A chill swept through him at her seemingly casual words, but he could sense the intensity behind them. Anger. As if she’d witnessed something no child should have had to.
Fuck, what kind of asshat—as Emily put it—had Sarah married?
He wanted to ask if she’d ever seen her dad hit Sarah. It was on the tip of his tongue. But he didn’t have the right. Emily was just a child.
“Aye, hitting is quite bad.”
“You talk funny. Are you from England?”
“Scotland. Long ago, though. Most of my accent is gone now.”
“I still hear it.” Emily returned to his side. “It’s pretty.”
Lovely. He had a pretty voice.
His lips quirked and he glanced furtively toward the house. Where the hell was Ana, and what was taking her so long?
“So, uh, how do you do in school?” he asked conversationally.
“I do good in school, but it’s so boring.”
“Yeah. It can be.”
“You’re not supposed to say that. You’re supposed to tell me it’s fun and it’s good for me. Don’t you know anything about being an adult?”
“Hmm. Apparently not.” He shook his head. “You’re a rather smart little girl, aren’t you?”
She placed a hand on her hip and gave him a look of disgust. “I’m not a little girl, I’m a tween.”
What the hell was a tween?
“Gonna be a teenager in three more years.” She turned away and did another cartwheel, sending her sunglasses flying.
Three? Wait. What? Ian, paused, wracking his mind for that conversation he’d had with Sarah a few days ago. Hadn’t she said Emily was eight?
“Five more, right?”
“No, I’m ten now. Ten plus three is thirteen. You should totally know that.” She picked her sunglasses off the ground and slipped them back on, but not before he’d seen the vibrant green of her eyes.
Ian reared back, almost stumbling over his feet. His heart pounded twice as fast and the gears in his mind were cranking.
She was ten years old, not eight.
It wouldn’t be the first time you forgot a condom.
Sarah’s words raced through his head. The condom they’d forgotten on prom night.
No. She wouldn’t have. There was no way Sarah would hide this from him. No way…
“What month is your birthday?” he rasped.
“February.”
One word. And it changed his entire world.
Chapter Thirteen
“This isn’t happening.” Sarah re-read the text on her phone, struggling to even see the words because her hands were shaking so badly.
Emily and I are on the island. Just arrived at your house. And Ian’s here, interestingly enough. We’ll come down to the wharf shortly.
“We need to go.” Shoving her phone back in her purse, she scrambled up from her seat. “Now.”
“Why? What’s up?” Kenzie grabbed her coffee and followed suit.
Her mom was messing with her, right? Only her mom wasn’t a prankster by any means. Which meant Emily and her mother really were at Gran’s house just up the road. And, apparently, Ian was with them.
She increased her stride; her stomach churning as she practically ran out of the building and back down the wharf.
“Hold on already?” Kenzie struggled to keep up. “Sarah, you look like you’re about to puke. What is it? Emily? Is she hurt?”
“No. She’s here.”
“Oh. Really?” Confusion clouded her friend’s tone. “Is that such a bad thing? I mean I know you didn’t plan on her coming out, but Whidbey is a fun place for kids.”
Kenzie had no idea. Was completely clueless of the potential damage control Sarah was facing.
They were just blocks from the house when she spotted them. Ian, Emily and her mother were walking side by side down the street toward them.
Her stomach heaved as she noted the way Emily seemed to be chatting a mile a minute. The closer they got, more nauseous Sarah became. Her mother looked almost stunned, and Ian…
Oh. Fuck.
He knew.
Outwardly, Ian didn’t look too upset, but she knew him well enough to read the signs. The tension in his shoulders and the way he stared her down. If his gaze could shoot bullets she’d be bleeding to death right now.
“Mom!” Emily broke free from her grandma and ran the short distance that separated them, throwing herself into Sarah’s arms.
“Hey, baby.” She clung to her, squeezing probably much tighter than she should’ve.
“Grandma said we were going to come out here and surprise you. Make it a mini vacation.”
“I’m…surprised.” She lifted her head and stared at her mom. How could you, she asked silently.