Azure turned and faced him, and he looked at the floor. She leaned against the refrigerator. When she spoke, there was concern and a little fear in her voice. “Brian, what is it?”

He couldn’t look at her. He didn’t want to have her reaction seared into his memory. He spoke with his head down, as if the guilt of the secret was too heavy.

“I have a son,” he said, and his voice sounded a million miles away.

Finally he looked at her. Azure’s face said it all. Shock. Bewilderment. She took a breath. “A son?”

Brian nodded and looked down again, the pain on her face too much for him to bear.

“With . . .” She stopped and regained her composure. “With Melissa?”

“Yeah,” he whispered.

Azure turned away and put a hand on the sink to steady herself. He waited for the barrage of questions about what had happened or why he hadn’t told her, but she stayed quiet. And it was into the silence that he now spoke.

“I was still in high school. And . . . I just had a hard time telling anyone.”

He looked up and saw Azure studying him intently. His goal had been to keep her from the hurt. But now he realized his concern hadn’t been for Azure or anyone else—it had been for himself. He had held this in for nearly twenty years because he didn’t want to hurt. And the secret had hurt him and everyone he cared about.

When she turned away, he whispered, “I am so sorry. I should have told you.”

“Yeah,” Azure said, her voice shaking.

Brian felt the emotion finally take control and he began to cry softly. He’d always thought that crying was the worst thing a man could do, but here he was, at the end of being able to control anything.

Azure turned and said, “Okay.” Something in her voice gave him hope. She took a few steps toward him. “Look at me.”

Brian looked into her eyes and saw his reflection. She didn’t look away or even blink. She reached out and took his hands in hers. “I’m here for you . . . no matter what.”

When she touched his face, he let go and wept, and she drew him into an embrace. Brian hugged her so tightly he didn’t ever want to let go. And he felt something happen there in that kitchen that he’d never felt. He’d always looked at love as something you give once the other person earns it. But this was love in spite of his actions and his secrets. This was love without the strings.

They held on to each other for a long time before Azure let go and pulled out a chair at the table and sat. “I want you to tell me everything.”

And he did.

CHAPTER 25