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I heaped some fettuccine on top of my next piece of chicken.
“She did a bad thing, the wrong thing.”
“Exactly,” I mumbled with my mouth full.
“But she did it for a good reason, the right reason.”
I’d had enough of this. “It wasn’t a good reason. She was wrong. Her father violated safety rules put in place for his own protection, and that’s what cost him his life.”
“Don’t you see? You said it yourself. She didn’t know that. She did the wrong thing, but for the right reason. Tell me you haven’t ever been guilty of that.”
“I always try to do the right thing, and you know it.”
“Right. Like with Adam Cartwright?”
That stopped me cold. “But…”
The vision of that day was a cold slap of reality.
“But nothing. That was you doing the wrong thing, but sure, you had the right reason,” she said. “Tell me you don’t wish you could take that day back.”
I hung my head in shame. “I do.”
I had often wished I could take that back, but it wasn’t possible now—never had been possible. A torn ACL had ruined Adam’s dream of an NFL career. An injury I’d caused had cost him his chance, and it had all been due to a lie I’d believed at the time.
“Don’t you see the parallel?”
I wasn’t giving her this easy a win. “Okay, it’s a little similar.”
“Bullshit. It’s the same fucking thing.”
“Stop it already. I get your point.”
She continued anyway. “Doing the wrong thing for what you believe is the right reason—should you be punished your entire life for that?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. She knew where I stood on that. Adam had retaliated later, and it had cost me. The whole episode had cost us both.
“Answer me. Should you be punished forever for a mistake like that?”
“Of course not, but it’s not the same.”
She pushed her chair back. “Man up and do the right thing with Jennifer.”
We were done here. I nodded. “Think you can remember how to do this for your dinner with Bill?”
“It’s not Bill.”
“Then John.”
She stood and shook her head. “His name’s Troy, but keep that to yourself.”
She was giving me one win tonight.
I had a lot to think about.
Chapter 39
Jennifer
