Page 18 of The Last Dance You Saved
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard the story. But Mom obviously didn’t love Spence too much. She had sex withyou!” I didn’t know which disgusted her more, the thought of us having sex or the perceived betrayal of Spence.
I didn’t really want to be talking sex with my daughter at all. But she was watching it on television, probably reading about it, and for sure she’d had discussions in school about it. The messed-up triangle that was her parentage was likely to be even more confusing these days with all the information being tossed at her and the mixed signals her hormones were sparking.
“We all made mistakes,” I said quietly. “But you were never one of them.”
“Spence didn’t,” she said determinedly.
“Even Spencer,” I said, trying to hold back the hurt that came from knowing just how much she’d idolized my brother.
She shook her head.
“He ended things with your mom and left her heartbroken. It wasn’t until after he found out about us that he admitted it was a mistake and wished he could have taken it back.”
Fallon looked away, picking at the comforter with fingernails painted bright teal. She was a girl. A teenage girl. And I didn’t know what to do with her now. It had been easy when she’d been younger. I could buy her toys and ice cream and go to the movies or take her to a theme park or the beach. We’d made sandcastles and eaten junk food until our stomachs hurt when she was little and learned how to surf together when she was older.
Now, she wanted things I couldn’t give her.
She wanted Spencer back. I gladly would have traded my life for his if I could.
And that thought nearly rendered me speechless. I’d spent so much time pushing thoughts of my brother away that it was hard to accept that simple truth. He should have been the one to survive. Not me.
“Of course you’d say that,” Fallon said. “You’d love to lay the blame at his feet. You hated him.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” I told her.
She ignored my response, saying, “Isn’t that why you made me call him Spence instead of Dad? Because you hated that he was more of a father to me than you ever were?”
The dart she’d intended to land found home.
Had I done it on purpose? Had I used my daughter as a weapon against my brother and her mother? Maybe. I’d been screwed up for a long time. The truth was, I was still screwed up when it came to my family.
“Hating me isn’t going to bring him back,” I said as gently as possible. “But if that helps you, I’m happy to be your punching bag. I’m happy to be whatever you need.”
Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes instantly welled. Her tears hurt me more than the dart she’d landed.
Her throat bobbed before she pulled herself together in a way that made me proud. Her voice was steady when she said, “I already told you what I need. I need to keep the ranch and to prove Spence was murdered.”
My busy schedule had already been screwed up by having to take her home tomorrow. Staying at the ranch for the next week would mess with it more, but I’d do it. I’d do it and settle this for Fallon once and for all. “Fine.”
“What?” she gasped.
“Let me qualify that. We’re not keeping the ranch.” I had to look away when her light dimmed. “But I’ll stay for the week, and I’ll investigate what happened. Me, Fallon. Not you. I’ll share with you what I find out, and if it’s nothing, you have to agree to let this go.”
Her face turned stubborn—a look I knew well because I’d seen it in the mirror my entire life.
“But—”
“This isn’t up for debate. Either we do this my way, and it’s over when I say it’s over, or we don’t do it at all.”
She met my gaze with a brave one. She was so damn strong it floored me. Her chin went up. “I agree. But only because Iknowwhat you’ll find.”
While she was talking, I reached over and grabbed the remote from her lap.
“Now, if I’m going to be forced to watch this crap, you better catch me up on what’s happening and order me something besides crappy pizza.”
She stared for a moment, and then a soft laugh escaped her, quiet and sweet and so like the laugh she’d had as a little girl that it almost brought tears tomyeyes. It wasn’t fair she’d been born into this screwed-up triangle. Wasn’t fair that she’d lost the single best person in her life. And it wasn’t fair I was going to sell the ranch out from under her. But I promised myself I’d find ways to fill the voids these losses had created. I’d turn her life around, even if I had to fight Lauren every inch of the way to make it happen.
Chapter Seven
