“Mum. It’s okay.” Noah reaches over and places his hand on mine. “I don’t think you have to defend yourself when it comes to any of this. It wasn’t your fault.”
“He’s right, Emma. I don’t doubt the baby was mine.”
I blink back tears and continue. “Malcolm had befriended my father. He offered to take me off their hands. Dad was all too happy to do it.”
“You weren’t left with a choice,” Caleb says.
I shake my head. “I was sixteen and isolated from everything I’d ever known. They told me what was happening—there was no asking. If I’d been able to reach out, I would have, but?—”
“I understand.” Caleb’s calm, but there’s anger under the surface.
“We were married, and Malcolm had told my parents he’d take responsibility for the baby. And he did. But he never let me forget that the baby wasn’t his, and he’d talk endlessly about how he’d ‘saved’ me and that I owed him.”
Noah shifts his gaze to Caleb. “I always knew I wasn’t his. He made sure of that. I tried to find out about you, but Mum?—”
“It was all too painful to think about. When I started my plan to leave years ago, I always knew we’d come here. I wanted to tell you, and I was working my way up to it …”
“But I came home and ruined everything.” Noah grins. He looks so much like Caleb, it leaves me breathless.
Caleb chuckles. He must see what I do. “There’s clearly no need for a paternity test.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking this so well.”
He squeezes my knee under the table. “I took the job at your house because I wanted to be here. After the way things ended, I needed to know you were okay.”
My throat tightens.
“And I knew there was more to the story than you’d told me. I can’t say I’m happy that I didn’t know I had a son out there, but I can see that life’s given you a battering, Emma.” He shifts his gaze to Noah. “Seeing you. I don’t know where to start.”
Noah frowns. “What do you mean?”
Caleb holds up his palms. “Nothing bad. It’s just that seeing you is like looking in a mirror. And I know you’re a grown man, but I’d like to get to know you.”
Noah’s shoulder’s relax. When he was growing up, all he wanted was a father who actually loved him. Malcolm made it clear that was never going to happen.
“This is all a lot to deal with.” He pushes away from the table. “I need some fresh air.”
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He grips my shoulder. “I will be. It might’ve helped if you’d warned me …”
“I didn’t know what to say to either of you.”
Noah nods. “I’ll leave you two to talk for a bit. Want me to do the school run?”
My gaze shifts to the clock and I gasp. I’d usually leave in about five minutes but hadn’t considered the time at all. Bailey and Kiera walk home now, but I walk to the nearby school to pick up Jason.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Noah bends and kisses me on the cheek. “I’ll be back.”
He eyes Caleb again on the way out.
“Are you okay?”
Caleb’s voice shakes me out of my thoughts.
“I’m glad it’s out. But I’m still scared.”
He reaches for my chin and pulls my gaze to his. “What are you scared of?”
