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“Because she’s seventeen and she wants to do what she wants to do With no pressure from us or anyone else”

“Well, she’s your daughter, all right”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shook her head “Nothing…except, have you thought about telling Allie the truth about Sam?”

Shit And things had been so pleasant there for a while Might as well get this over with

“I have And I’ her,” he said

“Why not?”

He got up frolass of whiskey Rusty’s cousin had left a bottle of Jim Beam in the cabinet and Rusty had told Zeke to help himself Zeke wasn’t a whiskey man, but the conversation they were about to have seelass, but Mimi refused

“The guy has a police record,” he said

Mi to ask how you know that, because I can only iine So…how bad is it?”

He went to the briefcase he kept next to his gun and holster, pulled out the printout he’d made from his Internet search and handed it to Mimi

She quickly read the page “Child support? Zeke…your father has another child? How long have you known this?”

“I looked it up thisto try, Mi this bastard into Allie’s life Or ours, either”

“Baby, don’t you see? This changes everything This means more than ever you have to tell Allie! You have a brother or a sister out there, ree, Sam is a loser Or at least, if you look at this rap sheet, he is But you owe it to yourself to hear him out, and so does Allie”

“I know everything I need to know about him”