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“Fine.” Her brow puckered. She stared at him a moment longer before retreating toward the truck.
Carter grasped the door handle, pulled it open, and stepped into the foyer. Voices filtered out from the family room. He took in a deep breath through his nose and started toward them. When he reached the doorway, he froze and stared. A middle-aged man sat on the sofa across from Shauna and Gage.
He recognized the man from fuzzy childhood memories and photos his mother had stashed away. Though the man’s brown hair was now mixed with gray, and though wrinkles lined his mouth and his dark-brown eyes, Carter knew he was looking into the face of Myles Donovan, the man who had once been his father.
Bile rose in Carter’s throat, and the muscles in his neck tightened. He turned his glare on his brother-in-law. “You knew he was coming when you talked to me at the shop earlier.” He pointed an angry finger at Gage. “Why didn’t you tell me outright?”
“Carter, I’m sorry, but—”
“Save it!” Carter hollered before trudging toward the stairs.
“Carter!” Shauna yelled after him. “Carter, please wait. Please. You need to hear what he has to say.”
“No, I don’t!” Carter called over his shoulder. Anger and frustration ran through him as he searched his room for his wallet. He checked his dresser, his bed, and then the floor. He finally found it wedged between the wall and his bed.
He jammed it into his back pocket, and when he turned to the doorway, he found his sister blocking it with her hands held up. “Move,” he growled.
“Carter, just listen.”
He took a deep breath and heard the front door open and close. Hopefully that meant their so-called father was leaving.
Good! Don’t come back!
“Carter—”
“Stop! I’m sick of your constant lectures about our father.” His voice shook. “If he had been here, maybe you wouldn’t have turned your life upside down for me when I went on dialysis. And maybe you’d still have two kidneys. If he had been here, maybe I wouldn’t have imploded your life. There is no way he can make up for that. Ever.”
Shauna sniffed and wiped her eyes.
Carter made a sweeping gesture. “I’m taking Darcy home. He’d better be gone when I get back.”
Shauna allowed him to pass. He stormed down the stairs, then froze. Darcy stood at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes wide, red, and puffy.
He felt a punch to his gut as he took in her horrified expression. “Tell me you didn’t just hear that conversation,” he said.
“Carter,” she whispered. “You had a kidney transplant?”
He scrubbed his hand down his face.
“Answer me! Did you have a kidney transplant?”
He nodded.
She clapped her hand to her mouth as her eyes widened. “Carter, I... I did too.”
Carter remained cemented in place. He turned toward the doorway to the kitchen, where Gage and his father stood.
The walls began closing in on him. He had to get out of there. He took Darcy’s arm and led her toward the door. “Come on. We’ll talk in the truck.”
Chapter28
Rain sprinkled the windshield. Carter sat ramrod straight in the driver’s seat and steered the truck down the road. He and Darcy sat in silence, the only noise coming from raindrops, the hum of the wipers, and the truck’s rumbling engine.
Darcy hugged her arms around her middle and tried to stop her body from shaking. Confusion, anger, and the cold fall air combined to chill her.
He stopped at a red light and reached into the back seat. His hand clasped a black hoodie with a Chevrolet logo on it, and he handed it to her. “I meant to get you a jacket when I was in my room,” he mumbled.
She pulled the hoodie over her head, breathing in his scent as the thick fleece warmed her skin. But inside she was cold. So cold.
