Page 100 of Holden’s Resurrection

“And you’ll do that with me here.”

God, he wanted that so badly. Selfishly he wanted her by his side, and in return, he’d be by hers. Together, they could face the betrayal. Together, they could do anything. But it was ridiculous to believe Charleigh would stay. And he didn’t blame her.

“Charleigh—”

“My parents knew,” she blurted out. “I don’t know how it went down, but my parents started giving Beatrice money shortly after Paul died. When I called to tell my father that Faith and I were dead to them and if they tried to contact us or you, I would ruin them, I didn’t think to ask. Not that it matters whose idea it was. I don’t care if Bea was blackmailing them, or my father decided the best thing to do was to throw money at the bitch to keep her quiet rather than telling his daughter that the man she loved was his granddaughter’s father. No, not him, their reputation was more important than our daughter. Bottom line is, they’ve known all these years. You need to know that. Yes, Paul started the lie but my parents perpetuated it. I believe that Beatrice would’ve been all too happy to show me that letter after her son died if my parents hadn’t paid her off.”

He felt his body go numb. That was good; numb was better than the overwhelming urge to strangle her parents. The Axelsons had hated him from the very moment Charleigh had introduced them and they didn’t hide their disdain. Holden would never be good enough for their daughter. He’d never wear polo shirts and pink shorts and belong to the damn club. He would never kiss their asses and pretend to be someone he wasn’t at a cocktail party.

Paul wouldn’t have played their games either, but he had something Holden didn’t—honor. He’d died in combat, he was a war hero, and to them, he was nothing more than a good story they could tell at a dinner party.

Arguably, the Axelsons were worse than the Towlers.

“Did you hear me?” Charleigh mumbled. “I’m so sorry, Holden.”

He felt the pressure build, the cold slide into his veins, but that chill didn’t last long before it morphed into fire. Oh, he’d heard her all right. He’d heard that her parents had prolonged their misery, had deprived him of knowing his daughter, had begrudged Faith a father. But there was still no denying if Holden had done what he should’ve done instead of what he’d done none of this would be happening.

“I don’t know how you can stand there and apologize.”

Charleigh jerked and folded her arms over her chest. The protective gesture made his blood sizzle. “You don’t have a goddamn thing to be sorry for. You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t lie. You weren’t a fucking idiot and took the word of a fucking doctor without questioning it, without a second opinion.”

Holden dropped his elbows to his knees, bowed his head, and closed his eyes. “You didn’t miss the birth of your child. You didn’t miss her first steps. You didn’t miss her first day of school. You didn’t do a fucking thing wrong, so don’t you fucking apologize.”

The warmth of her hands hit his shoulders and Holden felt his jaw get tight again.

“I have a lot to apologize for.”

“No, you don’t,” he argued.

“We were both wrong, Holden. Both of us could’ve done a number of things differently. I could’ve asked for a DNA test. I could’ve been stronger and told my parents to fuck off. When Bea and Patty stormed my house and took Paul’s stuff, including that box, I could’ve told them to get out. I didn’t do any of those things because I was scared and hurt and so damn lost. It’s embarrassing how weak I was. We are both at fault.”

She squeezed his shoulders. “But you know who isn’t? Faith. She’s innocent in all of this. So the question is, can we get our shit sorted and give her what she deserves? Have we learned anything from the past? God knows I have. Have you?”

His head slowly lifted and he took her in.

Christ, so beautiful.

And for the second time in his life, she was right in front of him with her heart on her sleeve as they stood at the precipice of greatness—of happiness, of a beautiful future. It was right there, so close all he had to do was step off the cliff and freefall.

She’d catch him.

No. They’d catch each other.

“What if she was my only chance and I missed it?”

The question hadn’t left his mouth before Charleigh was pushing him back on his bed. She wasted no time crawling in next to him. Then she pressed close, her arm went over his chest, her leg over his thigh, and she pinned him to the bed.

“Then she grows up an only child, or we adopt, or we do IVF, or we find another option.”

Pain carved a path the length of his body. A sting so bad, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be the same. He’d missed it, he’d hurt her. Hurt them.

“My pregnancy was easy.” Charleigh’s soft voice sliced through his thoughts. “The only thing I craved was mac and cheese. I could eat it breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I went to every doctors’ appointment so excited to hear her heartbeat. I could listen to the whooshing all day. Sometimes, I’d ask to hear it a second time when the appointment was done. My water broke at seven in the morning. I was in the kitchen and I thought I peed myself.” Charleigh huffed a laugh and Holden closed his eyes. “When I got to the hospital, I was so scared. I couldn’t wait to finally meet my daughter but I was terrified of labor. I had great nurses. They knew I wanted an unmedicated birth so they—”

“Wait. What? You didn’t want drugs?”

“Nope. I wanted to experience natural childbirth. All the nurses were great but I had this one named Rebecca. She actually stayed after her shift and helped me. If it wasn’t for her coaching, I would’ve given in and taken the pain meds. She held my hand while I pushed, she encouraged me, and when I was crying that I couldn’t do it she gave me a dose of tough love. She saw me through. I even got to help deliver Faith.”

Charleigh paused again. This time when she started to giggle she didn’t stop when she said, “Rebecca was insistent I could do it. She nearly crawled in the bed behind me to prop me up so I could reach between my legs. I must’ve looked ridiculous, Rebecca had one arm hooked around my leg holding it up, her chest was to my back almost bending me in half with this huge belly in the way. But when the doctor took my hands and guided them to Faith’s body and I got to hold onto her as she came into the world, it was the most amazing experience of my life.”