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I feel like I’ve been jabbed in the ribs with a hot poker. “He’smyson,” I say angrily. “You haven’t been in his life.”
Victor glares at me. “I didn’t know he existed!”
“And whose fault is that?” I shoot back. “When I turned up pregnant, I looked for you. Turns out you gave me a bogus name and address. I even drove to the University of Georgia, where youclaimedto be a student, and wandered around campus aimlessly, just hoping I’d run into you.”
He bows his head. “I’m sorry. It was a tough time in my life. I was at a bit of a crossroads.”
I laugh bitterly. “Yeah, me too. But I had a baby to think about.”
He steeples his palms together. “So, what now?”
“How about we start with your true identity and go from there? Because I know your name isn’t really Victor Apollo.”
He sighs. “Apollo is the god of healing in Greek mythology. My name is Victor Margolis. And I went to Duke University. Not the University of Georgia.”
“Why’d you lie?”
“My dad was a world-famous surgeon. I wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps. But my dad also had a drinking problem. The year before I met you, he operated on a woman while intoxicated. She died.”
I gasp. “He killed a woman?”
Victor stares out at the ocean. “She would have died anyway. That’s what the official investigation determined. She’d jumped off a bridge into an icy river and was barely clinging to life when she arrived at the hospital. But the family filed a wrongful death suit against my father—and rightfully so. A doctor should never touch a patient while impaired. I ran to Friendly Beach during the trial. I couldn’t bear to be at home.” He turns and his eyes meet mine.Jared’seyes. “I’m sorry I lied. I just felt like I needed to ditch my name for a while.”
I wipe tears from my eyes. “I understand.”
“So, what now?” he asks again.
“I guess that’s up to Jared,” I admit. “If you want to try to build a relationship with him now, I won’t stand in your way. But he’s an adult, so it’s up to him.”
Chapter 13
Bishop
Iwakeinthehospital with a scratchy sheet draped over me and tubes connected to my arms and face. I look around the room and see Tuck in the chair beside my bed reading a fishing magazine.
“Tuck?” My voice is hoarse.
He leans forward. “Hey, man. How are you feeling?”
I think about the question. Despite the uncomfortable sheet and the tubes, I feel kind of awesome. My leg doesn’t hurt at all now—and neither does anything else. “I feel great.”
He laughs. “That’s the drugs talking.”
“When can I leave?”
“They want to keep you for a couple of days for observation. You had a more severe reaction than most people. And according to the nurses, no one reactswellto the sting of a ray.”
“Is Hazel here?”
Tuck shakes his head, making a face. “She and Jared are with Victor,” he says with a sneer. “The nerve of that guy, thinking he can just waltz back into town like he didn’t blow up my sister’s life.”
“He didn’t know about Jared,” I point out before wondering why I’m defending the guy in the first place. He’s theenemy.
“It doesn’t matter,” Tuck insists. “He lied about his identity. Hazel called a little while ago with the scoop. Apparently, he’d given her a false name because he was ashamed of his family. So, she couldn’t track him down when she found out she was pregnant.”
Sadness wells up within me. For Hazel. For Jared. Even forVictor,and I really have no desire to empathize with the man. But he did miss out on all of Jared’s life—and the chance to be with Hazel, too. I can’t even imagine a life without Hazel and Jared in it.
“And what’s with the size of that guy? Being a doctor isn’t a big enough flex, he has to spend every waking hour in the gym?” Tuck complains.
