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“What does my brother have to do with getting Billy Brenton here?” she asked, playfully punching Zeke in the shoulder.
An awkward silence ensued as she noticed Sam for the first time. “Who’s this?” she asked politely. Allie had been seven at the time of Mom’s accident. Too young, maybe, to have kept a lasting impression of their father in her mind.
Sam began mumbling something about being an old family “friend.” Allie looked confused, but she seemed to be buying it.
This wasn’t how Zeke had pictured this. He’d wanted to sit his sister down. To explain everything to her in a calm and logical way. But that was impossible now. If he let Sam pretend he was some random old acquaintance, she’d really never forgive him.
“You can cut the crap,” Zeke said to Sam.
Allie’s eyes widened. Tom snapped his head around to look at him. And Mimi. God bless her. She just kept holding his hand. He held onto it like a drowning man hung to a life saver.
“Allie, this is Sam Grant,” Zeke said, because he couldn’t introduce the guy as “Dad.” He didn’t deserve it.
“Sam…” Allie shook her head, confused. “But…that’s Dad’s name.”
Tom caught Zeke’s eyes, then put his arm around Allie. “Baby, let’s go somewhere where it’s quiet.”
“I don’t understand,” Allie said to Zeke. “Is this…is this our father?” She turned to Sam. “Are you…”
“Hello, Allison,” Sam said. His blue eyes were shiny with tears. It was a good act. Zeke would give him credit for that.
“What are you doing here? How on earth… Oh my God! Daddy!” She flung herself into the bastard’s arms. Sam cried openly, hugging Allie back. People began to stop, like they were watching one of those bad daytime talk show reunions.
Zeke had never wanted to hit someone more in his life. He wanted to smash Sam’s face in. The anger all came crashing back. How could Allie stand to touch him? It was like the past twenty-four years had never happened.
“I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I’m so sorry, Allie-gator.”
“Don’t call her that,” Zeke warned. It was the pet name Sam had affectionately used when she was a child. But Allie wasn’t a kid anymore and Sam Grant had lost the privilege to call her that a long time ago.
Allie swiped a tear from her cheek. “Zeke, I know this must be a shock to you, too, but…can’t we just listen to what he has to say?”
“I already know what he has to say,” Zeke said. He gently took his sister by the elbow to lead her away, but she pulled away from his grasp.
“What do you mean, you already know?” Hurt mingled with suspicion shone in her eyes. He wished he’d listened to Mimi. That he could take back the last few months. But he couldn’t. All he could do was try to make this right.
“Sam’s been living in Pensacola for the past twenty-four years. He’s a drunk, Allie. He’s been arrested for DUI and…he’s got another kid out there. Hell, maybe he’s got a dozen. I don’t know. But he’s been arrested for failure to pay child support. So you see? He hasn’t changed at all. He doesn’t have some sad story to explain why he left us. Why he left you and me and Buela when we needed him most. He’s a selfish prick who doesn’t care about anyone except himself.”
Allie whipped around to confront Sam. “You’ve been in Pensacola this whole time? This whole time when I thought…you have more children? Is it true? Is what Zeke says true?”
Sam hung his head. “Every word of it. Your brother’s right. I’m a selfish drunk who doesn’t deserve to even be speaking to you right now. But…you need to know, Allison, I never stopped thinking about you or Zeke. I was weak. I’m still weak. But I never meant to hurt you on purpose.”
“So I have a sister? Or another brother?” Her voice cracked. It flowed through Zeke’s gut like acid.
“You have a half-brother, Jeremy. He’s sixteen and a junior in high school. His mother and I were separated, but we recently got back together again. I…messed it up bad with them. But I’m trying to make it up to them now, just like I’d like to make it up to you and your brother.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a little too late for that,” Zeke said. “I don’t need a daddy anymore and neither does Allie.” He put his hand out to his sister. “C’mon, we’ve listened to him. Let’s go.”
Allie blinked at him. “Go? Go where? Zeke, he’s our father! The only flesh and blood we have left besides each other. Wait. How did he end up here? Why don’t you seem as shocked as I am to see him?”
He could lie to her. Sam wouldn’t rat him out, not when he was trying to get in his good graces, but Zeke didn’t want to hide anything from his sister or anyone else anymore.
He glanced around the spellbound crowd. Good to know the Grant family drama was giving someone a few cheap thrills.
He lowered his voice. “I’ve known where Sam’s been for eighteen years. I didn’t know about the kid, not until the other day. He wrote me a while back and he’s been calling. Trying to get me to see him.”
Allie’s face went white. “Why didn’t you tell me all this before? Zeke, I tried to ask you about Dad just a couple of months ago and you lied to me. Right to my face!”
Once again, he tried to steer Allie away. “C’mon, honey, let’s go talk somewhere else.”
