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She gave me a half smile. “Enough to know you’ve been placed in a tough spot. A spot my husband forced you into,” her voice trembled. “I feel like my life has been a lie.” She broke down and placed her face in her hands.
I could relate to my life feeling like a lie, yet I wasn’t sure what to do to comfort her. I decided it was best to let her cry it out and talk when she was ready. After a few minutes, her sobs turned to shudders. She took several tissues and tried to compose herself. “I’m so sorry to act like this after everything you’ve been through.”
“Please, don’t apologize. I feel as if I should apologize to you. You treated me like a daughter, all while my marriage was a sham.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute. Neither do you.”
I rested my head on my knees. “I love Brock, but we shouldn’t have gotten married.”
She smoothed my hair. “I know you love my son. And he loves you. Perhaps it would have been best to wait to marry, but I think the fact that you both went through with it says volumes about how deeply you want each other.”
“I had no choice.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to disagree with you. You had choices. You could have lied about the baby. Kept secret what had happened between you and Brant. Yet you chose to tell the man you loved the truth, despite the consequences. It speaks to your strong, good character.”
I lifted my head, wanting to believe her.
“You are my daughter,” she choked out. “Though I won’t blame you if you want to leave this family. I’m not even sure if my own marriage will survive this.” The color drained from her face as if she couldn’t believe she’d said that.
My heart leaped that she thought of me as her daughter but broke because she was obviously distraught. I had to admit, though, I was curious. “Do you mind me asking what John told you?”
She wiped her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “It’s more what he didn’t say. He didn’t deny blackmailing you, though he wouldn’t tell me or the boys why or what Edward Copeland is holding over his head. All he would say was that it was the best thing for our family if we all kept this to ourselves and went on with our lives as if nothing has happened. I can’t do that. That’s not who we are.”
“What are you going to do?”
She stared blankly at me for few moments. “I don’t know,” she cried. “John and the boys have been my entire world. But it wasn’t my John telling me those things. The man I married stood up to bullies. He would never become one himself. Oh, Dani, I’m sorry. I just want you to know I don’t care about your past. I know who you are.”
“Do you? Could you tell me?”
“Darling girl.” She placed her hands on my cheeks. “You are amazing. You rose above the toughest circumstances and look what you made of your life. It’s remarkable. As are you. Don’t you think any different.” She kissed my forehead with all the tenderness of a mother. “I’m going to go now and let you get some rest. I’ll be staying with Brock for a while, if you need me.”
“You left John?” I blurted, so surprised.
“I suppose for lack of a better term, yes.”
I could hear the heartbreak in her voice. “I don’t know if it matters, but I know John loves you.” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to come to his aid. Probably because I could see the anguish in Sheridan’s eyes.
“That’s what hurts the most. I know he does. And before this, there was never anything he wouldn’t do for me. He’s never kept anything from me, until now. Whatever Edward knows, it must be life changing. And that scares me. What did my husband do?” she cried. “And why must my son suffer, marrying a woman he doesn’t love?”
“I don’t know, but I’m scared for Brant. Scared for us all.”
“Me too.” She sat up tall. “But this I know—I’ll protect my sons at all costs. That goes for my daughter too.”
I threw my arms around her.
She reciprocated and held me for the longest time. “Don’t give up on Brock or yourself,” she pleaded. “Take all the time you need, but please don’t push me out of your life.”
“I won’t,” I promised.
She leaned away and took a long look at me. “When you feel better, if you would like, we could memorialize the baby in some special way. It always helped me. It reminded me that it was real.”
“I would like that.”
“You just say the word and I’ll make it happen.”
“Thank you, Sheridan.”
