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The guy staggers back, his mouth falling open. “You have cancer?”
“I’m just about to finish my second round of chemo.”
“Cancer,” he shakes his head. “That’s not possible. That…”
“Well, it’s true. I have cancer.”
“No, no, no. You’re lying.”
“Do you even hear yourself?” Nixon asks. “Why would she lie about something like that?”
Mr. Cole turns to Nixon and points his finger at him. “Because of you! You want to punish me. For walking away. For leaving.”
“Nobody’s lying to you. I have cancer.” Jade shakes her head. “Go away, Dad. Just go.”
He stares at her for a while before his gaze darts to Nixon. For a moment, I think he might change his mind. For a moment, I think he might stay. But without another word, he turns around and walks away.
“Fucking coward,” Nixon yells after him, but thankfully Yasmin’s holding onto him, preventing him from going after his dad.
If I want to go and punch some sense into him, I can only imagine how Nixon’s feeling.
But the reality is, he doesn’t matter.
I walk around Jade, my hands cupping her cheeks as I lift her face to me. Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears.
“Are you okay?”
She forces out a smile. “I’m fine.”
Pressing her mouth against my palm, she takes a step back. I let my hands fall as I watch her go to Nixon, her hand slipping around his waist. They whisper for a moment, and then I hear Jade say: “Let’s go home.”
He nods his head, his mouth brushing against the top of her head. We all huddle into the car, Jade slips into the back seat next to me. Her hand meets mine in the middle, her fingers intertwining with mine as we quietly drive home, only stopping at the supermarket so they can stock up.
We’re just pulling into the driveway when Maddox calls, letting us know they’ve arrived a bit early. And sure enough, his Tesla is there, along with the familiar black Escalade.
Yasmin and Nixon exit the car, but Jade doesn’t move a muscle, just gazes out the windshield as Yasmin goes straight for Edie, pulling her out of Maddox’s arms and into hers.
“You okay?” I whisper, giving her hand a squeeze.
I know what happened earlier must have upset her. To know your parent is out there, but he keeps walking out on you when you need him the most?
“I’m fine. It’s not like I expected anything better from him.”
“Jade, he’s your father—”
“He left me, Prescott.” She turns to me, those blue eyes blazing with anger. “He left Mom and me to deal with her cancer all alone. He only came back when it suited him, and even then, the moment things got tough, he walked away. Because that’s what he does, he walks away. Besides, I don’t need him.”
“It’s clear that seeing you like this was a shock for him.” I’m not sure why I’m insisting on this so much, but something about it doesn’t sit right with me. “You never know, maybe he…”
“He won’t come. I don’t want him to come. I meant what I said. I don’t want him in my life. We might share DNA, but it takes more than blood to make a family. These people here?” She points out the window. “Despite everything that I did, all the lies and secrets I kept, they’re still here. They are my family. I don’t need Kevin Cole to be whole, Prescott.” She looks out the window, a smile forming on her lips. “They’re my family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
* * *
JADE
“So, Prescott is here,” Grace says quietly as she sits next to me and hands me a cup of hot chocolate.
I look toward the table where all the boys sit and play poker. Prescott’s brows are pulled together in a scowl as he glowers at his cards.
