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At first Emily might be reluctant about this plan of action, but Rafe was confident he could change her mind and bring her around to his way of thinking.
He’d seen that look in her eyes as she’d drifted off to sleep last night. She cared for him. He was gambling that she wanted him in her life as much as he wanted to be there.
He’d never been much of a gambling man. He preferred to take risks where he could control the outcome. But there was no controlling Em. She was a force unto herself and no matter what happened, she was never going to be coerced into doing anything she wasn’t comfortable with.
* * *
Emily, her mom and Harry spent a pleasant day together at her house. It was nice to forget about everything and just enjoy having her mom home.
Jessica Fielding had the same blue eyes as Emily but her hair was blond and cut short in a low-maintenance bob. She’d had a look of mild concern on her face ever since she docked earlier today. “So how far along are you?” she asked.
“About eight weeks. I’m not really showing yet but have lots of morning sickness,” Emily said as her mom got up and brought her a glass of homemade lemonade and a gingersnap. Emily had been ordered to sit on the padded chaise longue in the shade of a big magnolia tree in the backyard while Harry manned the grill preparing fish for their dinner and her mom bustled around doing things for Emily that she could do herself.
She’d protested at first, but then figured her mom was only in town for a few days and it was okay to let her spoil her. Well, fetching drinks and fixing dinner was probably going to be the extent of the spoiling. Her mom wasn’t one of those in-your-face, hands-on parents.
“Tell me about the father,” her mom said. “Is he totally out of the picture?”
Emily took a sip of her lemonade. “Not entirely. Was my dad when you were pregnant?”
“Em,” Jessica said.
“Mom, I want to know more about him. I’m not going to suddenly show up on his doorstep—how could I? Is he even alive?” These were the questions she’d kept hidden away for years but the truth was, she needed to know now more than ever. She’d always wanted to know for herself but really felt as if she had to know the answers to share with your child.
“No, you can’t show up on his doorstep, Emily. He’s dead. He died when you were three,” Jessica said at last. She rubbed her hand over her forehead and Emily almost felt bad for asking about him.
But she had a right to know. Someday her child was going to want to know about Rafe, and Emily planned to have the answers ready.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me this?”
“You never asked.”
“I didn’t ask because you seemed sad whenever I said anything about my father,” Emily said.
“Sorry, sweetie, I just thought you were too young to understand and then as you got older you never brought it up so I kept quiet.”
“Is that why we moved here?” Emily asked.
“That was part of it. Also, I had the grant so I needed to live someplace where I could do my work and be home every night for you,” Jessica said
She got that. Work had always been her mother’s driving force. Emily had been swimming before she learned to walk and had understood boat safety by the time she was six. Her life had been on the water and as an assistant to her mother’s work. The work always came first, and Em had understood that at a very early age.
Emily was beginning to think of what she would do once her baby was born, and though she hadn’t talked to Harry yet, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be tending bar.
“Did he want me?” Emily asked. It was the question that had weighed on her mind for a long time.
“He did, sweetie, but he had another family. He was a married man,” Jessica said at last. “He saw you from time to time before he died. But really he knew that he couldn’t leave his wife.”
That wasn’t what she’d expected. A married man. Had her mother known he was married? It didn’t fit the picture she had of her mother, of the woman she’d always thought her mother was. Then the thought struck her that she might have another family.
“Do I have siblings?” she asked, mildly alarmed by the thought of strangers who might share her DNA.
“No. His wife was infertile and they never had children. He offered to adopt you and raise you with his wife, but I couldn’t let you go.”
Harry left his position by the grill and went over to her mother, putting his hand on her shoulder. Emily realized now why her mom had never spoken of her father. But she was glad to finally know something about him.
She went over to her mom and hugged her tightly. Her mom hugged her back, and then kissed the top of her head.
