After the Ex Games by J. S. Cooper, Helen Cooper Page A

thought of you. You have been in my heart from the moment you were born.”
    “Then why didn’t you come for me?”
    “I didn’t want to upset your life. You were with your parents. They loved you. They took care of you. I made sure to send money every month. I made sure you were okay. I had someone make sure you were okay. I’m sorry. If I were to do it again, I’d make another choice,”
    I looked down at the floor then, not knowing what to say or how to feel.
    “See this?” He took something out of the file. “This is a picture you drew for me that weekend.” He handed me a drawing that I vaguely remembered. “You drew it and you gave it to me with the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen. I gave you a hug and I never wanted to let go.” His voice caught. “I’ve had this picture with me since that day. I look at it and I think of you. I think of my daughter. I think of how much I love you. I think about how proud I am of you.”
    “Proud?” I frowned.
    “I’m proud because you’re a straight A student. I’m proud because you volunteer at an animal shelter. I’m proud because last year you went to prom with a guy who has Down’s syndrome. I’m proud because you think with your heart and you do what you think is right.”
    “How did you know all that?” I looked up at him with a beating heart.
    “I may not have been in your life, but I’ve made sure to keep track of your life.” His eyes were bright with unshed tears. “You’ve always been in my heart. I’m not proud of the man that I was. I’m not proud of the secrets I’ve kept, the lies I’ve told, the jealousy in my heart. But I want things to change. I want things to be different. I want you in my life. I want us to have a relationship. I want the chance to be the father I should have been from the beginning.”
    “I don’t know.” I bit my lip and looked at Katie to see how she was reacting.
    “I want that as well, Nancy.” She looked into my eyes. “Brandon and I have our own tumultuous history, and there have been times that I have hated him, but he’s a good man. He’s the man I love. He’s the man I want to spend my life with. I know this is hard for you and this is your decision, but know that you are welcome into our family with open arms.”
    “I don’t know what to say.” I stood up and looked at Brandon. “I didn’t know you cared at all.”
    “You can see in these files.” He handed them to me. “I’ve been keeping up with everything in your life.”
    “Why didn’t you come to the club when I was there?”
    “He didn’t know.” Greyson spoke up then. “He didn’t know you were there. I didn’t know who you were at first. Patsy didn’t tell me. I thought you were just another girl. When I found out you were Maria’s sister, I didn’t know what to do. I knew, of course, that you were the baby we’d covered up, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t tell Brandon right away. I was so caught up in Meg. I wanted to pretend that my past didn’t exist. I felt like the devil and I just didn’t know what to do. And then I saw you and Meg getting close and I was scared. I didn’t know what you knew. I didn’t know what you would say. I asked Patsy what was going on. She said she didn’t know.” He sighed. “I trusted her. I should have known she was the weak link. She knew everything, of course. She was the only one who knew everything, aside from Brandon and me.”
    “He told me that you were there the day you went missing.” Brandon spoke up then. “We thought David or Patsy had you. We were going to talk to her, but then the notes started arriving and we didn’t know what to think. The only thing we knew was that you knew the truth. We just wanted to meet you and talk to you, but then you never showed up to the lunch.” His eyes looked at me with a question and I shrugged.
    “Patsy told me to leave.”
    “We waited for hours. I just wanted to see you, to explain, to hug you.”
    “I wish