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Annie made a movement that pulled her hand out of his grasp. “We didn’t know, Maryanne. I didn’t even suspect.” She took a step toward them with her hand outstretched. “Nate tried to help when he saw how much I was hurting after Jon and I broke up, and I let him. We married so quickly, and I never once let myself think Kylie wasn’t his. If not for her diagnosis of celiac disease, we still wouldn’t know the truth.”
“You asked us if anyone in the family had it,” Lars said. “It’s hereditary?”
“There’s a genetic component, and I have celiac disease,” Jon said. “When she was diagnosed with the same thing, Annie remembered that Kylie was born a few weeks early. Annie had a DNA test done.”
“I didn’t expect it to show Nate wasn’t her father. We are still adjusting to the truth ourselves. Please don’t step away from Kylie. She loves both of you, and she craves time with you.”
Lars folded his arms across his chest. “She has another grandfather now. She doesn’t need us.”
When Maryanne backed away from Annie’s outstretched hand, she dropped her arm to her side. “She needs you even more. This has hit her hard, and she needs your stability. Don’t punish her for my mistakes.”
Maryanne reached for her purse. “We’re going now. Lars, I think we should spend the night somewhere else. I have no desire to see Daniel and hear him crow about his new granddaughter.”
She marched toward the door with Lars trailing her. Jon started to go after them but thought better of it. They were too angry to listen to any explanations, and he remembered his own reaction to hearing the truth. He hadn’t been ready to listen to Annie either. Maybe they would cool off after a few hours.
Annie sank onto the chair and covered her face with her hands. “Kylie will blame me,” she said in a shaking voice. “I didn’t want it to come out like this. I should have called them right away.”
He squatted in front of her and put his hands on the knees of her jeans. He loved everything about her—those big blue eyes and delicate Scandinavian features were etched in his heart. She was thirty-two but still as beautiful as the first time he saw her when he was eighteen. He hadn’t allowed himself to think about how she’d loved Nate in his absence, but having the Pedersons show up had brought out that underlying tension he hadn’t admitted.
Had she loved Nate more than him? Who would she pick if she had the choice?
He pushed away the fear and gathered his thoughts. “There hasn’t been time to even think about letting them know, Annie. Everything has fallen in on you at once. They’ll come around, and if they don’t, it’s their loss.”
She uncovered her face to reveal reddened eyes and wet cheeks. “It’s Kylie’s loss, too, and she’s gone through so much. Though they haven’t given her the attention I would have liked, they were still a piece of Nate in her life.”
He pressed her hand in a comforting squeeze. “I have so many stories about Nate. I’ll make sure he’s alive in her heart.We don’t need Lars and Maryanne to make sure Kylie has a good life with poignant memories of her daddy.”
Annie’s blue eyes filled again, and she leaned forward to rest her head against his. “You’re a good man, Jon Dunstan. We’ve upended your life in every way possible, yet here you are still helping and encouraging. I don’t deserve you.”
His taped ribs ached at the awkward angle, but he didn’t stand to relieve the pressure. Not when Annie needed him. “You have that backward. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve the two of you.” He held her and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. They’d get through this. They’d already endured so much, and truth was always worth it.
When she lifted her head away from him, he held his bad arm against his body and struggled to his feet. “One of us had better check on Kylie. She’s been in the bathtub a while.”
“I’ll do it.”
When she disappeared down the hall, he went into the kitchen and began to load the dishwasher. It was slow going with his arm and aching ribs. Cooking dinner had flared the pain, and he was overdue for some ibuprofen. He paused long enough to find the meds in Annie’s cupboard and popped three of them.
Before he resumed the job of cleaning the kitchen, Annie appeared in the doorway. “She’s getting on her pj’s. I told her she could play on her iPad for a little while.” She pointed to the chair at the kitchen table. “Sit while I clean. I can tell by your pinched mouth that the pain is bad.”
He didn’t argue. Once he was settled on the chair, he watched her swift, efficient movements for a while. Her blonde hair gleamed in the overhead light, and his gaze lingered on the sweetflush of her cheeks. To have a second chance was more than he deserved.
“You’re staring,” she said.
“Any man would stare when the most beautiful woman in the world was in front of him.”
The color in her heart-shaped face heightened. “And you’re not a bit prejudiced.” She leaned over to put the last plate in the dishwasher.
“Not a bit.” He stretched his legs out in front of him and waited for the ibuprofen to ease the pain some. Though he didn’t want to tell her about the trouble coming his way, unity and communication were glue for their relationship. She needed to know, and he could use her help. “I got a call from Olivia before dinner. I might be in trouble, Annie.”
She turned to face him. “What’s happened?”
He told her about Olivia’s request and how he’d remembered another possible victim—one of his own. “I’m not sure the police will believe I had nothing to do with this.”
Her expression grew fierce. “We can’t let her problems spill over into life here.”
He hadn’t even had to ask for her help, but that was the kind of woman she was. Pulling her into this problem wasn’t something he wanted, but their united front felt good.
Four
