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"It's just a name."
"It's not just a name. It's my identity." Gabby held up her hand. "I know, I know. Who my biological dad is doesn't impact who I am, but it's like this big black hole. I just need to fill in the pieces. I need that."
The urgency in Gabby's voice was clear. She needed to know.
Damn. Sofia was going to have to tell her daughter the truth.
The second Sofia thought it, her heart started pounding. How would Gabby react? Oh, boy. "You have to promise me you won't try to contact him."
Gabby's eyes widened. "He's still alive?"
There was far too much eagerness in Gabby's face, and apprehension crept down Sofia's spine. "You have to promise."
"I don't have to promise. You already promised you'd tell me, without any conditions. You can't change it now."
The most important thing that Sofia had always stressed with her daughter was the importance of trust and honesty. If she broke her promise to tell Gabby, her daughter would never trust her again.
"Why doesn't he know I exist?" Gabby prompted, clearly trying to get the ball rolling. "Why didn't you tell him?"
"Sweetheart. I doubt he would even remember me." She could only hope. It had been only a few days, but the intensity had etched itself into her soul forever. Maybe he'd forgotten. Or maybe not.
"Was it a one-night stand?" Gabby asked.
Sofia kicked back the covers and stood up, pacing across the room in her fuzzy snowman socks. "No. Not really."
"What does that mean?"
Sofia turned toward her daughter. "I was eighteen. I'd actually…run away." She paused, trying to figure out how to tell the story without giving away the things she didn't want her daughter burdened with.
"Really? You?" Gabby was clearly surprised to hear that her responsible mom had been such a wild child.
If only she knew.
Sofia nodded as she grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself, trying to feel safe. "I was supposed to be driving cross country to go to college, but that was my mom's dream, not mine. I decided to stop in Portland and do my life the way I wanted."
Gabby wrapped her arms around her knees. "I can't believe you were a rebel."
"I know, right? I'm so old and boring now."
"Totally. Keep going."
"Right. Well, it was about two in the morning. The city was dark, and I'd gotten myself lost. I stepped right out in front of a truck without looking. The horn honked, and I froze. I would have died, but then a boy ran out of an alley and literally tackled me out of the way."
Gabby's mouth opened. "He saved your life?"
"Yep."
"My dad risked his own life to save yours?"
"Yep."
Gabby grinned. "Cool."
Sofia clasped her hands on her head, remembering that moment, that day. "He was homeless, living under a bridge with a bunch of other kids. He had no family, no rules, no obligations. I loved it. He was this representation of who I wanted to be and what I wanted."
Gabby leaned forward. "Was he hot?"
Sofia smiled. "Not in the traditional sense. He was kind of rough, but there was a kindness to him that I loved. He lived a life of freedom, and I burned for that. I spent the next few days hanging out with him. He showed me around the city, a different side of life."
