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If only he’d grown his hair back a few months sooner, none of this insanity would be unfolding in front of him, demanding he make immediate, permanently life-altering decisions.
A mewling cry rose from the baby in the nurse’s arms. Possibly his baby. Not possibly, probably. Based on Michelle’s intentions, she wouldn’t have called him here if she wasn’t positive about the baby’s parentage. Jesus, he was not ready for this. He had no choice but to be ready for this. Right now.
He rose from the chair and crossed the room. “I’d like to hold my daughter.”
“Congratulations, Daddy,” the nurse said, settling the tiny, dark-haired human in his outstretched arms. “She’s beautiful.”
“Yes, she is.” He lifted her higher, placed a gentle kiss on her soft little head. The DNA test was a formality. In his gut, he knew the truth. In his heart too. He already loved this little girl with every fiber of his being.
* * *
LEIGH
Leigh parkedalongside Sam’s two-door pickup truck at the address he’d provided. His parents’ home. Where he’d asked her to meet him after closing the bakery today.
She hadn’t seen him since he left her house Friday night. That departure had been unusual in itself. Not because Sam had jumped in to help somebody when they needed him—that was normal Sam behavior. Just like he’d always been a straightforward, honest, go-get-it kind of person. After checking his messages Friday night, he’d been distant and cryptic. Definitely holding back. Something had been off then and hadn’t been right since.
Her brain had been on overdrive the past three days. Her stomach acid too. Not the way she prided herself on living. Whatever was going on, they needed to sort it out today. She wouldn’t leave here with the stress she’d brought.
She pressed the doorbell, but didn’t hear a corresponding sound beyond the door. Another attempt yielded the same lack of results. She knocked next, hard and repeatedly. The knock of impatience. An answer-me-now knock. She really needed to deal with this stress.
Sam’s appearance in the doorframe swept much of the stress away. Another chunk disappeared when he pulled her into his arms and held her as if he never wanted to let go.
“I’ve missed you.” His words filled her ear and her heart. He kissed the top of her head and released her from the hug, twining their fingers together before easing back to look into her eyes. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting. For not calling. For sending vague messages all weekend. The stuff I had to sort through has nothing to do with us or how I feel about you. Nothing between us has changed.”
“Okay, that’s good. A little ominous, but good.”
Smiling his infectious smile, he led her deeper into the house. Beyond the entryway, past a small but tidy kitchen and living room, down a hallway with several closed doors. At the end, they entered a large, sunken family room. Clearly an addition to the original structure, it had a high ceiling, lots of windows and comfortable furniture. It also had a lot of baby paraphernalia.
“Your sister must spend time here regularly, with her kids.”
“Not as much as she used to.” He drew her onto the couch beside him. “Now that Lisa is back to work fulltime and the twins are in daycare, they don’t get here as often. But they’re here every Sunday for dinner, if nothing else.”
“Oh,” she said, glancing around the room. Playpen, infant carrier, diapering supplies, laundry basket full of receiving blankets…all still actively waiting for immediate use, by the looks of things. “I thought maybe your parents provided the daily babysitting.”
“The stuff in this room isn’t for my sister’s kids.” He squeezed her hand and held it tight. “It’s for mine.”
She had to have misheard. Misunderstood. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“All those messages on my phone Friday night were from a woman I met at a convention in Toronto—nine months ago. I didn’t see her or have contact with her afterward until I went to the hospital on Friday. She gave birth shortly after I got there. She’d already decided not to keep the baby. She gave me the choice of taking sole custody or letting her go to an adoptive family.”
“Her?”
“Yes. A baby girl.”
Withdrawing her hand, she stood. A mistake, since the repercussions from his disclosure were dizzying. Everything had new meaning now. Everything they’d shared, the words they’d said and had yet to say. All the things they would’ve done.
She moved around the room, autopilot taking her from one baby item to the next. She ran her hand along the playpen rail. Picked up a pink onesie, much like those she’d had for Lennox, nearly eleven years ago. She closed her eyes and remembered those days. The newness, the excitement, the exhaustion. She had sentimental moments when she’d give anything to go back in time. Mostly, though, she loved being exactly where she was in the timeline of life.
“Talk to me.” The words slid into her ear as he hugged her from behind. “Tell me what’s going through your head.”
“A lot of things.”
He turned her within the circle of his arms. “I want to hear them all. Believe me, I know how huge this is.”
“I don’t think you do. For me, us, or even for you.” Placing her hands on his chest, she gently guided him away. The sensation of his arms sliding free, losing contact with her body, seemed so unnatural, so wrong. “I need breathing room right now.”
“I understand.”
