“Really?”
He smiled. “God, she was beautiful. And those good Christian folks in Sunville treated her like trash. ”
“She said she never fit in. ”
“Who the hell would want to? That town was a case of pinkeye on God’s eyeball. But it hurt her, you know. She was so scared of ending up like her mom. Kay would have done anything to belong somewhere. ”
“You mean, like marry you?”
Julian didn’t smile this time. “Or you. I can see why she came to this town. She probably needed someone like you, after … me. ”
Liam couldn’t stop the question; it burned on his tongue, left a bitter taste. “What happened between you two?”
Julian sighed. “You know how it is. We were in love … and then we weren’t. Hell, I was twenty-three years old. I didn’t know who I wanted to be, but I knew it wasn’t Mr. Cleaver. ” He looked away, took another long drag on the cigarette, then exhaled. “I wouldn’t even try. When she left, she said she’d wait for me to come get her. Forever—that’s how long she said she’d wait. ”
Liam wished he couldn’t see it so clearly. He sipped on his beer, studying Julian over the frosted rim. “What about your daughter? Why didn’t you ever contact her?”
Julian flinched, and Liam thought, My God, he never even thought about Jacey. He got on a plane, rushed up here, and never once remembered that he had a child here.
“She was so little when I last saw her. To be honest, I don’t know what I feel about her. I’m sure we’ll work it all out when I meet her. ”
Liam knew the rich were different and that the rich and famous were more so, but he couldn’t fathom the kind of man who could be so careless with a young girl’s heart. He didn’t look away from Julian. At least the man could look ashamed. “She doesn’t know you’re her father. ”
“What? Kay never told her? I would have thought she’d be proud of it …”
“You hurt her, Julian. ”
“Well, shit. ”
“Do you want to tell her yourself?”
“Me? No. ”
God help him, Liam was relieved. “It’s a small town. I don’t want her to find out—”
“I won’t say anything. If word gets around, I’ll say I’m here for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Please, Liam, let’s … wait and see what happens with Kayla, okay? I mean, if she doesn’t wake up …”
“Okay,” Liam said, watching Julian closely. “We’ll wait. ”
Rosa was waiting up for Liam when he got home. She set her knitting aside and got to her feet, moving across the living room toward him. She started to say something.
“Sorry, Rosa, not now,” he said, walking past her. Whatever she was going to say, he didn’t want to hear it.
Instead, he went up the stairs and quietly entered Jacey’s bedroom.
She was fast asleep, one arm flung out to the left, as if even in sleep she were reaching for the bedside phone.
“You’ll always be my daughter,” he murmured.
The next morning, Liam woke up early and rolled quietly out of bed, being careful not to waken Bret, who was sleeping peacefully beside him. He showered quickly, grabbed some clothes from his closet, jammed them in a duffel bag, and headed downstairs. On the empty kitchen table, he left a Have a good day note for Rosa and the kids.
Dawn crept through Last Bend like a slow reckoning. Thin bands of pink light crested the trees. The storefronts were all black.
He drove to the hospital, parked in his stall, and went to Mikaela’s room. He flicked on the lights and went immediately to draw open the curtains.
Then, very slowly, he turned around.
She was as still as always, her pale face slack, her arms tucked gently along her sides. There wasn’t a wrinkle in the blanket drawn up against her chest.