Page 108 of Truck Me
But did Carol fall for him? Or was it all just a way to get back at me for leaving?
I grab the journal from where I dropped it on the bed and start flipping through the pages. I never read her journals when we were kids. I always respected her privacy. But right now, I have to know how she felt.
“Did she love him?” I blurt out in a panic.
I meet Rayne’s worried gaze. “No. They stopped seeing each other after she got pregnant.”
“But she thinks Garret is your father.”
Rayne shrugs. “It’s possible. But they don’t know for sure. They were going to do a test after I was born, but …”
She sinks further back into her pillows, her eyes unfocused and full of tears.
“But she died.” I finish for her.
“Are you suggesting that Garret could be Rayne’s father?” Mom’s confused voice cuts through the tension.
With a heavy sigh, I nod. “Looks like it.”
“Dear Lord.” She presses her hand to mouth and stifles a cry. “But, Char. You and Garret are—”
“I know, Mom. I know.” I cut her off because I don’t need her to remind me that I’ve been sleeping with Garret for the past couple of months. Or that I’ve fallen in love with the man.
“And he knows,” Mom says. It’s not a question. Mom is a smart woman. I’m sure she’s picked up on the emotional turmoil currently tearing me apart.
“Why didn’t he ever say anything?” Mom asks as she paces in the doorway. “All these years he’s spent with her. Watching her any time we needed help. Always letting her hang out with him and never once complaining. It’s because he knew he was Rayne’s father.”
“He said he doesn’t know for sure.”
“But …” Mom leans against the wall and slides to the floor. “Why not tell us? Why not ask to at least find out for sure? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know.” I mumble.
“I have brown eyes like his,” Rayne says, barely above a whisper. “Mom had blue eyes like you. And I think our smiles look similar too.” She lets out a deep breath. “So, I just thought … Maybe it was true. Maybe Garret really is my dad. I like him. I think it would be really cool if it were true.”
I reach for Rayne’s hand and take it in mine. I study her eyes and then the shape of her mouth. She’s not wrong. Her eyes are almost the exact shade of chocolate brown as Garret’s eyes, and she has the same thin upper lip as well.
I run my thumb over her chin and force a smile. “Maybe.”
“You wouldn’t be upset if it’s true?” Her voice is timid, almost shy-like as she speaks.
“Why would—”
I’m interrupted by a knock on the door. Mom lets out an aggravated groan and pushes to her feet. “Who on earth could that be at this hour?”
“Hard to say, Mom!” I call after her in a sarcastic tone. “We are in the middle of a very public crisis involving our next-door neighbors. Maybe it’s one of them.”
Her footsteps are heavy as she heads down the stairs. With all the drama filling our house, I’m surprised we haven’t woken Dad up. Hopefully, he stays asleep. The last thing we need is to confuse him.
But when Mom opens the door and I hear whose voice it is, Dad is no longer a concern.
The reason my life got all turned upside down in the first place, and the reason my night imploded without warning. Brad.
With a heavy sigh, I push to my feet and head downstairs. With all the drama going on with Rayne and Garret, I had completely forgotten about Brad’s random appearance. I don’t know why he showed up here now. We’ve gone a few months without contact, and I don’t have time for this. I have more important issues to deal with than him.
As soon as he sees me coming down the stairs, he rushes past my mom and meets me at the bottom.
“Char, honey.” I cringe at the nickname I used to love to hear him say. Now it sounds cheap and makes me uneasy.