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“Then what are we doing in here?” Caleb asked, moving toward the doorway. “I want to meet my nephew.”
Parker chuckled at his brother’s enthusiasm. “Wait a second. You can’t all go in there like a herd of elephants. He’ll get scared.”
“Come on, Parker. Stop being so over protective,” Daniel said. “We grew up in a rowdy, big family. Logan will be fine.”
“Trust us,” Nash said, nodding at him “We know how to act.”
Parker swung his gaze around at all of his siblings. He didn’t want any of them to think he didn’t trust them. Because he loved them more than words could ever express. He prayed Cadence wouldn’t be upset with him for the tornado that was about to swirl around their son.
He held up his hand. “Okay. But here’s how it’s going to go. I’m going to enter the room first. Logan is still getting to know me. He doesn’t know who I am other than a guy who’s been around him a lot over the past week or so. Hopefully soon he’ll be calling me Daddy.”
“Oh, Parker,” Shayla said, dabbing at her eyes. “You’re going to make me cry.”
Micah reached over and grabbed his sister’s hand.
“You guys are going to follow me slowly…and stand back so he doesn’t get overwhelmed. We’ll play it by ear and see how he reacts. Can you guys do that?” Parker asked, swinging his gaze around the group.
Everyone nodded enthusiastically and agreed to Parker’s rules. With a tight feeling in his chest Parker led his siblings into the living room. Slowly but surely he introduced his siblings to his son. And suddenly, there wasn’t a dry eye in the Donahue household.
**
Dinner with the Donahue’s was an interesting affair. For the first time in three years she held hands around the table with the Donahue family and prayed over the food Penelope and Jude had so lovingly prepared. Cadence couldn’t deny the awkwardness she felt despite Jude and Penelope’s warmth and kindness. Jason had mellowed towards her and tried his best to engage her. A part of her felt like she was coming home after a long absence. The Donahue home had always made her feel loved and nurtured.
If only some of the Donahue siblings hadn’t seemed so uncomfortable with her being present at dinner. Shayla couldn’t hide her glares. Daniel stared at her as if she was a science experiment. Caleb kept shooting her curious looks as if he couldn’t quite figure out what she was up to. Thankfully, everyone seemed crazy about Logan. She was so proud of her son. He’d pretty much held it together all evening, despite seeing more faces all at once than he had seen in the last few weeks combined.
After dinner, Parker was down on the carpet in the living room playing Thomas the train with Logan. Parker was making a high pitched sound for one of the trains, much to Logan’s delight. The look of joy on Logan’s face nearly made her knees buckle. The corner of his eyes were crinkled with mirth and he was laughing in a boisterous tone. He couldn’t take his eyes off his father. Her son was in sheer heaven. Parker was gazing at Logan as if their son might disappear before his very eyes. There was such a look of longing etched on Parker’s handsome face. Cadence let out a sob and raised her hand to cover her mouth so no one would hear her. Knowing she was close to breaking down, Cadence backed away from the entryway and, with her eyes blinded with tears, beat a fast path outside to the patio. Once she stepped outside into the sultry night air, Cadence couldn’t hold back the tide of tears.
She was crying for the choice she’d made three years ago—one she wasn’t sure about in retrospect. No matter how much she tried to stop herself from sobbing, the tears just wouldn’t stop flowing. It was as if she was crying for the last three years of pain and loss and devastation all at once.
She was mourning the loss of the love she and Parker had shared. They’d been robbed of the opportunity to raise their son together. And Parker hadn’t been able to bear witness to Logan coming into the world like a lion. And even though she hadn’t talked much about it, Mason’s cruelty had worn her down over the course of three years. She’d been traumatized by his actions and she wasn’t sure if she would ever fully recover.
Where was the young woman who had been full of hope and the promise of tomorrow?
&n
bsp; Watching Parker with Logan had caused a myriad of emotions to rise up inside of her. Cadence had felt an incredible amount of joy at finally seeing the two of them together and bonding as father and son. Logan was too young to fully comprehend that Parker was his father, but she knew instinctively he felt a pull in Parker’s direction. The more she taught him to use the word Daddy for Parker, the quicker he would put the pieces together.
She was in disbelief that her nightmare had finally ended with Mason. He couldn’t hurt her anymore. She felt so much sadness for all the time that had been lost. And the might-have-beens if she’d made different choices. She was still beating herself up about choosing to kowtow to Mason’s threats and demands.
“Hey, there.” All of a sudden, Cadence heard a soothing voice behind her. Before she knew it, Parker’s mother was patting her on the back and trying to make her feel better. “Cadence, please don’t cry. I’m very susceptible to tears. All a person has to do is cry in my presence and I’m done for. When the kids were little it used to wreck me whenever they cried. Skinned knees. Broken dates. Failed exams. I’d be blubbering right along with them.”
Cadence looked into Penelope’s warm, caring eyes. Penelope wrapped her arms around Cadence and rocked her gently as if she was a baby. Cadence felt slightly embarrassed, but she wasn’t about to let go of this amazing woman.
It felt so nice to be embraced by a member of the Donahue family. So far everyone was treating her like she had a communicable disease. If this continued, Logan would pick up on the terrible vibes as he grew older. How would she ever explain it all to her son? Maybe he would hate her too.
“I blew it, Penelope. Three years ago I had everything I’d ever dream of with Parker. We were in love and working toward a solid future together. And I was pregnant even though I didn’t know it when I ended things with him. I thought I was doing the right thing. Now, all I can see is how many mistakes I made.”
Penelope caressed her cheek.
“You’re human, love. We all make errors. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making a decision that kept Parker alive. You can’t second guess yourself, Cadence. What you did was an act of love. Was there a way you could have handled it differently? Of course. In life there are always different paths. The path you took was the one you thought was best at the time.”
Cadence vigorously nodded her head. “I really did. With all my heart and soul, I thought I was protecting the man I loved.”
Penelope narrowed her gaze. “Do you still love my son?” she asked.
Cadence ducked her head. She shifted from one foot to another. She hadn’t imagined Penelope would put her on the spot like this. But Penelope Donahue had always been a straight shooter, much like Parker.
“I-I do,” Cadence admitted, lifting her head up so she could see Penelope’s reaction. Cadence was gifted with a beatific smile. “I’ll always love Parker.”
