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“Who.Was. It?”
Dad sighs, and I hear the telltale sign of a beer can being opened, a sound I have memorized from before he left Mom and me.
“Greg told me everything. Well, at first he said Lucy was his girlfriend, but he’s since cleared that up.”
Fuck! Standing up, I pace my living room, running a hand through my already mussed hair. “Okay, then what’s the money for?” I don’t care what he has or hasn’t told my father. I just need him to answeronequestion.
Dad’s voice rises. “So he can provide for his child! What do you think it’s for?”
“So he’s not going to file for custody?”
“What?” Dad huffs out a laugh and takes a sip. “You really think so low of him, don’t you. He’s trying to do the right thing for a child he had no clue about, and co-parent with a woman who’s dating his brother.”He’s not my brother.“It’s not easy, but he’s trying.”
My entire body deflates.God, I hope he’s right.
“Sorry. They just both mean so much to me.”
He lets out a long sigh, and when he speaks, I can hear the smile coming through in his voice. “I can’t wait to meet her. I’m a grandfather, Wes.”
“You’re going to love her. I just wish it wasmethat was introducing you.”
The thought that it’s not breaks my heart and my world stops. I wish Katie wasmine. Actually, no. I don’t wish that at all. Deep down, it already feels like she is. My mind whirs as I think about Katie and the need to protect her.
“It’s a complicated situation, that’s for sure,” my father says, interrupting my thoughts. “But I promise, he wants to do right by both of them. Right now, he’s taking Katie to the beach.”
What? The hairs on the back of my neck spike as my body covers in goose bumps.
“She said she’s not doing swimming lessons anymore, so Greg’s going to start teaching her.”
What?!
“Where are they?”
“Huh?”
“Where. Are. They?”
Dad huffs. “Fuck, I don’t know. The beach near his house?”
“Send me his address and phone number. Now, Dad. I need to go.”
“Ah Wes—”
“Please,Dad,” I beg, my heart racing as I wait for him to answer.
“Okay.”Thank God.
I don’t know why I’m so worried, but the tightness in my chest tells me I need to run, because if something happens and I didn’t go, I’ll never forgive myself.
Greg’s phone goes to voicemail with every attempt I make, and Lucy’s phone does the same, though as I dial hers, I’m not sure what to say.
It’s been a week since the party at Dylan’s, and she’s already letting Katie and Greg have time alone. I guarantee she’s trying to make up for what I did, and it sickens me to think this is all my fault.
I drive through the streets in a panic, but thankfully there’s only one small stretch of beach close to Greg’s house, and it’s fairly easy to find.
Parking my truck diagonally across two spots, I leap from the open door and take off in a run toward the water, my heart thundering in my chest. I hope I’m wrong. That this physical reaction I’m having iswrong, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is going to happen.
When I get to the shoreline and scan the water, there’s no sign of Katie or Greg. Running a hand down my face, I blow out a deep breath before dropping to the ground with the weight of the tension I’m holding becoming too much.
