of her chest and leap across the room.
Finn was ignoring Felix’s question and staring at Cedar. His face hadn’t changed since the last time she saw him, only now it was filled with longing. His eyes bore into hers so intensely she had to look away. Cedar had imagined this scene a thousand times in a thousand different ways. She had imagined running into him on the street, or answering the door to find him standing there, or seeing him across a crowded art gallery in a foreign city. She had imagined what she would say to him—she would tell him how much she loved him and how sorry she was for whatever she had done to make him leave, and she would beg him for an explanation, for a chance to make things right.
But it had been years since she’d given up hope of ever seeing him again. Longing had turned into anger; despair into resolve. Life had turned into survival. Now, she had no idea what to say to him.
“They told me about Eden,” he said, his voice a whisper. “I came to help. I got here as soon as I could. Cedar…I’m so sorry.”
When she still said nothing, Finn looked at his father and said, “What are you doing? Why are you sending her away? She needs to know what’s going on.”
Rohan looked affronted. “Fionnbharr, this isn’t—”
“You don’t think I get a say in all of this?” Finn said. His cheeks flushed, and his eyes flashed. “Cedar is Eden’s mother. She needs to know the truth.”
Rohan crossed the floor to his son. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t understand?” Finn interrupted. His voice cracked through the room like a whip. “Who here understands her better than I do? My daughter has been taken, and Cedar needs to know why.”
Perhaps it was the way he said the word my, or maybe it was his assumption that he understood her, but Cedar felt as though someone had thrown a switch inside her. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears and found her feet moving toward him. His face softened, and then tensed in confusion as she crossed the room. Her palm hit his cheek with a resounding smack, and she felt the pain of it shoot up her arm. When she spoke, even she was surprised by the hostility in her voice.
“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t call her your daughter. You think you understand me? You think I’m still the same person you left?” She felt hot, angry tears prick her eyes and struggled to hold them back. “Don’t you dare call yourself her father.”
Finn’s face twisted in agony. “Cedar,” he whispered, the softness of his voice a sharp contrast to hers. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know about her.”
“And whose fault is that?” she demanded hotly. “I tried to tell you. I tried to find you. Seven years of nothing. I didn’t even know if you were still alive.”
“It was for the best,” he pleaded. “I can explain everything. I’m sorry, and you’re right, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but trust me—it would have been worse if I had stayed.”
“Trust you?” Cedar screamed, and then laughed sardonically. She was starting to feel quite hysterical. “Why would I trust you, Finn? You left me with nothing!”
“You had Eden,” he said quietly. “She wasn’t nothing.”
“AND NOW SHE’S GONE!”
Cedar swayed on her feet, suddenly exhausted beyond belief. Someone placed a barstool under her and she sat down hard, and then promptly burst into tears. Riona and Nevan rushed over to her, but she hid her face in her hands and turned away from them. She felt so completely overwhelmed, so desperately alone in this room of strangers. She felt ashamed of her outburst, startled by the intensity of her anger. This was not the reunion she had dreamed of.
The awkward silence, punctuated only by her sobs and gasps for air, was finally interrupted by Murdoch, who said, “Enough of this nonsense. We’ve got to get on with it. Finn, why don’t you take your girlfriend home, sort things out, and then meet us back here.”
Finn seemed shaky on his feet too, but his voice was firm when he answered, “I’m not taking her anywhere until she’s had some answers. And then it’s up to her if she wants to go home or stay with us.”
“Look at her, man!” Murdoch said, his face incredulous. “She’s a bloody wreck! She’ll only slow us down, and we don’t have time to