She felt the weight of it like a tangible, living thing in her chest. Something about Andy inspired trust and invited confidences. She wanted to tell him. Besides, it would be a relief to have someone else to talk to about it. Ever since the death of her aunt, there’d been no one but Kate to confide in and she’d only been back in the country for two years, after living overseas for a decade. “Jack was born nine months after my sixteenth birthday,” she began, crossing her arms over her chest and staring down at the floor. “Jack’s father—the boy I thought was as madly in love with me as I was with him—told me to get an abortion. He told me he was too young to be a father. He wouldn’t even consider keeping it. He forced me to make an appointment with a clinic, but I didn’t want to go ahead with an abortion.” The awful memories assailed her. When she spoke again, her voice was harsh with emotion. “I was too scared to tell him… I didn’t want to risk his anger. I wasn’t sure what he’d do.
