15
Abigail held her father’s hand tightly. The sight of him—helpless and pale on the bed—brought tears to her eyes. He had always been so strong, so unshakeable. The first and last time she’d seen her father brought to his knees by anything was the day her mother died.
Their relationship cracked and then crumbled to ashes as soon as Gloria Palacio’s body was lowered into the ground. It was as if his wife’s passing had sucked all the light from their life. If she hadn’t gotten close to Mateo and his family, Abigail would have been stuck in the darkness forever.
She brought his hand to her lips and kissed the back of it, overcome by regret and sorrow. Her father’s decision to send her to America when she was eighteen had hurt her deeply, but as Abigail grew, she understood why he did. She
