“I know.”
“I never gave that boy a chance.”
“You had reasons not to trust that family.”
“But I should have told you.”
“Yes.”
Grandpa looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
I covered his hand with mine.
“That’s the part everyone keeps saying.”
His eyebrows pulled together.
“What?”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
Grandpa lowered his eyes.
“My mother was protected from Richard by leaving without ever getting justice.”
I looked toward Ivy asleep in the portable bassinet.
“You protected me by hiding the past.”
Then I thought about Julian.
“And Julian tried to protect me by disappearing.”
