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Kate did a double take. It was impossible to imagine her dad scared of anything. “Dad? Terrified ofwhat?”
“Of being wrong, taking a chance with something that reallymattered.”
“But… he took chances all the time. WMG was one giant chance,” Katesaid.
Her mom waved away the statement. “That was just money. Your dad never cared about money.” Kate couldn’t argue the point. Even with her limited knowledge about what went on inside her dad’s head, she’d always known WMG was never about that. “He was scared of the big stuff, the irreplaceablestuff.”
“Like what?” Kateasked.
“Like giving too much, getting hurt.” Her mom met her gaze. “Soundfamiliar?”
Kate tore at the grass. “So you’re saying it’sDNA.”
“I have no idea, but I know your dad held himself apart from me for a long time. It’s not an excuse. I cheated, and I had to live with that. But putting distance between us didn’t stop him from getting hurt in the endanyway.”
“Was Dad different… after? Was it easier for him to let you in then?” Kate almost didn’t want to hear the answer. If it wasn’t and he never changed, that meant there wasn’t much hope for her. And if it was… well, Kate didn’t want to believe it would take something as catastrophic as an affair to get her to fully surrender to her feelings forDeclan.
“Your dad was who he was until the day he died,” her mom said. “But I loved him. We worked together — he tried to open up, I tried to accept him the way he was, to let it be enough.” Her mom set the half empty glass of iced tea down on the grass and pulled on her gardening gloves. “Anyway, I appreciate the apology, but I forgave myself for my mistakes a long time ago, Katie. I hope you cantoo.”
