My hands fist in my lap, but she keeps talking. When the plumber knocks on the door, Cam excuses himself to take care of it.

What would I do without him?

“After I had the baby, my Constance, things got…weird. He was gone more. He was always gone a lot because he had a job that took him all over the place. He traveled a lot, right?”

I nod but don’t say anything.

“It got to where he’d come home for one day a week, and then even less. And he became abusive. He didn’t want to have much of anything to do with the baby, and he said he’d come around more if I dropped some weight and didn’t look like a cow.”

I close my eyes and take a long, deep breath. God, he was a piece of shit. I mean, he was cheating on me with this woman, but still a piece of shit to speak to her that way.

“He ended up calling off the engagement, and Constance didn’t see him often. He promised to come around but always broke those promises. He missed birthdays and holidays. Of course, now I realize that he was spending the holidays with you.”

“Sometimes,” I whisper as Cam sits next to me once more and holds my hand. I turn to him. “Is the plumber doing his thing?”

“He’s already gone. Turned out to be an easy fix.”

“Oh. Okay. Sorry, go ahead.”

“A few months ago, Constance asked if she could call her daddy. I called his number, and it had been disconnected. I don’t know why, but I had a bad feeling and decided to do some digging.” Heather rubs a hand over her face. “I found his obituary. And my God, it was all about a man I didn’t know. The name fit, but the details? Everything was wrong. I couldn’t imagine how he could have a life in Washington. A wife. I was just…stunned.”

“It took you months to try to find him? You have a child. Are you saying that it never occurred to you that you hadn’t heard from him or received any money?”

“No, it didn’t. He didn’t pay child support, and like I said, we would go months without a word. I moved on with my life, and Connie and I are doing well. I even met someone. But when I found the obituary, I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I slept with a married man. I had a child with him. And all the while, he was lying to me.”

I take a long, deep breath and glance over at Cam and then back at Heather.

“What do you want to know?”