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“Hello?” It’s the school nurse. “Hi, Kathy…”
“Rory was hurt at soccer practice. Nothing major, but she does need stitches.”
My pulse starts to race. Rory was hurt. “I’m on my way.” I hang up the phone, completely forgetting Nathan is watching me like a hawk. I’m so desperate to get to Rory I don’t even think about the words coming out of my mouth until it’s too late. “It’s my daughter. She got hurt at soccer practice. I have to go.”
His dark eyes, Rory’s eyes, widen a fraction, but his reaction is otherwise controlled. He nods. “Just tell me where we’re headed.”
“Nathan?” Courtney protests. “I came all this way to talk to you.”
He waves her off, casually, because the cameras are still watching.
I stop walking. “It’s fine. Stay with your girlfriend.” I pound that word right into his throat. “I can deal with this. We’ll work on the media strategy tomorrow.”
He ghosts a hand against my arm. “Iz, you’re shaking. Give me your keys, I’ll drive. Just tell me where you need to go.”
“I’ll wrap up here,” says Jules. “I’ll get good coverage of the rest of the event.”
Courtney folds her arms under her ample bosom and pouts, but I’m too flustered to come up with a good argument, and this is wasting time, so I hand Nathan the keys, then take Murphy’s leash and lead him to the car.
I’m grateful for the silence as we drive to St. Francis because the only thing my brain seems capable of thinking is, how the hell did I get myself in this situation?
A week ago, my life was normal and predictable. Now, everything is upside-down. I’m riding in the car with Rory’s father—who I haven’t seen since high school! I didn’t expect to feel guilty about that. I mean, I did what was best for everyone by leaving, by not telling him. He wouldn’t have the career he has if I hadn’t… yet, I feel a stab of shame with every mile we draw closer to Rory’s school.
Nathan, at least, seems to understand that I’m in no state to give the explanations I’m sure he wants. Which is good, because it gives me time to come up with as many cover stories as my racing brain can conjure.
The story I’ve always stuck with is that Rory’s dad is a guy I met right after graduation. Just a one-night thing, and I never heard from him again.
The problem is, Nathan will never buy that. He knows who I was back then. He knows I would never have been with a man I’d just met. I suspect he also knows that I was head over heels in love with him at the time.
Nathan pulls up to the curb and clears his throat, jostling me from my spiraling panic.
“Just wait here,” I say, hopping out of the Jeep, not giving him any opportunity to try to come with me.
In the health office, Rory is sitting on one of the beige cots, holding a mound of gauze above her eyebrow. I recognize the girl sitting next to her. Kelsey Peters has her whole bottom lip in a pout, her arms folded defensively across her grass-stained uniform shirt.
Kathy, the nurse greets me and says, “Kelsey has something she’d like to say to you and Rory.”
Reluctantly, Kelsey says, “I’m sorry, Rory. I didn’t mean to kick the ball at you like that. It was an accident. I’m sorry you fell.”
I almost believe her, too.
Rory shrugs and mumbles. “It’s okay. I forgive you.” My daughter is a better person than me, I think, as I flash Kelsey a tight smile.
“Thank you, Kelsey.” I put an arm around Rory’s shoulders and lead her out. “Come on, let’s get you to the hospital.”
CHAPTER 8
Nathan
A daughter?
Well, that explains… a lot. Why Izzy has been so cagey with me. Why she said she isn’t looking for a relationship. She obviously got her heart broken in a big big way… and now she’s afraid to trust anyone. Plus, she’s afraid to trust anyone with her daughter.
Daughter. That word sounds so foreign.
How old could this daughter possibly be? Izzy is only twenty-four. Did she say soccer practice?
Murphy and I spend the whole time I’m in the car outside the elementary school, doing math, and thinking about finding the guy who should be here but isn’t. Whoever he is, I’m going to wring his neck for making Izzy a single mother. Unless he died and she’s a widow? Oh, god, I’m going to the bad place.
