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Audrey crosses her arms and spins on her heel to glare at me. “What’s there to say? He’s dying.”
I know it’s not that simple. Losing a parent rarely is. “Are there any treatments he can try or trials he can apply for?”
Audrey draws in a shuddering breath but doesn’t falter. “No. He has late-stage Myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Apparently, it was symptomless for a long time so, by the time they found it, it had already spread.”
“I’m sorry.”
Her shoulders bounce as she tries to give a nonchalant shrug, but I know this woman better than I know anyone and she’s hurting. Anger suffuses me. How can the world be so cruel to some and then let evil bastards get away scot-free?
“That’s life, right?”
“Even so, it sucks. I’ve met your dad a couple of times in the courtroom and found him to be a good, fair man.”
“Thank you.”
Audrey rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, making desire race through me. God, would I ever not want her?
“So, I answered your questions. Are you going to tell me about Tia? Why does nobody know about her?”
Tia is such a delicate subject for me and talking about her isn’t something I do often, my need to protect her is so ingrained in me but Audrey deserves the truth.
“Tia is the reason I get up in the morning. The reason I work my ass off.” I walk toward the coffee machine at the bar in my office and hold a cup up to her in invitation, but she shakes her head. I don’t need the caffeine, but I need a minute to get my words together.
“Where is her mother?”
“She died when Tia was six months old.” The words are matter of fact but the pain of losing my mother still cuts deep, like a wound that never quite heals. My anchor is gone, and I miss her every day.
“So, you’ve been alone with her all this time?”
Leaning against the coffee bar, I regard the woman who has always been the one who got away and nod. “Yep, just the two of us. We have some help, but mostly it’s just me and her.”
“You must really love her.”
Her voice is soft as she speaks but I can hear the hurt in her words and wonder why my loving Tia would hurt her so much. “She is everything to me. I’d gladly sacrifice everything I have for her.” I don’t add that I already had when I left her.
“It can’t be easy.”
I huff a humorless laugh. Everyone assumes a child with Downs is a burden when the truth is she’s my biggest gift in this life. Yet I don’t think Audrey means it that way. “Being a caretaker is never easy, but Tia makes it easier in some ways. She has this goodness about her, this light and joy. She sees the world differently. I just wish the world saw her with the same joy.” Disappointment in the world is a heavy burden sometimes.
I see Audrey frown. “That’s a funny turn of phrase.”
I cock my head in question, not sure what she means. “What is?”
“Caretaker. Surely it would be easier to say ‘father’?”
I push off the console and prowl toward her. Fighting the pull this woman has on me is almost impossible. “Perhaps but I’m not her father, so I don’t wish to confuse the issue.”
Audrey seems to pale before my eyes and I step closer instinctively as she stumbles back, my hand lifting and hesitating just an inch from touching her, not sure if I should but wanting it more than my next breath.
“You’re not?”
I frown confused, unsure why this news seems to affect her so hard.“No, of course not. Tia is my baby sister.”
“She is?”
Sudden realization hits me hard. “Yes. What? Did you think she was my daughter?”
I can’t get my head around why she’d think that. Tia being mine would form the assumption that I’d cheated on Audrey. As if a boulder had landed on my chest, I struggle to breathe. I blink and step back, watching her incredulously, appalled that she’d believe that. “Wait, you think I cheated on you?”
