in place in the middle of the sidewalk.
You don't have to do this. She's not worth it.
She most certainly wasn't. I’d gotten a lot of the closure I needed during Andrew's wedding weekend. What I'd seen from the woman who'd given me life was disgusting. She didn't care about any of us.
And I'd let her keep me away from New York and my family for a month. I'd allowed her to steal even more time with the people I loved. It was time to stop running. Time to close the door.
I jogged up the steps and rang the bell.
Please don't let him answer.
I wanted nothing to do with the man who might be my biological father.
After an excruciatingly long time, the door creaked open. My pulse accelerated. I shouldn't be nervous. The woman before me didn’t matter, yet I lost the words I'd practiced on the way over.
She was as perfectly put together as before. The pale pink starched blouse was a disguise for all that ugly inside. Her pearls around her neck didn't fool me any longer. She wasn’t this picture of innocence she tried to portray.
She was the devil in pastels and pearls.
“Hello, son.” Her tone was as crisp as her slacks.
“I’m not your son.”
It was the same thing my brother had told her, but I needed to say it too.
Her false smile broadened. “They always let you hide in their shadows, didn't they? You never learned to be your own man, have your own thoughts.”
I scowled and reminded myself she spewed poison for her own pleasure.
“Stay away from Marlow. Stay away from Dad. Stay away from Andrew and his family. And stay the hell away from me.”
I didn't care so much about answers anymore. Why she'd left and if it was my fault no longer mattered. Dad said I wasn't the reason, and that was enough for me. He was the truth. She was a web of lies.
And the most important thing was making sure she didn't bother my family anymore.
She laughed, a fake sound that burned my ears. "This is precious. You think you can tell me what to do, son?”
I cringed at the word.
“I said I’m not—”
“Why don't you ask me what you really came here to know?”
I hated that she’d cut me off and the certainty in her tone that she held the power.
“Ivette, why are you standing at the—oh, I didn't realize we had a visitor.” The man I hadn’t wanted to see stood behind her.
I ignored him and focused on my mother. There were more important things I had to do with my time.
“You leaving us was the best thing that ever happened.” She opened her mouth to respond, but I didn't let her. “Stay away from all of us.”
I spun and trotted back down the steps. This time I wasn’t running. I was walking away intentionally.
“I left because of you.”
I stumbled. The words were like fire blazing arrows in my back. They were the ones I’d feared most of my life.
She left because of me, son. Don’t you ever think otherwise. Ever.
My father’s words gave me strength. He was the one who’d been there for me through everything. He was the one I could trust. And I was finally listening to him.
I kept walking. I'd said what I needed to. Done. So very done with her. But if she ignored my warning, I had my family to stand up against her. We had each other. Something she would never get back.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Baker
“I’ll be there in an—”
I froze in the doorway and sniffed. Was that motor oil? I shook my head to clear it. Obviously, I was hallucinating . . . or losing my mind. Maybe both.
“Baker?” Trish’s worried voice came through the phone.
“I’ll be there in an hour. You guys go on and eat without me.”
“No. Mr. Dixon just started to cook, so you have plenty of time.”
“See you soon.”
I tossed my keys on the counter and surveyed the room. Everything looked the same. The disappointment was still potent. I’d gotten better, but every day I pictured opening the front door to find Holt standing in the kitchen, coveralls on, beer in hand.
It never happened.
And now I was smelling a garage shop. Lunatic. A delusional lunatic.
* * *
“Hey!” A chorus of welcomes greeted me as I came into Mr. Dixon’s living room.
Ella screamed the loudest. All was normal.
“Am I late?”
“Right on time,” Mrs. Quinn said. “Andrew just set the table.”
“He did?”
“I heard that,” he called from the dining room.
“Here you are,