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“And what about me, Mia?” Jeff interjected. “What about me?”
“You were serving a life sentence. What would you have done with a child? What would I have done as a single mother?”
“You never loved Daddy,” Angie choked out.
“He never loved me either.”
She shook her head, her cheeks rubbing against the too fluffy hotel pillow. “You shouldn’t have married him. He deserved to be loved.”
Her mother’s hand held her own in what felt like a death grip. “I did it for you, Angie. For you. Can’t anyone see that?”
“Bullshit,” Angie said, trying again to rise. She found her strength and sat up. “You did it for yourself. Your boyfriend was going to prison, and you were stuck pregnant. You trapped an innocent man into a marriage neither of you wanted. I’ll never forgive you for this. Never!”
“Angie, please.”
“The girl’s right, Mia. What you did was wrong on so many levels.”
Maria sighed. “I’m not arguing that point.”
“Christ, Mia. I loved you. I would have done anything for you. For our child.”
“You couldn’t escape a prison sentence.”
“But I would have fought. I could have turned state’s evidence, I could have gotten a better lawyer, I could have…”
“I had to make a decision quickly. A decision that I thought was best for my child. You’ll be happy to know, Jeff, that Angie never wanted for anything. She had everything a little girl could want.”
“Except her real father,” Jeff said.
I had a real father.
But he wasn’t mine.
He was Harper’s.
He was Catie’s.
He was never mine.
“You can’t take her inheritance. You can’t do this to your own daughter.”
“She’s not my daughter.” Jeff stalked forward.
Was he going to grab her mother again?
“You took her from me and gave her to my brother. My sainted brother. He had everything. He was the older. He had Grandpa’s love and devotion. He had everything I could never have, except you. I had you. But you took that away and gave yourself to him. You gave my child to him!”
“He wasn’t the one I loved, Jeff. You were.”
“You think that matters now?”
“Yes, it should matter. The fact that she’s yours should matter. Please don’t take her ranch away from her.”
“The ranch is mine. She can have it when I’m dead. Now the two of you get the hell out of my hotel room.” He stormed across the carpet and opened the door.
“Jeff, please.”
“Sorry. It’s all falling on deaf ears.”
