“Ian, what is it?” Jenna asked, noticing the shock on my face. “This girl… Kenzie… she’s Dorothy’s daughter,” I whispered.

“Dorothy? Your high school girlfriend?” Jenna asked, her eyes widening. “Yeah, the one who left me for Wesley. This… this girl, Kenzie, she’s their daughter.”

Kenzie returned from the bathroom, her face pale and wary. She saw the ID card in my hand, and her expression shifted from fear to resignation. “You found it,” she said quietly.

“Yes, I did,” I replied, my voice firm. “Kenzie, why are you here?”

She hesitated, her eyes filled with fear and desperation. “My mom… Dorothy… she passed away a year ago in a car accident. After she died, my dad, Wesley, found out I wasn’t his daughter.”

He got a DNA test and when he saw the results, he just… left me. Sent me to an orphanage.” I felt a knot in my stomach. “He left you? Just like that?”

Kenzie nodded, tears welling in her eyes. “I had nowhere to go. I found out about you from one of my mom’s friends, Avril. She told me about you, Ian, and I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Do you think I might be your father?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Kenzie nodded. “I didn’t know what else to do. I thought you might help me, even if I wasn’t your daughter.”

Jenna touched my arm gently. “Ian, we need to help her.” I nodded, feeling the weight of the situation. “Kenzie, if there’s any chance you’re my daughter, we need to know. We’ll get a DNA test and figure this out.”

The ride to the hospital was tense. Memories of Dorothy flooded back, but so did the reality that this teenager could be my daughter.

After the samples were taken, we waited in the hospital’s small café. Kenzie, nervous, asked about her mom. “Dorothy was something else,” I said, smiling at the memories.

“She had a laugh that could fill a room. We were kids, but I thought I was gonna marry her.” Kenzie smiled sadly. “She taught me to dance.”

When the nurse finally brought the test results, my heart pounded. Positive. 99.9% probability of paternity. “Kenzie… you’re my daughter,” I whispered, tears in my eyes.

Kenzie smiled and hugged me tight. “I’m so sorry,” I choked out. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” “You didn’t know,” she replied, her voice soft. “You couldn’t have known.”

Jenna, wiping away tears, asked, “What now?” I smiled at Kenzie, finally feeling some relief. “How do you feel about pizza?”

Kenzie laughed, and in that moment, the warmth of family replaced the cold of the snowstorm outside.