AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me, actually.” He faced her and flashed that sweet, endearing smile. “I used to bury myself in work, much like my father did. I’d gotten pretty one-dimensional. Then she came into my life.” He grinned as Addie blew kisses to the crowd of goats, all begging for a treat. “She changed everything. I made a promise to myself and to God that I was going to make sure she had the most delightfully normal childhood any kid could have. And it’s been good for both of us. She makes me remember to stop and smell the roses. Although in her case it’s more like attending teddy bear picnics and teas and falling down while ice skating and going to the zoo on cold days to see if the Arctic animals are happy.”
“I used to do that.”
“Yeah?” He slanted a look her way, but she kept her gaze on Addie. Too much eye contact with Jacob deepened the conflict. Better to maintain a distance, but his caring nature made that difficult.
“My dad would take me into Rochester to check out the polar bears and seals and penguins. Everybody goes to the zoo in the summer, and the Arctic animals just kind of lay there, wondering what’s going on. But in the winter, they seem so happy. So content.”
“Dad!” Addie called his name in a bright voice laced with excitement. “Do you see this little brown-and-white goat? She likes me so much!”
“Well, you’re quite lovable, so I’m not surprised.”
Addie had climbed the lowest rung of fencing, just like Emily, and when she turned to look at Jacob, love and appreciation deepened her smile. “You too, Dad!”
Hurt knotted Josie’s chest. She shouldn’t envy Addie’s love for Jacob. She knew it was the best thing for Addie, and Jacob was devoted to her well-being. But to watch her declare her love for someone else, and have no idea her mother was standing nearby, didn’t just prickle. It stabbed.
Take a breath. Remember your vow. You wanted the best for her, and watching her with Jacob, you know she’s not just doing well, she’s doing great. This is why you didn’t do an open adoption, remember? You knew yourself well enough to make a clean break for her well-being.
Stow the anger and talk with Cruz. Today isn’t about what happened six years ago. It’s about now.
She took the advice seriously. What good was her original goal if she blew it out of the water six years later? She’d wanted a good life for Addie, and Jacob was providing that.
She’d deal with the old deceptions once Cruz had information for her, but from what Jacob had just revealed, Ginger O’Neill had connived her way to getting a child. How that would stand up legally—if she pressed—was anyone’s guess.
“Addie? Are you getting hungry yet? Because I sure am.”
“Yes.” She hugged Emily and waved to the cows. “I’ll come see you again soon!” she promised, then raced to Jacob’s side. “Dad, isn’t this like the best day ever?”
“I cannot disagree with that assessment.”
“Josie, thank you! Thank you so much for bringing me here!” Once again, she hugged Josie. And Josie bent and hugged her back.
She didn’t want to let go.
Feeling Addie’s arms around her, she longed to tell the child who she was and why she made the choices she did years before.
Of course, she did no such thing. She played it cool and fun, because like Jacob, she wanted Addie’s life to be wonderful. How that would play out with the growing facts surrounding the adoption was anyone’s guess, but she wasn’t delving because Addie’s situation concerned her. Jacob’s love and devotion was all a child could ask for. She saw that clearly.
She was pursuing the matter because deception had surrounded Addie’s conception. To have it dictate her adoption was like picking an old wound. It hit too many buttons.
Should that be Addie’s problem?
No.
But it couldn’t be ignored, either, because defrauding an adoption agency and a birth mother was no small thing. What would come of it? she wondered as they moved to the car.
She didn’t know. But she wasn’t going to stop gathering facts until she had the whole truth. And then—
