Chapter 8
I walked Claire down to the empty dock behind the pavilion.
The bay glittered under the morning sun.
Wind tugged at her robe.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
I had imagined walking her down an aisle.
Not a dock.
Not with evidence folders behind us and betrayal waiting in the bridal room.
But she was beside me.
That was more than I had fifteen minutes ago.
She wiped her face.
“Did you really sell your truck for this place?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because gifts shouldn’t arrive with guilt.”
She laughed once, broken.
“I thought Raymond paid for the pavilion.”
“I know.”
“He said he wanted to give me the wedding you couldn’t.”
My chest tightened.
“He gave you my gift and called it his.”
She closed her eyes.
“I’m so stupid.”
“No.”
“Dad.”
“No,” I said more firmly. “You were lied to by people you wanted to love you. That is not stupidity. That is being human.”
She cried harder.
“I chose him to walk me down the aisle.”
“Yes.”
“That must have destroyed you.”
“It did.”
“Why didn’t you fight?”
I looked at the water.
“Because I thought if I fought for the place, I might lose the person.”
She leaned against the railing.
“I don’t know if I can get married today.”
“That is okay.”
“What if Ethan leaves?”
“Then he was not ready for hard days.”
She looked back toward the pavilion.
“I think he would stay.”
“I think so too.”
She smiled faintly.
Then it faded.
“What happens to Mom?”
I breathed slowly.
“The police need to see the bank video. Daniel will handle the trust. Your mother made choices.”
“She’s still my mom.”
“Yes.”
“And Raymond is…”
She stopped.
“Raymond is the man who helped create you,” I said. “But fatherhood is not biology. It is presence.”
She looked at me then.
“I forgot that.”
My eyes burned.
“You were made to forget.”
She stepped closer.
“Can I remember?”
May you like
I pulled her into my arms.
“Yes,” I whispered. “We can start there.”
