He stood and paced the living room. “It’s what I do. It’s all I’ve known.” He had commitments and responsibilities here. Ones he couldn’t easily walk away from.

Cassie was silent for a long moment, staring at her hands. When she looked up, she said, “You’re chasing a ghost, Reed. Dad didn’t go missing in the backwoods. He left us. No amount of searching is going to find him.”

He needed air. The truth of his sister’s words echoing in his mind was too much.

“How do you know?” Everyone had given up on finding his dad so easily. Not him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever stop looking.

“Because I know where he is,” she said.

He blinked, feeling the floor give way beneath him. His mouth went dry and his palms sweat. He dropped back down onto the edge of her couch and fought to steady his pulse. “How?”

“He contacted me a few weeks ago. He’s at an addiction treatment center in Anchorage.” She refused to look at him as she spoke.

Anger rose in his chest and he stood again. “Why the hell haven’t you told me this? How long have you known?” What had she said? A few weeks?

What the fuck?

For the first time in his life, he wanted to punch something, break something. His fists clenched at his sides as he fought to control the shitty-ass roller coaster of emotions he was on.

Now of all moments, she chose to tell him. When his world was already rocked. What the hell did he do with this information?

Cassie struggled to stand and approached him. She reached for his arm but he yanked it away. “Tell me the truth, Cassie.”

“I swear to you, Reed, I’ve only known for a few weeks.” She looked pained and he forced himself to calm down. This couldn’t have been easy on her to discover either. Not that he was letting her off the hook for not telling him sooner.

“He reached out to me as part of his recovery.”

But he hadn’t reached out to Reed. He couldn’t decide which part of all this was worse.

“I’m paying for his treatment,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears.

His sister never cried. Ever. The fact that his anger was bringing on this emotion made his chest hurt. He forced a deep breath and unclenched his fists. His father was alive, okay...and an alcoholic...still. He’d always hid it from the family, but as a teenager, Reed had seen everything his parents had tried to conceal.

He stared at the ceiling, his trembling hands resting on his hips. “Does Mom know?”