AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Aidan glanced around the room, remembering the two nights he’d spent in this house when he and Deidre had been together. Deidre had used birth control, something she’d been very emphatic about. How had the birth control failed? Deidre had loved details, had reveled in getting everything right.
Another idea skirted the edge of his mind. He couldn’t imagine someone like Deidre taking any chances with her personal life. Yet she had insisted that they work in her home, a home equipped with all the technology to do so. Had she intentionally misled him? Had she chosen him to be the father of her child, invited him into her home, intending to get pregnant, keep the child and continue on with her life? Had her father’s death made her realize that if she passed away, Emma would be alone? His mind ran over the possibilities as his eyes took in the space that appeared unchanged from five years ago.
Focused on his thoughts, he was about to head to the kitchen for a glass of water when the door from the garage opened. Lisa walked in carrying a pink Dora the Explorer backpack while Emma followed holding a huge brown bear, the one in the video. His heart soared as he looked at his daughter. She was even more beautiful than the photos he’d seen. Uncertain about how to approach the little girl staring at him, he smiled, trying to put her at ease.
Lisa put the backpack on the end of the kitchen counter. “Emma, do you know who this is?” she asked, her gaze sweeping from Aidan to Emma.
Emma promptly popped her thumb into her mouth and reached for Lisa’s hand.
Lisa patted Emma’s curls soothingly as she spoke. “He’s come to see you.”
His chest tight, he knelt in front of his little girl and held out his arms. “Hi, Emma, I’m your dad,” he said.
Emma stopped sucking her thumb and stared at him, her eyes filling with glossy tears. “No! Mommy. I want Mommy.”
He edged closer. “I’m so sorry,” he said softly, despite his disappointment. His little girl needed him, and he would be here for her. “Come, let me hold you,” he whispered, marveling at how natural it felt to be here with his daughter.
“No! Mommy!” Emma screamed, her arms reaching for Lisa as tears flowed down her tiny face.
“Aidan, I’m sorry about this. It’s all pretty new for Emma,” Lisa said, picking her up and snuggling her close as Emma continued to sob, her face pressed into Lisa’s chest.
Helpless to figure out what to say or do, Aidan watched in dread as Emma stared at him, her eyes dark with fear. He was a stranger to his only child, his daughter. She didn’t want anything to do with him. He hadn’t expected this. He’d assumed that she would recognize him from the photo, remember what her mother had said, and would want him to hold her.
He struggled to stem the flood of fear circling his heart. He was in over his head. He had no idea what he was doing or how to do it. He’d never considered that Emma would react this way. How would he ever manage to care for his daughter if this behavior continued? He glanced at Lisa, seeking her support.
“Aidan, please don’t worry. Emma has been very upset since…you know. She’ll be better soon. You’ll see.”
He didn’t see at all. He hadn’t been around kids very much, and he had no idea how to deal with them. Now, with his daughter so upset, he didn’t have a clue how to reach out to her. Yet he knew he had to if he was going to be her dad. Instinctively, he backed away, keeping the smile on his face, his heart heavy with disappointment. “Emma. Your daddy is going to wait in the living room. Is that okay?”
Emma, her face buried in Lisa’s neck, didn’t respond.
CHAPTER SEVEN
EXHAUSTED AND WORRIED, Grace pulled into the garage. It was so good to be home, but so awful to be going into the house she and Aidan shared and to acknowledge he wasn’t here. As angry and hurt as she’d been leaving Spartanburg, facing the house alone somehow made the trouble between her and her husband a fact and, in a very clear way, more real to her. Loss and loneliness trapped her where she was.
