He shook his head. “She’s my niece. My sister passed away, but she had me listed as Shayna’s guardian.” The flexing of his jaw showed his discomfort. “Half sister, actually. I didn’t know her that well.”
Words were impossible to find, so Pixie reached out and put her hand on his wrist. His gaze darted from the kids to where she touched him. Seconds ticked by, with neither of them moving. Abruptly, he patted her hand and then sat back—out of reach.
Awkwardness descended on them. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
After a deep inhale and slow exhale, he further explained. “It’s complicated, but the basics are that my father cheated with my mother and I was born. He was already married and had a two-year-old daughter with his wife. I wasn’t a part of their lives. Overall, I imagine he wanted to forget I existed because my birth nearly caused his divorce.”
Irritation hit Pixie. “His cheating nearly caused it.”
Surprised at her outburst, Brogan lifted his brows, then shrugged. “Same result. I was born and there was strife.”
“It’s not the same at all.” She realized she was overreacting and attempted to level her tone. She had personal experience with a cheater, and she thanked God every day that Andy hadn’t been viewed in an unfavorable way by those involved. “Sorry, it’s just … There’s an important distinction between what a grown man does and the existence of an innocent child.”
He lowered his head in agreement. “My point is that Brian, my father, wanted no part of me, and his wife despised me. My sister, though, found out about me when she was fifteen and secretly looked me up.”
“That’s enterprising for a girl so young. Did you live nearby?”
“Same state, but not at all close. She was two years older than me, and we talked online until she was seventeen. Then she got a bus ticket and came to see me.” His gaze lowered, but a small smile touched his mouth. “Shocked the hell out of me. Connie had no business being in my neighborhood, but she was used to being safe and didn’t feel at all threatened.”
Used to being safe.Meaning Brogan hadn’t been afforded the same sense of security? “It was a dangerous area?”
“Not so much for me, but for a pretty stranger? I practically shouted her back onto a bus, then rode with her to a diner. We talked until late that night.”
He would have been thirteen, and even then, he’d been protective. “I bet that was nice.”
“Would have been, but her phone was blowing up with texts and calls from our father and her mother. When they found out where she was …” He frowned, then changed the direction of the conversation. “Over the next few years, I only talked to her a few times.”
Sadness squeezed Pixie’s heart. She could guess what had happened without Brogan’s explanation. “She was reaching out and you weren’t reciprocating?”
That severe frown of his settled into confusion. “How do you figure that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m right, aren’t I?”
He rubbed his brow, then ran his fingers over his short hair. “I was working a lot, and I didn’t have time for her.”
She was willing to bet his father had warned him off, and God, how she wished she could kick the man for being so cruel. “Are you close to your father—”
“Hell no,” he said, clearly forgetting about curse words. “Don’t even want to be. That’s the thing, though. When Connie died, no one could reach me. I was … out of touch. It took too long for me to find out about Shayna, and as soon as I did, I made plans to get to her.”
Pixie noticed the deepening of his breathing. He stood, went to the baby, checked her diaper, moved some of the toys Andy had arranged around her so she could turn over, and smoothed his hand over Andy’s head.
When he finished, he just stood there a minute, his back to Pixie, and she knew he was struggling with some strong emotion. She practically felt it.
“She hadn’t been treated well,” he said at last.
Shock left her floundering. Who mistreated an infant?
Because she couldn’t sit still, Pixie left the seat to stand near Brogan. He’d made his preference clear, so she didn’t touch him again, but she, too, felt compelled to look at Shayna.
Such a tiny little girl, innocent and so fragile. Pixie’s thoughts churned over the idea that anyone would be less than attentive and caring to her. She’d known from the second Andy was born that she would take on the world for him, beg, borrow, or steal to see that he had the care he needed. To protect him, she’d have battled Satan himself.
As she watched Shayna reach for a soft toy, her tiny fingers awkwardly grasping, Pixie accepted that she felt the same about any child.
The baby rolled to her back and busily chewed on a yellowterry cloth bear, babbling indistinguishable sounds and occasionally smiling at her own ingenuity.
“She looks happy now,” Pixie said softly. “Safe and loved with you.”
His inhale was audible, his shoulders tense. What a nightmare he must have lived through. Her instinct was to hug him tight, but of course she didn’t. She couldn’t.
