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Jackson was sure his blood pressure had gone sky-high. How could Marcy have been so insensitive? And how could she have lied that way? He’d never once suggested having another baby because he wanted a boy; it hadn’t even occurred to him. He’d have been thrilled to have another girl.
Suddenly, he did a double take, remembering how Kayla had repeatedly accused him of bad attitudes toward women. He hadn’t wanted to admit she was right on any level, but she was.
He shook his head; Morgan was the important thing right now.
Jackson breathed deeply, searching for the right words. It wouldn’t help Morgan to know her mother had lied. Besides, maybe Marcy had genuinely believed that nonsense.
Cory’s chin was on Morgan’s knee and he gave Jackson a mournful look. She was his favorite person and hated it when she was unhappy.
“Morgan, honey, I think your mother misunderstood,” Jackson said, sitting next to her. “I did hope for more kids, but I would have been just as happy with another girl. And no matter how big a family we might have had, none of them could have taken your place.”
She stared at him, almost suspiciously. “You gave me a boy’s name.”
“It’s also a girl’s name. I liked the sound of it and your mother did, too. If we’d had a boy, it would have been Jake, not Morgan.”
His gaze dropped to the jeans she was wearing. For years she’d ignored all of the dresses in her closet.
“Morgan, is that why you won’t wear dresses or jewelry?”
“Uh, sort of.”
“Hon, you can be any sort of girl you want to be. I’ll love you just the same if you dress in lace or jeans. Or...you can dress in lace and jeans. Find your own style.”
At that, she laughed a little. “Okay.”
“And remember, we can talk about this anytime. Or anything else you want to discuss.”
She nodded, still petting Cory, and he painfully recalled Kayla’s accusations that he didn’t trust women. She was right about that, too. Was it possible that his anger and sense of betrayal had unconsciously touched Morgan?
Uneasily, Jackson remembered a few occasions when she might have overheard him talking to one of his brothers, saying he’d hang before giving another woman the chance to stab him in the back again.
Truthfully, his ex-wife didn’t deserve to have that much influence over him. And the women he’d socialized with since the divorce hadn’t been any prizes, either, so maybe he’d set himself up to keep seeing the opposite sex as untrustworthy, unconsciously trying to justify the way he felt. It might even have been the reason he’d dated Patti, deep down recognizing what she was really like.
That could have affected Morgan.
And there had to be a reason his sisters had drawn away from him. He’d assumed it was because they’d grown up and had new interests, but what if it had something to do with him and his attitudes? Alaina and Madison had once visited often, even enduring Marcy, whom they’d increasingly disliked. Now they mostly stayed away except for family gatherings.
Maybe if he’d done a little more soul-searching and spent a little less time trying to be strong and impassive, he would have figured out the problem a long time ago.
All at once Morgan jumped up and asked if she could go in the pool.
“Sure.”
“Will you swim with me?”
There was an appeal in his daughter’s eyes, perhaps to know he wanted to spend time with her. He nodded. “That sounds great. We’ve been in a group so much, we haven’t had a chance to just be together.”
Jackson ran up the stairs two at a time and donned his swim trunks. Though the fabric had dried, he was still reminded of the previous night with Kayla. Desire jolted through him, but there was more to what he felt than just physical need. Kayla challenged him. She made him want to be a better man, and how many times did you meet someone who did that?
He needed to sort out how he felt about her, but now wasn’t the right time. He needed to focus on his daughter.
* * *
AS KAYLA DROVE back to her grandparents’ house, the kids were full of excitement about everything from the eclipse to the new foal.
“We saw, like, a thousand shooting stars,” DeeDee proclaimed.
“Uh-uh,” Alex corrected. “Dozens.”
“I counted fifty-six,” Sandy said.
“Do you think Eclipse could be a racehorse someday?” Alex asked. “I bet he’d be happier on a ranch than some dumb racetrack.”
Kayla’s eyebrows rose. Alex obviously had a growing fondness for ranch life. Of course, he’d only seen the fun parts—riding and play—but there was no question that he’d come to like Montana. But, as if to prove her wrong, Alex immediately began talking about the computer programming class he wanted to take and how exciting it would be.
