"No," he confirmed gruffly, eyes red and swollen. "Not my son."

Another heart wrenching truth.

"Do you remember the summer your mother went to help your aunt Kathy with the farm? She was gone for a long time and when she came back, she was heavily pregnant with Bobby?"

"Yes," I wheezed out, feeling faint.

"Well, I found out about the affair shortly before she left for your aunt's house," he confirmed grimly. "We separated for that summer."

Another lie.

Another secret.

Another cover-up.

"Mom left us?" I shook my head. "For an entire summer? She wasn't with aunt Kathy?"

Dad shook his head. "No, sweetheart, she wasn’t with your aunt."

"So, she was with Wren?"

He bowed his head. "She was."

"But y'all told me that Wren was away at police training that whole summer," I mumbled and then choked out a humorless laugh when awareness smacked me straight in the face. "That was the summer you guys had that big fight… when y'all decided that Daryl and I shouldn’t hang out anymore." Pain ricocheted through my heart. "Oh my god, I'm such an idiot." Tears trickled down my cheeks. "I thought you and Wren were arguing about business! I didn’t realize you were fighting about my mom!" Another sob tore from my chest. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because you were just a little girl," he soothed. "I didn’t want their ugliness to ruin your innocence or destroy your childhood."

"But Daryl knew?" I demanded, angry and hurt. "We're the same age, but he was allowed to know?"

"It wasn't that he was allowed to know, Molly," Dad interjected softly. "It was more like he figured it out on his own."

"How?" I cried, throwing my hands up.

"That's something you'll have to ask Daryl."

"I don’t want to ask him!" I screamed, delirious with grief. "He was supposed to be my best friend and he didn’t tell me. He lied to me just like y'all lied. I don’t want to speak to him ever again!"

"That's your hurt talking, Molly Sue."

"Maybe that's true," I sniffled, wiping my nose with the sleeve of my over-sized hoodie. "But I can't see or think past the hurt right now, Dad."

"We can stop at any time, Molly," Dad offered. "This conversation doesn’t have to happen all at once. If you're tired, we can –"

"No." Sniffling, I shook my head. "I need to hear it all now. Tonight. Right here, Dad."

"Wren was the first to come to his senses," he continued, sounding as exhausted as I felt. "And Trish? Well, I don’t know the inner workings of her mind, but she welcomed him back with open arms. Sophie was still little, and I don’t think the woman had the heart to go it alone again – not after Scott walked out a few years before that. You must remember that we all grew up together, and I remember how torn up Trish was when Scott bailed on her for college."