“I was nineteen. I was frightened, angry, and convinced that if you wanted me, you would have stopped me.”
“I was asleep in my room.”
A weak laugh escaped him, followed by a cough. Lucas rose, but Douglas lifted one hand.
“I’m all right.”
I waited until his breathing settled.
“You left without saying goodbye.”
“I sat in the car outside your house for almost an hour.”
“Why?”
“I hoped you would come out.”
“You could have knocked.”
“I was afraid you would.”
The words hurt because I understood them.
He reached toward the envelope in my hand.
“That letter is not an apology for leaving. It’s an explanation for why I stayed away.”
“I thought you stayed away because you married Elaine.”
“I married Elaine because she was pregnant, my mother was ill, and I believed I had already lost you. But I stayed because I thought returning would destroy everyone who depended on me.”
