Page 13 of Too Close To Call

Rod studies my face closely before saying, “I understand finding out you aren’t responsible for his death is stunning, but it’s not the reason you’re here. Is it?”

“No, I found something else out.” I rub my chest in the area of my aching heart. “Tori has a daughter.”

Rod frowns. “Come on, Case. You left her; you had to know she’d move on.”

Yes, that was something I knew could happen, but I never came to accept she would. It seems to have been an easy feat for her. “That’s not the issue. Of course I’ve thought about her with someone else over the years. I just never imagined she’d hook up with someone immediately after I left. She was supposed to love me. We were planning on marrying and starting our life together, yet she slept with my best friend days after I left.Days, Uncle Rod.”

Rod leaned back and grimaced before he offered, “She was in pain, Case.”

My jaw clenches. “Is that really a valid excuse? Could you ever cheat on Jen? For any reason?”

Rod takes no time to reply. “No. Never. I’m just saying grief affects us differently.”

“I thought she was mine,” I interrupt. “Daisy, that’s the kid’s name. She’s five. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and she sure doesn’t look like Ryan, or Tori either for that matter.”

Rod takes a drink of his water and then asks, “Are you positive she isn’t yours? Should you have a blood test done? Could Tori be lying about this?”

“Tori isn’t like that. She had a DNA test done after Daisy was born. She would never lie about something this important. If she says Daisy isn’t mine, then I believe her.”

“That’s why you came home? The kid?”

I nod and twist the cap back on my now empty bottle and set it on the table between us. “I called my former manager, had him make a sizable donation, and pulled out of the race. I couldn’t be there. Seeing Tori hurt more than I imagined and knowing Daisy wasn’t mine tore me up inside. It wouldn’t have been smart to get into a car with my mind in other places.”

I’m not ready to admit that any little push would have sent me running home. I was only looking for a reason to crawl back in my hole of denial. I may never be able to drive again and that thought is too painful to explore.

But Tori is the reason I left. Isn’t she? The ball of anxiety I’d been carrying around since I agreed to drive hadn’t been present on my drive back to Faire Island. Could I have been grasping for any excuse to get out of driving? That would be sick, right? For the first time, I wonder if I need help to work my way back into the driver’s seat. If that’s what I want.

There are too many unanswered questions fighting in my brain for resolution.

“Do you still love her?” Rod asks.

My gaze moves to search the moonlit horizon for the answer I already know without a doubt. As the y ears passed, I almost believed I was over her, but seeing her again brought it all back. Telling myself I was over her was another lie. I’m not over her. Fuck. “I will always love Tori.”

“But if you did get another chance with her, have you thought about being with a woman that comes with a child? That’s a huge responsibility. Can you see yourself loving her, being a father figure to her, even though she isn’t yours? Tori and Daisy deserve someone that loves them both.”

My lips twitch into a slight smile as I remember my conversation with Daisy. “How could I not grow to love her? She’s part of Tori.”

The grin on my face widens. “If she’s anything like Tori, Daisy is going to be a handful. She had on this pink, puffy dress with these tiny heels! What five-year-old wears heels? And she’s got the most gorgeous blue eyes and a headful of curly blonde hair that reminds me of mom and grandma. Daisy said I was ‘on her wall.’” I stop and have to laugh at that memory. “At the time, I didn’t know she was talking about in a photo with Dale.”

“Is Tori with Ryan now? Are they married?”

I have no idea if Tori is with someone. It’s possible. My stomach turns and my fists tighten, not liking the thought of Tori with someone else. How could I have been so stupid? I should have asked when she fished for info about my relationship status. “She didn’t have a ring on.”

“What happened between you and Ryan?”

The blame for that I’m not proud of and lies at my own feet. “When I moved back home, I cut ties with everything racing. I had to put everything in that life behind me. He tried to get in touch with me for a few years and then stopped. He even came by the shop several times, but I had the guys tell him I wasn’t there.”

The disappointment on my uncle’s face is clear, even in the moonlight. “That’s a lot of avoidance going on. He was your best friend. Didn’t he at least deserve an explanation?”

Now I have to wonder how good of friends we were if he could sleep with my girl as soon as I was out of the picture. Unless everything had been planned.

“Seeing Ryan would’ve brought it all back up… I couldn’t do it.”

“You need to tell the family.”

I hear what my uncle is saying and he’s right. “I know and I will.”

“Don’t shut yourself off again. That’s what family is for and you have a good one. Now, I need to get back to my girls.”

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