Page 50 of Eight Years (The Trident Trilogy 1)

“Probably,” Millie said as they pulled into the parking lot at the public beach access. They walked hand-in-hand to the sea wall. For a few minutes, they watched silently as the high tide crashed against the wall.

“Hey, Mills, I want to tell you more about your mom,” Mack said slowly.

“More? You’ve barely told me anything.”

“That was a mistake. I should have.”

“Camille told me that I was the result of a one-night stand,” Millie said, looking up at Mack.

“What did I tell you about what Camille says?”

“It’s mainly bullshit.”

“It’s ALL bullshit,” Mack said. “You weren’t the result of a one-night stand. I worked with your mom. We knew each other for months before. . . Well, before we became intimate.”

“What happened? Why did you stop dating?”

“Mills, we weren’t really dating. I liked her. I respected her. But, we only worked together for a few months. You know how my job works. I’m in and out of places so fast.”

“So, she got pregnant, and you just moved on?” Millie asked, not believing that Mack would do that.

“Of course not, Millie. You know I would have never done that. I didn’t know she was pregnant until after she already had you. She didn’t tell me. I don’t know why. Maybe she tried. You know I’m hard to get ahold of when I’m working. I really don’t know what happened.”

“But, she died when she was having me?”

“Right after, yeah,” Mack said.

“How did you know about me?”

“One of her friends called me after you were born. When I found out about you, and found out she had died, I took leave immediately and went to get you.”

“In New York, right?”

“Yeah, in New York.” Mack still couldn’t bring himself to tell her the entire truth.

“Did her parents know about me? Her brothers and sisters?”

“Her parents died before she did, and she was an only child. That’s one of the reasons I haven’t told you much about her. You don’t have any family on that side,” Mack said.

“You told me her name was Marie. What was her last name?”

“Miller. Marie Miller.” Mack was more prepared with an answer this time. He had already looked in the New York State obituaries. There were hundreds of Marie Millers listed. If Millie ever went searching for clues about her mom, that would at least slow her down for a while.

“Do you have any pictures of her?”

“No, and I wish I did. When I got to New York, you were already in a foster home. I was just concentrated on getting you home. I didn’t even take time to try to find her friends. I didn’t know any of them.”

“Why are you telling me all this now?”

“Because I want you to know that I respected your mom,” Mack said. “I liked her, and if we had had more time together, I might have even loved her. It wasn’t a one-night stand. She was way too precious for that. I’m telling you this now because I want you to know you are way too precious to be disrespected in any way by anyone, especially by men. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. And, you shouldn’t do anything that you’re uncomfortable with.”

“Dad, I haven’t had sex yet. You can take a deep breath,” Millie said, patting Mack’s arm.

Mack took a minute to take that breath. “Was this boy, this Rob kid, trying to force you?”

“Not force. I mean, that’s why I broke up with him because he wanted to have sex, and I didn’t want to but he wasn’t trying to force me.”

“Millie, if a guy ever tries to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, I don’t care how old you are,” Mack said, pausing to let the anger from the mere thought of it subside slightly. “Well, first, you tell me, so I can kill him, and then you break up with him.”

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