Chapter Eighteen

Dolly

"You're going to have to tell him."

I flopped back on my bed and let out a long, frustrated sigh and stared at the ceiling like it could offer me some kind of escape. "I know, but he's going to hate me, Lindsay. Hell, Nash might even end up hating me."

Lindsay's voice crackled through the speaker of my phone, calm but firm. "They're not going to hate you," she said with more certainty than I felt. "But they are more than likely going to be upset. I'm going to be the voice of honesty here, okay?"

I closed my eyes and draped my arm over them. "Hit me with it."

"I know the reasons why you didn't tell Boone you were pregnant and why you pushed him to leave. Eighteen-year-old me totally agreed with you."

I could hear the shift in her voice, and I braced myself.

Oh boy.

"But thirty-three-year-old me kind of wants to go back in time and kick your butt. Mine, too, because I went along with the lie."

"It's not a lie," I groaned, feeling defensive.

"Dolly," Lindsay's tone was sharp, a verbal slap on the wrist.

"He didn't ask me if I was pregnant," I argued, trying to justify it. "If he would have, I would have told him I was."

"You're technically right, but you also didn't willingly tell the man you were going to have his baby. Come on, you know you're splitting hairs here. You're gonna have to just rip the band-aid off and let the cards fall where they will, Dolly. Nash loves you, and he's not going to hate you. Like I said, he'll be angry, but he'll come around. Boone, well…" she trailed off, taking a deep breath. "I don't know what Boone's going to do, Dolly, but whatever he does, you've got to go with it."

I could already feel her words pressing down on my chest, but she wasn't done.

"Here comes the hard truth, okay?"

I held my breath, steeling myself for what was coming next.

"You had the best of intentions and thought you were doing what was best for Boone. But he's not going to see it that way, sugar. For the past fourteen years, he's had a son he didn't know about. He missed out on a lot, and the only reason that happened is because of you."

It felt like a punch to the gut, her words landing with the force of a truth I'd been avoiding for years. My throat tightened, and I sniffled, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. "I love and hate you right now," I muttered. Everything she said was true.

I had made this mess, and now Boone was back in town, and the secret I'd buried so deep was about to come crashing down. I couldn't avoid it anymore. "I'm supposed to meet Boone tomorrow for breakfast. I guess I'll tell him then. I mean, once word gets out that Boone and I are back together, the rumors will start up again about who Nash's dad is if I don't nip it in the bud now. Gah, this sucks, Linds!"

"I know, sweetie, I know." Her voice softened, full of sympathy. "But you know the sooner you get rid of this secret, the sooner you can start working on building back trust with both Nash and Boone."

She was right. I'd been holding onto this secret for far too long, and it had only grown heavier over the years. The longer I waited, the more damage it would do.

"Tomorrow the truth is going to come out," I whispered, the fear creeping into my voice. "And I just pray to God there's a happy ending at the end of this."

"You got this," Lindsay said gently, her tone soothing. "It's going to be hard, but you're strong, and they'll both see that. Just be honest with them and give them the space they need to process it."

"Thanks, Linds," I said softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably keep hiding Nash until he went away to college," she teased lightly. "But seriously, Dolly, I'm always here. You know that."

After hanging up, I stared at the ceiling for a while longer, and my mind raced. The fear of losing Boone and losing Nash's trust weighed heavy on my chest. I'd spent so long protecting them from this truth, thinking it was for the best. But now I realized that it was only hurting them more.

I needed to tell Boone about Nash. I needed to let him in. But how would he react? Would he be angry? Would he feel betrayed? God, I didn't know if I could handle it if he walked away.

And Nash—he was my baby. He'd always looked up to me and trusted me. What if this changed everything between us?

My stomach churned as I thought about the conversation I'd have to have with both of them. Tomorrow at breakfast, Boone was going to find out the truth, and it was going to change everything.