My Stepdad Raised Me From the Age of Four—Then, in a Hospital Bed, He Whispered Something That Left Me in Tears

whether he knew how to make pancakes shaped like stars.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“He made them for Miley.”

“You were four.”

Caroline placed the cutter on the table.

“He called me that afternoon. He was crying so hard I could barely understand him. He said he had made the pancakes. He said he had spoken Miley’s name aloud for the first time in years and continue reading …