Page 100 of Summer Nights

"Cooper's at my house talking to Hudson. Before I left to give them privacy, Hudson asked that I check on you. This was the first place I thought to look."

I stilled. "You know what he did?"

"He told me so that I knew what was going on. Apparently, Hudson already knew about what he was doing."

"Why didn't he try to stop him?" I asked, bitterness creeping into my tone. The watermelon was half gone, and I knew I was going to regret it when I was up half the night in the bathroom.

"It sounded like Cooper had already hired an investigator by the time he talked to Hudson, and Hudson told him it was a bad move not to talk to you first."

"Oh, goodie. Someone else agrees with me," I said, my mouth full of watermelon.

Elena covered my hand with hers. "You know we're on your side."

"He talked to my father." My tears pricked with unshed tears. "He knows that my father never wanted me. That the idea of me was so abhorrent, he left and never came back for me." My own father didn't want me.

"So you talked to Cooper about what he found out?" Elena asked carefully.

I opened my mouth and then closed it. "Not exactly."

She frowned. "Then how do you know what your father said?"

"I don't." I moved into the living room, needing to sit down. My entire body ached, and I didn't think it had anything to do with the pregnancy itself. On top of the pain, the baby decided to kick me repeatedly as if he was already expressing his displeasure with me.

Elena sat across from me, her brow raised.

"Do you know what he said?" I finally asked, afraid of the answer.

"He didn't tell me, but how can you assume what was said?"

I pursed my lips. "Why else does a father leave a child? He doesn't want her."

"It might not be that simple. What if your mother told him to stay away?"

I scoffed. "That's ridiculous. She complained that he'd left her, that he didn't want me."

"What if that was her way of deflecting any blame for the situation? She pushed it on you instead, and you were too young to question any of it."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I should have listened to Cooper."

Elena nodded, pleased. "Yes."

I sighed. "I need to talk to him."

"You don't want there to be a miscommunication that takes this baby's father from them too," Elena pointed out unhelpfully.

"You play dirty."

Elena tipped her head to the side. "This isn't just about you anymore. You have the baby to consider. Doesn't he or she deserve to know their father?"

"Of course." I'd never keep them from Cooper.

"Then you need to clear the air with him."

I sighed. "How do I do that? He's at your place."

"Why don't you go home so you're there when he comes home? I'll help you get everything into your car."

"Fine."

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