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Darcy hugged her arms to her middle as memories of Carter overwhelmed her.
Oh no.
More sobs threatened her. She had to get herself together. “No, I should let you get to bed.” Darcy started for the door. “Thank you for talking through this with me.”
Robyn hurried after her. “Hold on. You’re in no shape to drive. Stay here tonight. We have a comfortable guest room, and you’re more than welcome here. You’re our family.”
Darcy spun to face her. “You mean that?”
“Of course I do.” Robyn touched Darcy’s cheek. “You’re my daughter.”
Darcy’s lower lip wobbled. “I miss Carter so much it feels like I can’t breathe.”
Robyn pulled Darcy into her arms again. “Honey, if you love him that much, go after him. Tell him how you feel. Find a way to make it work.”
Darcy rested her cheek on Robyn’s shoulder.
Her birth mother paused. “When I gave you up, I was shattered. It took me a long time to put one foot in front of the other. My heart seemed to stop beating the day I said goodbye to you.”
Darcy sniffed as she took in the earnestness in Robyn’s eyes.
“But I believed that somehow we would be reunited. And I’m so grateful that I have you now too.” Robyn rubbed Darcy’s arm. “Now I want to see you happy. Stop punishing yourself for what happened to Jace and look toward the future.”
Her birth mother squeezed her hand. “Please listen to me, Darcy. I’m certain Jace would never blame you for what happened to him. Forgive yourself, sweetie, and start living again.”
Darcy nodded as another wave of tears overtook her. She buried her face in Robyn’s shoulder, hoping to find a way to revive her heart.
Chapter31
Sunday morning Carter found Shauna sitting alone at the kitchen table, scrolling through social media on her phone. He stilled in the doorway, recalling how angry he’d been with her and Gage. But after he’d spent another sleepless night staring at the ceiling, the need for someone to talk to pushed him toward her. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down across from her.
His sister looked up at him, and her eyes widened. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks,” he deadpanned. He sipped his coffee and set the mug down on the table. “Where’s Gage?”
“He ran to the store for me.” She studied her brother. “What happened to you?”
“I had a really bad day yesterday.” He brushed his hand over the stubble on his chin. “A really bad day.”
“What do you mean?”
He rested his hand on the mug. “Well, Darcy and I broke up.” His voice rasped against his dry throat. “And then I came home and was ambushed by our dad.”
“Whoa,” she said. “You broke up with Darcy?”
He nodded as his eyes began to sting.
“Oh no.” Her chair scraped across the floor as she scooted closer to him. “What happened?”
He blew out a deep sigh. “It’s complicated.”
“I’m listening. Tell me what happened.”
He explained how they’d argued Friday night and how he’d called to apologize to her. “After we hung up, I started putting the pieces together. I realized I had received her late fiancé’s kidney, and I knew that would tear us apart.”
“Hold on.” Shauna held her hand up like a traffic cop. “You received her late fiancé’s kidney.” She squinted as if working through it in her mind. “So I donated to the girl, her father donated to Darcy, and her fiancé donated to you?” She pointed to him.
“Right.” He wiped his burning eyes.
