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My gut twisted into a painful knot. "Did she tell you why?"
"Why she left her daughters with a man who wasn't even their father?" he asked. "No, she didn't tell me why. I'm so tired," he said, his eyes closing.
"Dad, wake up," I said, my heart jumping. "What do you mean? Mom left us with you. You're our father."
I shook him by the shoulder, but his eyes remained closed, and a snore escaped his parted lips. My blood was racing once more. I looked over at Kade. "Did you hear what he said?"
"I'm not sure," Kade said carefully.
"He said my mom left me and Dani with a man who wasn't even our father. But he is our dad." I pressed my hands to my suddenly throbbing head. "I had to have heard him wrong. He's drunk. He's confused. He's always been my father. Wake up," I shouted.
"He's out, Brynn," Kade said quietly. "You're not going to get anything out of him tonight." He held out his hand to me, and after a small hesitation, I took it. He pulled me into his arms, and I wrapped my arms around his waist. I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart.
"It's going to be okay," Kade said. "You'll get your answers in the morning."
"I don't think it's going to be okay." Lifting my head, I looked into his eyes. "For the first time since I got here, I don't want the answers. I thought I knew everything about my life, but I knew nothing. If he's not really my dad…"
"He might not have meant it the way it sounded. You'll know more tomorrow."
"That's what I'm afraid of," I whispered.
He shook his head as he gazed at me. "I wish I could say it was going to be all right."
"I wish you could, too. But you can't. It's too much, Kade."
"You need to go to bed, Brynn."
"I won't be able to sleep now."
"Then take the violin with you."
I stared back at him, thinking I'd rather take him with me. But he was already letting go of me, adding a chill to my fevered body. He looked at me, then shook his head, his jaw tight. "Go to bed, Brynn. I'll keep an eye on your dad."
I wrapped my arms around my body, feeling cold without his arms around me. Then I walked down the hall and up the stairs. As I laid down on my mother's bed, my mind started to spin once more, and it wasn't just the drug I'd inhaled making me dizzy, it was everything else in my life. Maybe Dani was right. I should have gone home before I'd gotten hurt. But it was too late to go back. I'd gotten hurt, and I had the feeling there was a lot more pain headed my way.
CHAPTERTWENTY
I wokeup Sunday morning with a pounding headache. As I'd predicted, I hadn't slept well, tossing and turning most of the night as my dad's words ran around on a loop in my head. Now it was time to get some answers. It was only eight and the house was quiet, so I took a shower and changed into jeans and a sweater before going downstairs. As always, Kade had made coffee. This morning, he was also making breakfast.
"Morning," he said, as he scrambled eggs. "I decided to use up what your mom had in her fridge."
"You cook. That's impressive."
"Not really. I cook just well enough not to starve."
"Have you seen my father?"
"Checked on him a few minutes ago; he was still asleep."
"Well, I guess that's better than finding out he snuck out in the middle of the night."
"I thought about that," Kade said. "I looked in on him a couple of times, but I didn't think he was in any condition to leave, and he didn't."
"I'm going to see if he's awake." I walked down the hall into the living room. As Kade had said, my dad was asleep and snoring heavily. I returned to the kitchen and sat down at the counter as Kade put a plate in front of me. "He's still out."
"Then you can eat."
"You're very good at feeding me," I said with appreciation.
