Regan wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “I killed him nineteen years ago.”

Darcy reminded herself to breathe. That certainly wasn’t what she’d expected. But then Ed’s story, about the man Regan had once been involved with, entered her mind.

“In the theater?”

This time, Regan’s eyes shot open wide. “Yes. How did you know that?”

“Ed said something about a man you’d been involved with before you met Zach. He told me the man had beaten you nearly to death and then came back. He said that you shot him.”

Regan nodded. “I forget how much they know. I don’t know if he ever knew about the baby—you.”

“He beat you. My dad said I was born in trauma. He thought it was an accident. He said they were told my mother died, and that I was six weeks early and fought for my life.”

Regan rubbed her hands together. This was obviously making her nervous, perhaps it even pained her.

Darcy was uncomfortable, and she genuinely felt sorry for Regan. But she had to know.

“We were engaged. I met him when I’d moved to L.A. and then we moved to Hawaii. I was so in love with him. He was rich and charismatic. I had the most enormous engagement ring and a beautiful wardrobe.” She stopped for a moment to collect herself. “He was happy about you. Excited. We had a nursery, and he’d bought little outfits. But he was lying to me the whole time. One day he came home and he told me that he’d married someone else.”

“Married someone else?”

Regan nodded. “Yes. She was a wealthy woman and that was very important to him. I was just the daughter of immigrants.”

“That’s terrible.”

“He couldn’t afford to have me—us—in his life. So he set out to kill me. And you.”

The tears came then. Darcy couldn’t stop them, and she didn’t want to.

Regan stood and paced the small room. “I knew I had to give you up to save you. Curtis told him I had died in the attack, and Alexander fled the country. It was stupid. We should have had him locked up, but at the time…” she stopped and looked at Darcy, “all I cared about was you.”

“Me?” Darcy got to her feet. “If all you cared about was me, why did you give me away? Why did you turn your back on me?”

“I didn’t turn my back on you. I gave you away so he couldn’t find you. They told him you were dead, too. There was no reason for him to ever go looking for you and hurt you. You had a good family, and you were safe.”

There was no argument for that. She certainly did have a good family and never in her life had she felt threatened.

Regan wiped at her eyes. She was crying now, hard. “I loved you so much. Giving you away was the hardest thing I ever did. Having you back hurts so much, you can’t imagine.”

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and the ache in her heart was different. “I never meant you any pain. I had no idea, not one, that you might have been the person I was looking for.” There was no way she was going to tell her that she had actually thought perhaps her husband had been her father. No good could come out of that.

“I didn’t say it was a pain I wouldn’t endure.” Regan walked toward her. “You’re here, in my life. It would hurt even worse to know I knew you and that you walked away.”

“I don’t belong here.”

Regan took her hand and turned it so that the tattoo showed. “You do.” She pulled Darcy into her arms and held her.

Darcy wanted to be strong and just stand there, but she couldn’t. A deep, hard sob broke free. She wrapped her arms around Regan and held her tight.

“Darcy, you are my daughter. I don’t ever want to lose you again. I won’t. I didn’t want to lose you the first time. I don’t want to do it again.”

She wanted to speak. She did. But the words were buried in her throat.

Regan pulled back and wiped the tears from Darcy’s face. “Ed will come around. He will.”

Darcy only nodded. She wasn’t sure.

“I want you to stay in Nashville. I think we need each other.”

Darcy nodded again. She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to be Regan’s daughter. She did belong to the family she loved so much.

“Spencer and Tyler are a bit confused right now. Zach took them home, and they’re having a very long talk.”

“I never thought about all this when I went looking for you.”

“How could you ever have imagined.”

“They’re going to hate me.”

“They liked you just fine. You’ll be even more important to them.”

The moment sunk in. “I have brothers.”

Regan laughed through her tears. “They are amazing boys. Amazing.”

“Now I know why I was so comfortable around them.”

“And why you all have the same eyes.” The voice came from the door.

Both Darcy and Regan turned to see Ed standing there. His hair was mussed, and his shirt untucked. He almost looked like he’d been in a fight.

The pain in Darcy’s chest deepened as she looked at him. She loved him so much, but how could they possibly ever go back to the way they were?

“I’m going to head home and see if I can help the boys through this.” She kissed Darcy’s cheek. “I’ve missed you so much. I think, if you’ll have me, I’d like to take over where your mother left off. And she did a wonderful job, by the way.”

Darcy sucked in a breath. “I’d like that.”

“Come by for dinner tomorrow. Spend some time with the boys. You’ll all need to heal over this. And you should do it together. You’re blood.”

They were. Oh, she had brothers. Her head spun and she thought she might even pass out, but it was exactly what she’d wanted.

Regan pulled her in for one more embrace and then turned to Ed.

She walked toward the door and stopped in front of him. “None of this is easy. On you, on her, or on any of us. Decisions were made twenty-five years ago, and now we have to face this.”

Ed wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at the floor.

Regan lifted his chin until he looked at her. “She is my daughter, and I love her very much. Eduardo, I love you, too. Look past the tear that I caused and listen with your heart.”

She patted his cheek and walked out, leaving two very hurt people alone to work out their differences.