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The air was far cooler than the heat I’d experienced on the island, but my skin felt clammy as I darted out into the back. I raced as far from the door as I could before I began to retch into the bushes. I hadn’t eaten a thing, but dry heaving was just as horrible as the real deal.
I had a hand braced on the outer wall of the house when I heard the back door open and close. I didn’t look up.
“Avery would have come, but Zoe was upset. They know I’m a nurse and I told her I’d come out and check on you. You probably want to be alone, but please don’t make a liar out of me. I’m terrible at it.”
Sunshine. I could already tell the woman had a heart of gold. I hadn’t meant to scare Zoe. She’d been through enough. “I’m fine, but you can check.”
She approached slowly, like I was a wild animal, and maybe I was. I couldn’t keep a hold on my emotions, and I was better than that. Many years I’d had to grin and bear it when money was tight at best. There were meals I hadn’t eaten because I’d given my daughter something she needed more when money was tight. Then I’d held my emotions at bay and hadn’t cried about how hard things were until long after she’d gone to sleep. Now I had to pull it together.
Sunshine’s light touch landed on my head. She was checking for a fever. I’d done that many times to Zoe as she’d grown up. Then she strategically placed fingers on my wrist. I hadn’t done this before, but I guessed she was checking my pulse.
“No fever, but your heart is racing. It could be a panic attack,” she said.
I wanted to balk but didn’t. Hearing Agan was engaged had speared my heart more than finding out he was a prince. No wonder he’d used words like “duty” and “heir.” And he’d been certain his father would find him, which made even more sense now.
“Just slow, deep breaths and it will pass,” she said. I nodded at her. “And if you need to talk, I know you have Avery, but I’m here.”
“Thanks,” I said.
She turned, heading back for the door, when it opened.
“The cookies are ready,” Zoe said. “Mommy, are you okay?”
I plastered on that smile that I could always find for my daughter. “I am. I’m coming.”
Zoe smiled back and held open the door for Sunshine. She didn’t leave. So I forced away the hurt over Agan and went back to my daughter.
“I can’t wait to show you my room and my new school,” Zoe began. “And my pony…”
My heart might have stopped a little, but I kept my feelings to myself. Especially the part about her new school. Mitchell and I would have words. But for now, I’d keep the peace for my daughter’s sake.
Later that night, after a strange but enjoyable dinner with Mitchell, Sunshine, Avery and Zoe, I got Zoe ready for bed. Her room was grand, for sure, almost bigger than my trailer. It was the kind of room I’d dreamed of having as a little girl, with a big-girl bed, dresser, window seat, and dollhouse Nate had gotten her with space to spare. Mitchell had easily given her the life I couldn’t.
I brushed some hair from her forehead and kissed my little darling, who’d fallen asleep. Then I got up, eased out of the room, and headed out into the night.
It was dark, but the air was cool. I looked up to the sky and the smattering of stars that dazzled my mind. I felt like I’d stepped off a roller coaster. At least my thoughts were a jumbled mess until I spotted a man I could focus my rage on.
I marched forward and surprised Mitchell, who seemed to be in deep thought, leaning on the fence surrounding an empty paddock.
“You,” I said and stabbed a finger in his chest when he turned to face me. “You think you’re just going to waltz in my daughter’s life after all this time and steal her with your pretty things, the house, the pony, the everything?” I slapped hard at his chest, wanting to hate him.
Mitchell narrowed his eyes but remained calm as he caught my wrist. “I wouldn’t have had to waltz in if I’d known she existed. And if your mother hadn’t dropped her off on my doorstep, I might have never found out.”
“What?”
His expression changed. “Your mother showed up and said that Agan only paid her to watch Zoe for two weeks. She told my brother it was time for us to take care of our own.”
Keeping my fury under wraps was award winning. I would deal with my mother later. I snatched back my hands, tossed my head back, and let loose a bitter laugh. “Don’t feed me that crap about you not knowing. I saw some of your friends back then and they saw my enormous belly. You can’t say you didn’t have an idea that maybe I was pregnant with your child.”
He blew out a breath. “I heard, sure. But I was young and stupid, and I believed that if it were mine, you’d come and tell me. It wasn’t like you didn’t know who I was.”
Oh, the ego on this man. “I knew exactly who you were. And you're damn right I came. I told your dad, and he bribed poor, young, stupid me with twenty-five hundred dollars to keep my mouth shut so I didn’t spoil your reputation around town. How was I to know he wasn’t going to tell you?”
“And how is it my fault he didn’t?” Mitchell snapped back. I ran a hand through my hair because he had a point. “Look, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but Dad was just trying to protect me. And trust me when I say I gave him hell for keeping the secret. But now I get it. There is nothing I wouldn’t do forourdaughter.” He practically yelled the word “our.”
Though I wanted to rage, once again he had a point. Hadn’t I contemplated swimming the entire ocean to get back to Zoe? “You may have a point, but how dare you move my daughter to a new school for your convenience?”
“Convenience?” he shouted. “There was nothing convenient about it. Last thing I wanted to do was upset our daughter’s life. She was worried enough about you. But damn if I’d let her continue to be bullied at that school.”
