AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I'm about to be a father.”
“Come again?” my dad countered with a big smile. “I didn't even know you had a girlfriend.”
“Well, uh, I didn't. There's no easy way to put this, but I met a woman four months ago. She's pregnant.”
My dad chuckled, the sound low and raspy. “Well, well. It sounds like that was a good night.”
“Seriously, Dad?” I countered with a groan.
He rolled his eyes. “Do you know her well?”
“No, not really,” I said honestly. “But she found me when she realized she was pregnant.”
“I take it she's planning on keeping the baby.”
“Yep. That's why she came to find me.”
“Congratulations. How do you feel about it?”
I took a swallow of beer, conducting a mental scan of my body, heart, and soul. “Well, I think I'm all right. I'm still dealing with the shock of it, but I'm ready.”
“Do you like her?”
“I do. Her brother is the police chief in Diamond Creek.”
“Ah. Well, you might as well get the scoop on him from Rex,” my dad said matter-of-factly.
I shook my head slowly as I laughed. “Figured you'd say that.”
“Nothing wrong with doing a little reconnaissance. She's about to be the mother of your son.”
“I know, but I trust her, Dad. My gut has a good feeling,” I insisted.
“You know, son, gut feelings aren't always right.”
Given the news bomb my family had absorbed recently, that was a practical point.
“Tell me seriously, Dad. You have always been very circumspect about Mom, and I respect that you never wanted to bash her even though we didn't have a good relationship. Tell me the truth. We obviously all know now that she was pregnant with Jacob Cannon’s baby when you married her.”
My dad took a deep breath. “Son, it doesn't matter all that much.”
“It does to me,” I pressed, my voice low. I just want to understand why you married her.”
“Because I wanted to be your father. My gut feeling wasn't wrong about your mom. She was like a flame that burned fast. She was impossible to look away from.”
“I know.”
“And when she came to me and told me she was pregnant, the timeline was vague. There was a seed of doubt in the corner of my mind that maybe I wasn't the only guy she’d been with. But I was stable. I'm kind of a boring guy.”
“Dad, you're not boring,” I insisted.
“You know what I mean. I don't party. My adrenaline comes from being outdoors, but that's about it. I was born and raised here. I was financially stable, and I already owned my own home. I knew I could be a good father, and I wanted children, so I chose to believe her. Then we had your sister. I had a family, and I loved you both so much. In a way, I loved your mother. She was not a perfect person, but none of us are.”
“Dad, Mom was something different than not perfect. She was toxic.”
My father took a deep breath, letting it out before taking a swallow from his beer. “I recognize that’s how you feel, and I wish things had been different. She was a wounded person, and she hurt other people as she went through life, including you and your sister.”
My throat ached. That splinter lodged in my heart stung.
