“Understand what?”

“Where is Nico? Is there something people aren’t telling me? He didn’t…die, did he? Your father kept dodging my questions.”

I gulped down a lump that had formed in my throat. I didn’t want to lie to my mother, but I also didn’t want to jeopardize her health. “Don’t worry about Nico. You need to focus on getting better.”

She widened her eyes as much as she could. “Jade, your father… He’s always had a soft spot for me, no matter what. Even when I came back when you were fifteen, and I wanted to come back into your lives, he was ready to let me, but he chose not to for your sake. Because you were so against it.”

“Mom, this is not the kind of discussion to keep your stress level down where it needs to be.”

“Jade, please, I have to say this.”

I sighed. “All right. Go ahead.”

“Your father has always tried to protect me, no matter what. But from you, Jade, from you I know I can get the truth. Now tell me, and do not lie to me. What happened to Nico?”

I drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Are you sure you want to go there right now?”

She nodded.

“All right. Nico is fine. His airbag functioned just fine, and he got out with hardly a scratch.”

“Then why isn’t he here?”

“I don’t know. I saw him briefly the night of the accident when I came to the hospital to see you. Then he left, said he had to fly to Des Moines, and I never saw him again.” Not true. I had seen him talking to someone who I thought was Larry, but there was no need to bring that up.

“That doesn’t seem like Nico. He…loves me.”

“Of course he loves you, Mother. I’m sure he has a very good reason why he’s not here.” I didn’t believe that for a minute, but I didn’t want to upset my mother any more than she already was in her fragile state.

“There’s something else I need to talk to you about,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“I hope you will let me back into your life, Jade. There’s nothing like almost dying in an accident to make you realize what’s important.”

Yeah, there was. Nico. She’d talked about Nico before she got to this. But again, I didn’t want to upset her.

“Mother, we can talk about this when you’re stronger.”

“No, Jade, I want to talk about it now. I was wrong. Wrong about so many things. I brought you into the world, and I should’ve been a mother first. Instead I chose to be Brooke Bailey, supermodel.” She coughed.

“Come on. You’re not strong enough to be doing this right now.”

“No, please hear me out. I’ve already told your father how sorry I am. He was my first love, you know.”

Yes, I knew the whole story of my mother and father. I didn’t think it was any riddle why my father hadn’t remarried. My mother was his one and only love. He was a good-looking man, and many women had expressed interest over the years. But he threw his life into his work and into me.

“Dad forgave you a long time ago.”

“That’s what he told me. Honestly, Jade, I didn’t know until now. But what I want more than anything is your forgiveness.”

I didn’t know what to say. Here my mother was, having just begun recovery from an accident that could’ve easily killed her. I couldn’t exactly tell her, “No, I won’t forgive you.” But I had held on to these feelings of resentment for so long. Talon was going through therapy, trying to heal from his past. Should I do the same thing?

Maybe it was time.

I let out a sigh. “All right, Mother, I forgive you.” I tried hard to mean the words.

She closed her eyes. “Thank you. I want to be a part of your life. I hope you’ll allow me in.”

That was another thing altogether. Did I have room in my life for the woman who’d abandoned me? Who put herself before her only child? I’d have to think long and hard about that. Right now, all I could offer was my forgiveness.

“Mother, you’re going to be here for a while. But when you get strong and healthy, we will talk about all of this, okay?”

She closed her eyes again. “All right, Jade. If that’s the way you want it. I’ll hold you to that.”

I took her hand and squeezed it. “I promise we’ll talk about all of it. When you’re more able to do it. In the meantime, your only job is to focus on getting healthy and strong. Okay? Can you do that for me?”

She nodded slightly, her eyes still closed. “I can do that. For you.” She drifted off to sleep.

I squeezed her hand and then went back outside to the waiting area where my father was. “She’s sleeping now,” I said.

“That’s the best thing for her.”

“She said you told her that you forgave her.”

“I did. Truth is, I forgave her a long time ago.”

“I know you did, Dad. Why didn’t you tell me that you wanted to give her another chance when she came back ten years ago?”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t. You were so full of anger and resentment. You were only fifteen, and my first duty was to you, my daughter.”

“If you’d told me…”

“No. I hold no grudge against you, Jade. I made a vow to you when your mother left that I would care for you, that I would be both parents to you, and that you would come first. Your needs would come first.”

“Maybe it would’ve helped me to have a mother when I was fifteen.”

“As much as I loved Brooke, she wasn’t ready to be mother to a fifteen-year-old girl. It would have made things worse. And there were no guarantees that she would stick around, no matter what she said. I couldn’t take the chance she would do that to you again.”

“Yeah, she might’ve left again,” I said.

“Exactly. And that would’ve hurt you even more. No, I couldn’t do it. As much as I wanted to be with Brooke, I couldn’t.”

I gave my dad a hug. “I’m so sorry, Dad. I’m so sorry you couldn’t have the woman you loved because of me.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. You were my focus, Jade. You were and still are everything to me. Sometimes I miss you so much I can’t see straight.”

“I miss you too. But I’m not that far away. You can always call or text more or come and visit.”