Chapter 73:
I cry for a long time.
I don't know how long. Long enough that the nurse comes in and checks on Marcus and leaves again. Long enough that the sun moves across the floor. Long enough that Marcus Halloran's hand finds mine on the blanket and holds it.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I should have told you. I should have told you the second I saw you in that trailer park."
"You didn't know me."
"I knew your face. I've been carrying your face in my wallet for thirty years." His voice is rough. "I knew your face the second you walked up to my door. I just didn't know if you'd want to know me."
"Why wouldn't I want to know you?"
"Because I left." He's crying. "Because I left you and your mother and I never came back. Because I let Richard Sterling run me out of town and I let him win."
