I sat across from them while my brain immediately produced every possible disaster it had collected during eighteen years of fatherhood.
Had someone gotten hurt?
Was there a problem with college?
Had one of them done something illegal?
I don’t know why my mind went to crime, but fear isn’t always logical.
“You’re making me nervous,” I said.
Taryn reached across the table and took her sister’s hand.
That made things worse.
Brielle looked at me carefully.
“Please don’t get angry.”
“What happened?”
“We’ve been keeping something from you.”
I leaned back.
“For how long?”
“A few months.”
My stomach tightened.
“Okay. Tell me.”
They exchanged another glance.
Finally, Brielle took a breath.
“Mom contacted us.”
For a second, I genuinely didn’t understand the word.
“Mom?”
The question sounded stupid the moment I said it.
There was only one woman they had ever called that.
