Chimera Fields you're just a line in a song.

Penn had emptied himself of any expectations for that moment. He'd fantasized about it plenty of times in his life, and the reactions he'd visualized had ranged from her falling into his arms with joy to her drowning him in a puddle. But he had long ago determined that he was very unlikely to foretell what she actually would do. And in any event, it didn't exactly matter. She didn't owe him anything. He was the one who owed her, and she could do what she wanted with it.

He was surprised when he heard her voice again. There was emotion in it that he couldn't quite place, but he decided not to try so hard to figure it out. He just listened to her instead as she spoke. It didn't take him more than an instant to figure out who she was referring to when she said he bailed on him. He felt sick to his stomach instantly. He'd known Bronco was the cause of her despair back then. He hadn't known there was a kid involved, though.

Penn didn't say anything, though. He just let her talk since that's what she'd done for him. "You're right. I know I should have," he said quietly, "I can't speak for everyone--I don't know who all that even entails--But you should know though that it wasn't me assuming you couldn't handle the truth. It was me not thinking I could handle you knowing the truth."