Page 117 of Truly Forever

Her defeated shrug kills me. “He has reason. I set him up for failure. I get that now.”

“You’ve given him everything, Hollie. A home. Love. All the things a kid needs most.”

She makes a scoffing sound. “I didn’t give him two parents. A father. I cheated him of that.”

“You did what you thought best.” She won’t convince me otherwise.

She swings around. “Well, I was young and foolish once, too, John, refusing to listen to wisdom. So now, here I am. And hereheis, paying the price!”

Okay, I confess I’m confused and no longer certain where her story is going.

“I shouldn’t have kept him.” Taut, as if the slightest movement or touch would make her bust, she stares into the night, no longer huddled and cowering, but angry and bold. “Everyone told me. My parents pleaded. But I thought I knew so much. I had to have my way. I worried aboutmyneeds.” She turns on me. “But what about Jacob and what he needed? I wouldn’t listen!”

“Hollie…”

She curls in her shoulder at my touch. “If I’d given him up for adoption, he wouldn’t be where he is now. He’d have a father, arealfather, who could walk him through what, yes, he eventually would have had to face, but he would have had a foundation to draw from.”

My hand dangles from the headrest as she rolls on.

“Instead, all he’s got is a messed-up mother who could have changed the cards he was dealt. He’s nearly eighteen, and he could have been findingmenow instead of…of…” Her fingers crimp on her thighs.

I brace, the knowing back.

“Instead of going in search of a father…and discovering the man he’s genetically connected to is a serial rapist!”

∞∞∞

Being right isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Once the words tumble out, she falls into my arms, arms I wish could magically transmit every ounce of comfort, support, and love I feel. Her face burrows into my chest. She bunches my tired dress shirt into her fists.

I sweep circles with my palm. Try to be a fortress.

Inside, I’m fire and ice. The ugly parts of me blaze to life in need of scorching revenge.

The softer things run like tears down the walls of my heart.

I want to be her rock. Even Jacob’s distress calls to me.Thisis the information Hollie believes he’s learned? No wonder the kid ran. He was out of line with his mother, but the raw and rancid emotion makes sense now.

She retreats, and the rush of air chills me. I look down. My shirt is soaked.

She tucks her hands beneath her thighs. “I was fifteen. My parents were gone for the weekend—”

“Stop. You don’t have to tell me.”

She tilts her head, bestowing a thorough appraisal. “You’ve been after me all night to pour my heart out—now, suddenly you don’t want to hear anything?”

No.I strongly question my ability to digest her story. “That isn’t what I said.”

Her eyes latch onto me, calling on me to man up, as I ordered Jacob not too long ago.

Cocooning her icy hand in mine, I look into her eyes. “Tell me. Don’t tell me. But I’m here, Hollie. The decision is yours.”

Mentally, I shore up my defenses. I’ve heard things in my life and witnessed more than most. This is different. Hollie at the center of atrocities? I don’t know if I can handle that.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep this short.”

There’s an edge to her voice that makes me suddenly feel like the enemy.

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