Page 124 of Sugarloaf Ridge Lies

“She has dementia. Some days are good, some bad. I went to see her and tell her about us, the baby. She was fine for the first few minutes and then smashed a vase of flowers and hunted me out.” I release a heavy sigh. “I hate seeing her like that. When she looks at me like she doesn’t know me from Adam.”

“I’m so sorry. That must be so hard.” She tilts her head. “How was she today?”

I chuckle at the memory of her offer to ‘off’ the man who impregnated Liv. “Back to her old self. She’s thrilled. I can’t believe she’s gonna be a great grandma.”

“That’s lovely. I’d love to meet her sometime.”

“Yeah, I want that, too, we just need to pick our days.”

Liv nods and places her cutlery down on her plate. “I understand. Whenever it happens, I’m excited to meet her. I know she’s important to you.”

“Yeah. She is.” I wink and take our dishes to the sink.

Liv moans and rubs her belly. “That was delicious, thank you.”

“Anytime.” I stride over to the table and offer my hand. “Let’s go back to the fire. There’s somethin’ I have to tell you.”

“Okay.” She takes my hand, and I lead her to the lounge room.

My throat grows dry as we settle on the floor.This is it.

Liv eyes me expectantly.

“Okay, so you have to promise me you can’t share it with anyone.”

Liv nods and grips my hand tight. “You have my word. Whatever it is.”

The beating of my heart grows loud in my ears. I swore to my family to keep this close to my chest, but for the first time, it feels right to share it. “I’m adopted.”

She nods, her expression remaining sombre. “Okay.”Clearly, she isn’t fazed by it.

“I was abandoned at birth. My mother left on the steps of the Sugarloaf Bakery and disappeared. The McAllister’s took me in.”

Her mouth falls open. “Oh, I didn’t know.”

“That’s just it. No one knows. It’s been a secret this town’s kept my whole life. I don’t think Mick and Penny ever intended to tell me about my real family. It was only that they were pushed into it.”

“When did you find out?”

“A man claiming to be my real dad tried to abduct me from the schoolyard when I was ten.”

Her hand rushes to her mouth. “Oh, my God. That’s terrible.”

That’s not the half of it.

I can’t tell her about the shooting, how the man who claimed to be my father came to Banridge hell-bent on taking me away. How he shot Mick in cold blood, left him dying in a paddock, and terrorized my Aunt Aggie. As hard as finding out the truth was to digest, I’m glad Penny shot him. Knowing what he did to my mother, how he treated her, and ultimately what might’ve become of her, I wish I knew where his bones were buried so I could spit on them.

“After that, my parents had some explaining to do. That’s when I found out I was adopted. It really messed me up, and I changed. Withdrew. Acted out.” Rarely a day goes by that I don’t think about Skylah and what positionheput her in that she felt the best decision was to leave me behind.

She shakes her head and sighs. “I-I can’t even imagine.”

I swallow. “It was like my whole life was a lie. The people closest to you have blatantly lied to your face, every second of every day of your existence. Finn didn’t have a clue. He found out when I did. And we were sworn to keep it a secret. For life. At the time, I guess I understood why Mick and Penny demanded that. I guess they didn’t want me to be targeted. To be labelled as unwanted. The secret of the mysterious Bakery boy has always lurked in our community, few people knowing the truth. Every few years on the anniversary of that day, journalists would poke around, trying to get the scoop.”

“Why are you telling me this, Jerry?”

I run my finger down the side of her cheek. “Because I trust you. Because for once in my life I wanna share that part of me with someone, however dark it might be. And maybe that might help you understand why I’m as screwed up as I am.”

“Don’t say that. That’s something pretty serious to deal with.”

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