“Yes, she should, Jack, because it was important information. I’m trying to build a relationship with your girls, and how can I do that if there are major things I don’t know? I’ve been stumbling around in the dark trying to understand Izzy, and now I discover that she isn’t your child! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I honestly didn’t think of it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously, because she is my child, Flora.” There was a fire in his eyes that made her wonder if she’d misunderstood.

“Jack—”

“In every sense that matters, she’s my daughter.”

It started to rain, just a few drops at first and then a steady patter that slid from leaves onto her shoulder. “In every sense that matters?”

He tugged her under the shelter of a tree. “It’s true that Becca was pregnant when I married her. Biologically Izzy isn’t my child. I knew that. It was never a secret, and we were straight with Izzy from the moment she was old enough to learn about parents and families. She was fine with it. I was fine with it. And I’ve loved Izzy as my own from the first moment I saw her. You ask why I didn’t share it—the answer is because I don’t think about it. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to mention it. I’m struggling to hold everything together here—I’m trying to remember not to put ham in the sandwiches, to make sure both girls get where they’re supposed to be going, wearing what they’re supposed to wear, and I lie awake most nights counting the ways I’m screwing this up and wondering what impact that will have on them. My head is so full it feels as if it’s going to burst. And I can understand why you’re upset, I really can. I can see how this might look from the outside and if I’d thought of it, I probably would have told you, but I didn’t think of it because in my head and my heart, she’s mine.”

I can see how this might look from the outside.

She was the one on the outside, but she couldn’t think about that now.

Her cheeks were damp. Rain and tears mingled. She wished Izzy could have heard that speech. She needed to hear that speech. “You’re not screwing up, Jack. And when it comes to families, I’m a total beginner but I don’t think it’s about being perfect. It’s not about always getting it right. It’s about trying your hardest, and caring—” her voice broke “—and you do all that. You do that. The most important thing is that the kids know you love them.”

“I don’t know why Izzy would raise it with you now, but it isn’t an issue.”