keep the rage contained. It didn’t belong here. It didn’t belong in a place where it could pollute the only good thing I’d ever had in my life.

And as we headed for the office door, it fled me because I quickly pulled Delaney back into my arms and kissed her like the precious gift she was, whispering, “I have a son.”

The front door to my childhood home flew open and crashed against the wall as I stormed into the foyer.

“Mother!” I screamed, pacing the cold tiled floors as I waited for her to appear.

Of course, she’d be here. There was nowhere else she’d be on a Wednesday evening.

My fists balled at my sides as I tried to control myself. The urge to start smashing everything in the house and what it represented was nearly irresistible.

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