Page 46 of Wild Heart

“Of course.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot. About where I came from. About why you never talk about him.”

He didn’t need to say the name. He’d never had one to say.

“I used to think you didn’t tell me because it was toopainful,” he continued. “But lately, it feels more like you’ve been protecting something.”

She turned back to the trees. The light was dimming, dipping into twilight. Her voice, when it came, was steady. “I have been.”

Davey didn’t speak. He waited a beat then held out a photograph.

She looked at it slowly. Then at him.

"Who’s the man?” he asked, voice taut. “The one next to you. The one holding me.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came.

“I found the letter, too. The one signed ‘C.’” He stepped closer. “Tell me the truth, or I swear to God, I’m gone. Tonight.”

Olivia went still. The photograph trembled in her hand, as if it too was afraid of what it might reveal.

“That’s Clark,” she said finally. Her voice was barely a whisper. “He worked here. Years ago.”

“My father?” Davey demanded, though a part of him already knew the answer.

She closed her eyes. “No. Not your father.”

He blinked. “But he lived with us. He’s in every picture of the sanctuary, maybe only the background but he was here from when I was little.”

“Yes, he was here and yes, he did live with us when you were a baby” she said. “I loved him with all my heart. But he came after. You were already two months old when he arrived. I thought... I hoped he’d want to be a father to you. I needed someone, and you adored him. For a while, I let myself believe it could be real.”

Davey’s fists clenched. “Then why did he leave?”

Olivia looked down at her hands. “Because loving a child that wasn’t his was too much. And he wasn’t strong enough to stay.”

Davey stepped back. “So he left us.”

“He left me,” Olivia said. “It almost killed me, losing him but I lived on for you. And I swore I’d never give my heart to another man again. You became my everything.”

The silence between them pulsed like a bruise.

Davey’s voice dropped. “I don’t believe you.”

“What?”

“I don’t believe that’s the whole truth,” he snapped. “You’ve kept this locked down for too long. And I want to know, now. Or I’ll pack my bag and you’ll never see me again.”

Olivia stood slowly. Her eyes were glossy, her breath shaky.

“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t go.”

“Then tell me.”

There was no escaping it now. No gentle detour. Just the open road of what had always been unsaid. Her hands shook as she reached for the railing, steadying herself.

“Your father is Mason.” The air around them shattered and Olivia held her breath.

Davey’s face crumpled in disbelief. “What?”

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