I gripped the bedrail.
“You saw her?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t stop?”
He shook his head.
“I didn’t know what to say.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“You could have said, ‘I’m your grandfather.’”
He began crying again.
“I couldn’t.”
“Then why did you send someone after Meredith when she tried to give Ellie the ring?”
His voice was barely audible.
“Because I knew you’d eventually learn what happened. I was afraid you’d blame me.”
I looked at him for a long moment.
“You didn’t cause the crash,” I said quietly. “But you did leave your daughter outside your house when she came asking for a second chance.”
Richard turned his face away.
I continued.
“For three years, Ellie has believed she had no one left except me.”
He whispered, “I wanted to know her.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“I was ashamed.”
