wool over this entire time. His father’s or mine.
“Is that right?” Franklin drawled, his focus shifting to me.
Of course, Selena took it upon herself to answer for me. “Yes, and it doesn’t matter how you feel about it. Your son’s feelings for her will never change.”
Silence followed Selena’s declaration as Franklin Rees studied me like I was buried treasure after a long voyage. When he finally spoke, his words were directed at Selena, but somehow, they seemed meant for me. “My dear, I really do hope you’re right about that.”
“Is that him?” Selena was curled up on my bed when she broke the heavy silence.
I rubbed my arms absently as I stared out the window. The goose bumps that appeared on my skin after Vaughn’s father wished us a good day were still very much present the next morning. Too many times, I’d picked up the phone to call Vaughn, to warn him of what Selena had done, of what I’d selfishly allowed to happen, but each time, my cowardice won out. Would Vaughn be pissed that I’d essentially forced his hand, or would he be relieved? We’d face challenges knowing his family didn’t support us, but nothing worth having was ever easy. I was ready to take them all head-on. For him. For us.
I felt my stomach turn and fought the urge to vomit. My father’s return home certainly wasn’t helping matters as I watched his red pickup turn into the driveway.
“Yes.”
Sighing, I let the curtain covering my bedroom window fall back into place. My feet were heavy as I made my way downstairs. Coach was furious, but so was I. In fact, I was trying so very hard not to hate him, but it was harder than I ever thought it would be.
My bare feet touched the last step, and at the same time, the front door swung open. Average height, hair shaved closely, and a full goatee peppered with gray, my father was a handsome man and undoubtedly a lady killer in his day. Our gazes locked, and whatever he saw in mine had his broad shoulders slumping as his gaze fell to the hardwood floor.
“Tyra—”
“Is it true?” I demanded. Never mind the fact that I hadn’t seen him in a month or that he was still standing in the open door with his luggage at his feet and bags under his eyes.
Closing the door, he tried the stern route when he turned and pinned me under his glare. “Why didn’t you call me sooner to ask me? Instead, you invited some stranger into my home without my permission and have the audacity to interrogate me under that same roof?”
“Selena’s not a stranger, she’s my sister, and you knew she existed all along! Why didn’t you tell me instead of letting me believe what you and mom had was real?”
He held his hands pressed together and extended them toward me in a pleading gesture. “It was, Tyra. I told you the truth. Your mother and I were in love.”
I wanted to believe him, I really did, but there was some pretty compelling evidence waiting for me upstairs. “Really? Because you also told me you were going to get married before she died giving birth to me. How could that be when she was already married?”
“I don’t know what Selena told you, but—”
“You don’t have to wonder. She showed me the letter mom wrote to you before she died.”
I’d read it so many times I had it committed to memory. In it, my mother had written everything she was feeling, mostly fear, sorrow, and anxiousness for my arrival, but never once did she mention her loving him. The letter had ended rather abruptly, making me wonder if a page was missing, but Selena had sworn that there wasn’t. Our mother hadn’t even signed her name.
“You can also ask Selena yourself.”
My father’s expression became absolutely thunderous at my confession. “She’s still here?”
He may have told me to ask her to leave, but I couldn’t do that. Not when she’d come all this way to find the last piece of family she had left.
“She wants to talk to you.”
“I’m sorry, Tyra, but I don’t feel the same. You had no right.”
“No right?” I sputtered. “You had no right to lie to me! Just like you had no right to ruin a marriage.”
“I didn’t ruin anything. Your mother wasn’t in love with Kevin anymore. She was planning to take Selena and leave, but she—” My father started to say more, but