Page 205 of Mountain Daddy

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I try to bolster him with the good news, but he still looks like I told him I’m dying.

“Did you go by yourself?”

My shoulders drop.

I did all of it by myself.

Every appointment.

Every follow-up.

Every phone call.

Every medication.

I thought it was what I wanted.

Thought it would be easier to do it alone.

Thought it would be less stressful if I didn’t include anyone else in the trauma.

But sitting here, heart hurting over Dad’s reaction, I realize I was wrong.

I was wrong to keep it from him.

Wrong to keep it from my mom.

I was even wrong to keep it from my boyfriend.

I didn’t love him, and leaving was the right choice, but he deserved the truth.

So does Luther.

Dad rubs his palms over his eyes, and I finally turn my head, meeting Luther’s gaze.

His face is pale.

He’s sitting so still that he looks… haunted.

But he’s watching me.

Hearing every sentence.

Taking in every word.

So I answer the question he should have asked me.

I tell him what he should’ve known.

“I was never sure if I wanted kids. I was only twenty-two, and I wasn’t ready to decide.” I take a second to breathe. And then looking into Luther’s eyes, I give him the rest of the truth. “But it hurt. Having the choice taken away from me hurt. And it wasn’t fair.”

Chapter 125

Luther

My heart feelslike it’s folding in on itself.

Ten years ago, Kendra had cancer.

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