She'd made such a horrible mistake.

Alzheimer's. Parkinson's. Cancer. Aidan used a paper napkin to wipe away a drip of chili on his chin. We're on the verge of being able to break apart the human genome inside a cancer cell and see exactly where it went off-track, then target each of those chromosomes with drugs developed to correct that particular defect. It would be like going after a fruit fly with an Uzithat sucker just couldn't get away!

Kat smiled at him, so proud of his passion and intelligence, so aware that his father had been just like him as a young man. She needed to change the subject in a hurry, before she lost her courage.

Speaking of human genes, I have something to tell you, Aidan. She took a deep breath. I need to talk to you about your father.

My /whaaa/ Aidan's entire body went still. His eyesthose intense blue eyes his father gave himhad gone huge. What are you talking about? he whispered.

I haven't been completely honest with you. You need to know that up front. And I am asking you to find some way, at some point in the future, to forgive me.

Aidan dropped the last remaining bite of hot dog onto the chipped plate and stared at her. The enthusiasm that had been in his eyes just seconds ago had been replaced with what Kat could only describe as fear and dread. His mouth pulled tight. You know who my dad is, don't you? You've always known.

Kat was busted. That's true, technically. But it's a much bigger story, and I think you're old enough to hear the whole thing now.

Oh, really? Aidan took a sip of his soda, then slammed the glass down on the green Formica tabletop. He glared at her. I've been old enough to hear the truth for about a decade now and you know it. You haven't told me because /you/ couldn't deal, Mom. Not me. So don't go putting this all on me.

Kat was shocked. Aidan had never talked to her this way before. The anger she saw in him cut her to the bone, but she suspected she had it coming. Telling Aidan the truth was going to take more courage than anything she'd ever done in her life. In comparison, getting in that truck with Cliff Turner seemed like a snap.

All I ask is that you put yourself in the right frame of mind to hear everything I'm about to tell you. Please. Just listen to the whole story; then you can decide how angry to be. Kat tried to reach out to touch his forearm, but he jerked it away. You need to hear this, sweetheart.

Aidan nodded, then brightened up with mock enthusiasm. I am the demon spawn of Troy Mikulski, is that what you're going to tell me? I always suspected it.

Kat thought she'd fall out of her plastic chair. /What? Hell/ no! She reached out for her son again, but he made it clear he was off-limits.

Baby, Troy is not your father. He's just a guy I wasted two years of my life with! Kat was horrified. My God, Aidan. That was back when you were in middle school. Please don't tell me you've been walking around all this time thinking that bozo was your father?

Aidan let loose with a bitter laugh, then shouted, What the hell was I supposed to think? He jumped up and kicked his chair. I never had anything else to go on! Every time I asked about my father, you gave me some lame answer about your sordid past and you not even knowing who knocked you up and that it was all part of a life you wanted to forget!

The grill cook turned around, hot-dog tongs in his hand and his face plastered with a hopeful grin.

Keep your voice down, Aidan.

No! This sucks! He waved his arms around. All you ever told me was that we needed to focus on the here and now, and that was basically nothing but a load of bullshit! You /lied/ to me, Mom. You left me swinging in the wind. How bad can a parent be?

Sit your ass down, Aidan. /Now/. Kat hadn't heard herself speak like that in yearsnot since Aidan came home at 2:00 A.M. from an alleged night at the movies, smelling like pot. She had grounded him for six months. But in this case, Kat knew she was the one who deserved to be grounded. As Aidan plopped back down in his chair, she saw his shoulders droop with despair.

Sure. Why not? he said flatly. Let's have it.

Kat took a giant breath, searching her son's face for an opening, an indication that he was ready. She encountered steady, smart eyes, filled with hurt that was her doing. He was my childhood sweetheart, Aidan. I really thought we loved each other, and he never knew he'd gotten me pregnant, up until recently.

He never knew? Aidan was scowling.

No.

Why?

Because I never told him. I ran away without telling him I was pregnant.

Aidan let out a snort of disgust. Brilliant move, Mom. He took another sip of his drink. He didn't look at her.

But he found out last year, from my mother, just before she died. And he's been looking for youfor both of usever since.

Aidan's neck snapped in attention, and he stared at her. Wait a minute.

You told me your parents died when you were a teenager.

They were dead to me.

Wow. This is so incredibly fucked.

Aidan.

Seriously, seriously fucked. He shook his head. OK, so you say this dudemy /father/has been looking for me? Is that part the truth, at least?

Absolutely. I just saw him last weekend and told him all about you. He mentioned wanting to spend Thanksgiving break with you. I gave him your phone number. That's why I asked you earlier if you'd gotten any strange calls. Kat dug into her bag and pulled out Riley's business card. Here.

This is him. Look on the back.

She watched her son's hand tremble as he traced his fingertips along the raised black print.

He's a freakin' doctor? Aidan looked up, stunned, his whisper fading as he flipped over the card to read Riley's handwritten note: /I can't wait to get to know you, Aidan. Call me at work or on my cell anytime. Here's my home number, too…/ Shit, Mom. I don't believe this! Aidan stuck the business card in her face. But what's that last number there on the end? Is that a seven or a one? I can't read his writing!

Kat laughed. It's as bad as yours.

Where the hell is Persuasion, West Virginia?

It's where I grew up.

Aidan's smile faded, and he pulled the card away. I see. Yet another detail you lied to me about. You always told me you grew up in Martinsburg.

Yeah. At least I got the state right.

Aidan shoved the business card in his front jeans pocket, shaking his head. Anything else you lied to me about, Mom? He folded his hands on the table, his face contorted with sarcasm. Are you an alien? Are you really a man? Is your name even Katharine Turner?

Ah. Kat clicked her tongue on her teeth. Actually No way It's Katharine Cavanaugh. I took Phyllis' last name, not because she was a distant relation, like I told you, but because I didn't want to be found. I wanted to protect you.

Aidan's face fell. Kat knew she was asking a lot of him. Please try to understand, sweetheart.

So my real name is Aidan Cavanaugh?

Well, if that's what you choose. Or Bohland, after your dad. I guess you can decide that later. It's something we'll have to sort out legally, I suppose.

Aidan slowly shook his head, his eyes filled with sadness. What the hell were you thinking, Mom? What could have possibly been so bad that you lied to me from the day I was born? What were you trying to protect me from?

Kat didn't want to cry. She'd prided herself that no matter how rough things had gotten in all those years, no matter how she'd fought to keep it together with night school, work, bills, Aidan had never seen her break down. She was beginning to wonder if she'd done him a disservice by not letting him see how much she'd struggled.

Well, what I was thinking was… I'd hoped to… I just wanted to protect you from Kat gulped down her sob. From what happened to me, dammit! From getting rejected by those people, the people who tossed my pregnant ass out onto the street when I was sixteen years old!