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His gaze wandered over her face, stopping at her mouth. He stared at her full lower lip and longed to run his thumb over it. He couldn’t believe she still had the power to stir him like this. Even with as much as he’d tried to hate her all these years. And now all he could think about was being on top of her, inside of her. He dragged in a deep breath. He couldn’t let himself think about that, think about her again. It would open up the wound again. So he did the only thing he could think to do to protect his heart. He lashed out at her. “Guess I’d be the lesser of two evils, huh, baby? At least my body’s still alive and kicking, huh?”
“I’d forgotten just what a bastard you could be,” she whispered.
“Baby, the man I was? He was nothing compared to the bastard I’ve become.”
“Be a bastard then, maybe you’re beyond saving. But your daughter is not. If you can’t save your own soul, at least try to save her.”
He stood staring at her. She didn’t know how close to the truth she was.
Angel closed her eyes and took a breath. She wasn’t going to get anywhere like this, and she couldn’t afford to fail her daughter now, not after everything Melissa had gone through to get well. Angel wasn’t above begging. She swallowed and looked into his eyes. “Please, Cole. I need you. Please, help her. I’m begging you. I’ll get down on my knees, if I have to. If that’s what you want.”
He looked at her with something akin to horror. He could hear the desperate plea in her voice. He took a step back and turned away, shaking his head. He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath.
Shit.
He couldn’t stand to see her like this, torn to pieces. She’d actually said she’d get down on her knees, by God. His Angel. She shouldn’t be down on her knees to anyone, least of all him. But, she needed him. Their daughter needed him. It had been a long time since anyone had needed him. No matter how much he needed, for his own protection, to push her away, he couldn’t turn her down. The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. “What do I have to do?”
Angel closed her eyes and thanked God. She took a deep breath. “It’s a simple test. They swab your cheek and draw some blood. Test it to see if you’re a match. You can do it here, locally. You don’t have to come to Phoenix.”
“That’s where you’re living? Phoenix?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Your dad still a cop?” he asked, looking off in the distance.
“Would that matter?” she countered.
He shook his head. “No.”
“My father died about a year ago. Shot to death during a traffic stop.”
He looked over at her. “Sorry.”
She nodded. “At least he got to know his grandchildren before he died.”
At her words, Cole glanced back at the SUV. The topic he’d pushed aside. He was a father? He took a deep breath, walked around to the side that held the car seat, and opened the door. He leaned in and looked at the boy who stared back at him with wide eyes.
His son.
My God.
He felt like the wind had just been knocked out of him. Like the fates had just given him a sign, a reason, an explanation. Here it is, boy. The reason you’re here on this earth. What it’s all been about. That missing puzzle piece.
It was staring back at him with wide blue eyes.
Angel pushed Cole aside and reached to unbuckle the car seat straps. She pulled TJ out and held him. He was clutching a small teddy bear. He put his head on his mother’s shoulder and stared at Cole.
Cole stared back at him, dumbfounded for a moment, and then he sucked in a deep breath, regaining his equilibrium. Shaking his head, he looked over at Angel. “I can’t get over it. You’re a mom.”
Angel smiled.
Cole reached up and patted TJ’s back. “Hey, little guy. It’s okay.”
Angel knelt down and set TJ on his feet. He had on tiny red high-tops and denim overalls.
Cole squatted down in front of him, studying him. The boy looked exactly like the pictures he’d seen of himself as a child.
TJ turned and buried his face in his mom’s shoulder.
“I guess he’s a little shy,” she explained. “And tired. We’ve been traveling most of the day.”
“Yeah,” Cole agreed. “I guess he’s beat.”
“I need to get him back to the motel.”
Cole nodded. “Sure. I need to get back, too.”
Angel put TJ back in the car seat.
Cole drove them to the clubhouse. He pulled into the lot and parked, leaving the SUV running. He glanced at TJ for a moment, and then he opened his door and climbed out, leaving the door open.
Angel got out and came around to the driver’s side.
“You got a number I can reach you at?” Cole asked.
