But I don’t have my car.
His response is quick. Where the hell is it?
I choose not to answer that particular question. Maybe we can talk tomorrow?
No. We need to talk today. I’ll come over right now.
Panic rises inside me and I sit up, my fingers flying over my phone as I type out my response. I’ll come by your office later.
I’m sure I can convince Chad to give me a ride. Or any of my friends. Hell, I could call Addie and she could come pick me up in her new Jeep.
No, I’m leaving the office now. I’ll see you in thirty.
“Damn it,” I moan as I fall back onto the mattress and close my eyes. I can’t lie around for too long, so I crawl out of bed and walk through the house, double-checking that Chad isn’t around, finding the house blessedly quiet. I glance through the window outside, wondering if my car magically appeared, but it’s not there.
At least she hasn’t run away, though I don’t know that for sure. For all I know, she could be long gone by now.
I tell myself that no way did she leave. Not after everything we’ve been through, not without talking to me one last time.
When I’m finished with my shower and dressed, I head out only to hear my dad already banging on the front door. I hurry to the living room and open the door for him, surprised to see how serious and—sad he looks.
I expected him to be full on pissed, not sad.
“Son.” He gives me a firm nod as he enters the house, going straight for the kitchen. I close the door and follow after him, stopping at the counter so I can watch as he opens the fridge and pulls out a beer. He twists the cap off and takes a long drink before setting the bottle on the counter with a loud clink. “I have something to tell you.”
He has a lot of bad habits, most of them falling under the workaholic or the messing around with too many women categories, but he’s not a day drinker, unless he’s on vacation. And even then, he doesn’t really like to drink too much. Always claims alcohol makes him feel too out of control.
So something major must be bothering him.
“If it’s about Uncle Craig, I need to tell you my side of the story first,” I say firmly, not wanting him to feed me a bunch of bullshit before I explain what really happened.
Dad tilts his head to the side, frowning. “What are you talking about?”
Dread settles low in my stomach. This has nothing to do with Uncle Craig and what he did to Jensen? “Um, what are you talking about?”
“Let’s go sit down.”
We both sit, him at the head of my small dining table and me directly across, facing him. Nerves eat at my insides as I wonder what the hell else is about to be thrown at me.
I don’t know if I can take any more.
“What I’m going to tell you is—shocking, to say the least,” Dad starts out, then clears his throat. “I’m still reeling from the news myself. But I figured you were the first person I should talk to, since you deserve the truth.”
“What is it, Dad?” I sound anxious, and that’s because I am anxious. I don’t like being kept in suspense.
“I hired a private investigator to look into Jensen.” He holds up a hand when my mouth pops open, ready to protest. “I do this with pretty much every woman you and your brother date, and your sister too. Trent and his family were fully investigated last year. That Veronica person Park sees on occasion, I had her background looked into as well, and that’s how I knew about her three children from three different dads.”
I clamp my lips shut, silent. Waiting for him to tell me what he found out about Jensen. Some stuff I already know, but there are still questions…
“Her name really isn’t Jensen. She had it changed from Jennifer about a year ago. Jennifer Fanelli.”
“I already knew that,” I admit quietly.
Dad lifts his brows, appearing surprised. “So she told you.”
“Yeah, she did.”
“Well, there’s more.” He clears his throat again, rests his clasped hands on top of the table. He looks terribly uncomfortable, so I know this isn’t easy for him. And this definitely isn’t easy for me either. “Jennifer Fanelli’s father died right before she legally changed her name. He was a single father, raising Jennifer from the time she was a baby.”