Page 87 (1/2)

“My Abigail,” he said, his voice cracking “My dear, dear Abigail I was a fool A young aht up in a s Things I’ve spent a lifetiive myself for them, but I don’t know if I could bear it if you couldn’t Please” The tracks of his tears glistened as he expelled his grief

Abby inhaled a ragged breath In all her years, she had never seen any emotion from him, but his tears fell now, and the rubber band in her chest snapped With a sigh, she leaned into hi to reconnect with the person who taught her how to ride a bike, play chess, and sith her in the pool on hot suhts

“I love you, Abby,” he mur sound gurgling from his chest as his tears continued to fall

He pulled her in for a hug, curling his bony ar, and your mother If I could trade places with any of those people I haro, I would In a heartbeat, I’d pay the price for my sins, but life doesn’t work like that There are no do-overs And so, I understand if you can’t keep this to yourself”

He pulled away fro her in the eye, and Abby willed herself to remain calm, to hold back her tears as he continued “No ed, I would understand if you can’t forgive me”

Abby’s heart lurched in her chest, even as her head spun, setting her off-balance “I love you, too, Grandpa,” she said, choking on the words—having no idea what to do with them

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Five days ago, Abby had discovered the truth Five days that felt like a lifetith of ti Kaden But she knew her lucky streak was co to an end She couldn’t avoid him forever without sos off A confrontation was past due, yet she couldn’t bring herself to decide on how she would let Kaden down or what she should do about her grandfather Both decisions were eating her alive Both the secret and her pro her softly with her silence

Abby exited fourth-period and made a beeline for the e lunch this week Not only had she switched several of her classes around to avoid seeing Kaden, she had started taking lunch with a couple other students in theAll she had to do was tell Mr Delgado she needed help—extra study tie a few of her classes She had been a good student until the last couple of weeks, with a great track record, so there was no reason not to help her out Parents with a well-known, a reputation in the community didn’t hurt either

All s

he had to do was carryher locker despite her sixty-pound bookbag, and she had drastically reduced her chance of a run-in with Kaden But as she left her environmental studies class and hurried to the open doorway for health, her luck ran out

A hand curled over her shoulder, followed by the familiar sound of his voice “Abby, wait”

Pausing, she bit her lip and slowly turned to face hi her eye before she focused straight in front of her, on the broad plane of his chest

“Yeah?” she asked, trying to sound casual when she felt anything but

Her palrew clammy in his presence, while her heart pu herself for striking a deal with his father