AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey, what about…” It took me a second to remember what Natalie’s new name was. “Jessica?”
“I haven’t talked to her yet.”
“She doesn’t know.” I hadn’t wanted to blindside her with my appearance. I didn’t know where we stood. But even if she’d moved on, I would stay for my son.
He shook his head and I cursed. “I need to see her.” And my son, I didn’t say. His picture was enough to keep my eyes open this entire journey.
“It’s late. I’ll talk to her in the morning. If she wants to see you, I’ll bring her by.”
The wood around the doorframe creaked under my grip as I struggled not to do anything stupid to the one man that knew where Natalie was. I could assume Mason Creek. Then again, he might not have put her in the same town.
“I thought you worked in LA?” I called after him.
“I did. Now I’m back.”
“I love her,” I said out of sheer desperation. A year hadn’t dulled my feelings for her. Knowing she had our child without me, killed me on another level. Connor had gotten the brunt of that anger as well.
It had only been when he reminded me that their safety had been more important than me knowing that had stopped me from finding Matt and killing him.
“I heard and I get it. I came back to town thinking I’d win the one woman I loved. Only she was engaged. I feel your pain.”
I guess he did.
“Tomorrow,” he said and tipped his hat.
There was nothing else to say. He’d made up his mind. In truth, I needed sleep. That didn’t mean I had a good sleep. I laid down on the dusty couch, too tired to climb the stairs. I closed my eyes, but I hoped my ears would remain watchful in the ways they could.
I woke to the sound of a car. I jumped to my feet, surprised by the blazing sunlight that streamed through curtainless windows.
There was no need to rush as they still had a little way to get here. “Thank you, Connor,” I said again.
Even in my small town, I’d become immune to the sounds of traffic. Out here, it was blessedly silent.
Though it was labeled a ranch, it wasn’t a working one. There hadn’t been an animal in sight. So the sound of a car approaching had shattered the stillness like a thunderstorm.
I was on the porch when Aiden came to a stop at the front, this time in a civilian SUV. He got out. The windows were tinted, and I couldn’t see if Natalie was there.
He had a thick envelope in his hands, and I thought it was bad news. “This is from our mutual friend.” That would be Matt, though he didn’t say his name, so I didn’t either.
“Thanks. What did she say?” I asked.
“Ask her yourself.” He glanced back at the SUV and nodded.
The backdoor opened and out came Natalie. Though her hair was now several shades lighter—almost blond all over.
When I saw it, I didn’t wait any longer. I ran down the porch and scooped her up. “You’re wearing the ring,” I said.
She laughed and repeated, “I’m wearing your ring.”
I lost all reason and kissed the hell out of her. Then, I set her down. “My son?”
She glanced down. There was that shyness I’d fallen in love with. “I would have told you. I swear. Aiden made me use envelopes like nesting dolls, one inside another. Each labeled to a different postmaster.”
Apparently, if you mailed an envelope to the postmaster, if there was another envelope inside with the proper postage, they would mail it on. That made the letter harder to trace especially if she did this trick multiple times.
“Your timing was just right,” I said.
She nodded. “I sent it when I could. They were afraid if you knew sooner, you’d come find me.”
“I would have,” I begrudgingly admitted. “When can I meet him?”
She moved two steps back to the SUV and opened the door. I heard the cooing and stopped breathing so I wouldn’t miss a sound.
Then she held him out to me. “Your son. I took video of the birth in case you wanted to see. I’ve taken a picture or twelve of him every day and videos too. I didn’t want you to miss a thing.”
He was only a few months old and felt tiny in my arms. “Like this?” I asked, with him nestled in the crook of one arm and I supported his weight underneath with the other.
“Just like that,” she said.
“His name?” I asked, hating I hadn’t been there to choose.
“Noah,” she said.
“You remembered.” Noah was my middle name.
“It wasn’t hard. I had a picture of your driver’s license.”
“You kept it?” I asked, remembering her father had her phone.
“No. But apparently Mom did.”
I had so many questions about everything I’d missed. “When did you find out you were pregnant?”
