Funny, once, he’d have said he hated confrontation, but before anyone—even her mom—upset his wife, they had to deal with him first.

Chapter 19

Four days later, Leanne sat in her car numbly staring at the steering wheel.

The day had started so well, then Junie messaged unexpectedly, asking her to meet up. That never boded well. Then Trev gave her a heads-up that Junie had news about her bio-dad, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about him screening Junie’s content. On one hand, she’d liked it because it meant he cared enough to try and protect her, but it also felt like maybe he’d crossed a line. Yet she wasn’t sure if she thought so, as she wasn’t the most experienced in such matters. Maybe it was normal for partners to get involved under those circumstances?

In the end, it had helped that she’d known what to expect heading to the meeting, as Trev had outlined his discussion with Junie already. It didn’t take long for her mom to sum it all up. She’d been young, and she’d had a torrid affair with a married witch from a prominent witch family. Apparently, Leanne had two half brothers and a half sister somewhere out there, not that she was in any hurry to meet these new relations. If her so-called father had cared about her genuinely, he wouldn’t have waited until he was dying to look for Junie and Leanne.

“What, does he need a kidney or half my liver?” she’d asked. “None of his other kids are a match, is that it?”

“LeLe, please. It’s fine if you don’t want to meet him, but it’s not like that. He just wants to see your face before it’s too late.”

“It was too late when he let you walk thirty-eight years ago.”

And despite letting the news sink in, her fundamental opinion hadn’t changed. She’d never had a father before, and she didn’t need one now. It felt like the height of selfishness to ask her to invest her time, energy, and emotions into someone who was likely dying and was looking to expiate some sin at the end of his time on earth, if one subscribed to that view of the afterlife. Which she didn’t.

Muttering a curse, she finally bounded out of the car and stormed toward the condo. She felt like throwing a fit, but she was too old to shout and throw things. Leanne took the elevator up, and when the doors swished open, she smelled the warm, comforting scent of dinner cooking. Something meaty, maybe with root vegetables. The fact that Trev was home, waiting for her, sliced the edge off her agitation.