“When are you going to tell her?”
“Tomorrow.At breakfast.”
Charlene took down two cups, then measured out cocoa and sugar.“You’ll think of something.Billie is a bright girl.She’ll handle this better than you imagine.”
“I hope so.”
She poured the steaming milk into the mugs and stirred.After handing him one, she took the other and sat opposite him at the round oak table.“You’ll be a fine father.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know the kind of man you are, Adam Barrington.Have a little faith in yourself.”She picked up her cup.“To fatherhood and one more generation of Barringtons.”
They tapped mugs.In the corner of her kitchen, the CB unit squawked.“Breaker, breaker, I’m lookin’ for my redheaded Southern belle.Charlene, you listenin’ to me, darlin’?”
Adam raised one eyebrow.
Charlene tossed her head as she rose to her feet.“I’m just keeping busy.”
Chapter Ten
Adam laid out the dozen cinnamon rolls Charlene had brought over, then set the plate in the center of the kitchen island.He moved them slightly to the left.Next he put out place mats, some fruit and napkins.He was about to check the front window to see if Billie and Jane were coming over yet when he remembered that he had to start the coffee.
He hadn’t been this nervous since he—He shook his head.He’d never been this nervous.It wasn’t every day a man was introduced to his child.Usually it happened in the hospital while the kid was an infant and too little to make judgments about liking and not liking.Billie was eight and very opinionated.What if she decided she didn’t want him for her father?He couldn’t force himself onto her.It hadn’t taken a hell of a lot of soul-searching to realize how very much he wanted to be part of her life.
He gave the kitchen a quick once-over, realized he’d forgotten plates, then set them on the place mats.As he straightened the napkins, he heard a knock on the back door.
Billie didn’t bother to wait for him to answer.She barreledinto the room and grinned.“Itoldher we didn’t have to knock.We have breakfast together almost every day.I said you were ‘specting me.”
“Expecting,” he answered, before bending over and giving her a hug.
“Whatever,” Billie said as she hugged him back, then wiggled out of his embrace and climbed up onto a stool at the center island.“All right!Cinnamon rolls.My favorite.”She picked one up and began licking the icing.
“Good morning, Adam,” Jane said as she hovered in the doorway.The shadows under her eyes told him she, too, had had a sleepless night.
The nervousness, anticipation and concern swirling in his stomach didn’t leave any room for other emotions like anger or resentment.He and Jane were in this together.The first order of business was to tell Billie the truth.Once that was taken care of, he and Jane would have plenty of time to work through everything else.He knew he’d have to come to terms with what Jane had done.He couldn’t continue to hate the mother of his child; not without hurting Billie.And she was his main priority.
“Morning.”He waved toward the chairs.“Have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
She sounded as awkward as he felt.As she walked by him, the hem of her floral-print skirt brushed his bare leg.The cotton tickled.He’d thought about dressing up for their talk with Billie, but had decided shorts and a polo shirt would look less as though he was interviewing for the job of father.
“I made coffee.It’s almost ready,” he said.“Would you like some juice?”
“That would be nice.”She seated herself next to Billie, leaving the chair at right angles to the girl for him.
He poured one glass.“Billie?”he asked, holding up the pitcher.
“Sure.”She grinned.“And milk, please.”
Icing coated her face from her nose to her chin.Crumbs collected at the corner of her mouth.The ever-present baseball cap had been abandoned on the counter and her bangs stuck up along her forehead.She looked adorable.
Her hair—He stared at it for a second, then glanced at Jane.They didn’t have the same color.Jane’s was darker, a true brown with no hint of blond or red.Billie’s hair was lighter.He finished pouring the juice and gave them each a glass.She hadhishair color.He peered closer.And his eyes.His heart clenched in his chest, as if a giant fist squeezed it tight.It was real.He couldn’t believe he’d never noticed.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”Billie asked.
Adam shrugged an apology, but couldn’t take his eyes from the girl.The freckles on her nose looked just like Dani’s.Her mouth—he glanced at Jane, then back at Billie—belonged to her mother.
