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It’s true that his anger and hate for Misty had kept him from seeing his own daughter as nothing more than a mistake, but with recent events and the lecture from his kids, he was beginning to feel somewhat different towards the girl. The truth is that no matter what came after what Misty did that night, this girl was not to blame.
He felt horrible that he’d let things go this far for so long, but at least he was here now. “Sit down, Connie, is it? Before you fall.” He’d only just noticed how unsteady she seemed on her feet. Connie reached behind her for the chair and dropped down on it just as the last of her strength left her.
“I bet you’re surprised to see me here.” James pulled up a chair at the table and sat in the one closest to her. He felt suddenly tongue-tied now that they were here. It had been rushed, but once he told Ryan he wanted to see the girl, it had been decided that he’d see her alone, after the three of them, Cora, included, had decided not to tell her how she came to be for now.
With that explanation off the table, he didn’t quite know how else to explain his absence from her life. So he decided to just dive right in. “I guess you know that I’m your dad; your mother must’ve told you.” Connie nodded her head as she dug the nails of one hand into the other. “Did she ever tell you…?” No wrong track.
“I want to apologize for not being there for you before. I’m here now to tell you that I’ll be here if you need me.” That didn’t come out quite right, but it was the best he could do. He hadn’t exactly been given time to plan this meeting, never expected it to happen, really, and had it not been for his other kids; he probably wouldn’t ever have been.
Even now, he knew his wife was upset, not that he blamed her, but the kid was, after all, a part of him. A living, breathing being that didn’t deserve the hand she’d been dealt. “Your stepdad and I are going to work out the logistics going forward, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that I’m here.” James got up to leave, having run out of things to say for now.
There was a lot of work to be done before they figured out what kind of relationship they were going to have, but this was a start. “Can I get a hug?” James surprised even himself with that one, but the look on the girl’s face erased any misgivings he might’ve had.
He didn’t expect when she came around the table and threw herself in his arms that he would feel so strongly towards her. It was the first time holding his child, a child he’d never wanted, and yet, with all that had happened in the last few days and all that they still had yet to go through, this felt right. He was sure that he was doing the right thing.
Ryan was feeling better after the other two left, and he was left alone with Connie, his new ward. He was pleased with the morning’s events for the girl’s sake at least and had to admit to a new admiration for James. Cora was still a bit on the fence, but he felt certain that she’d come around given time.
“You doing okay?” He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching her. She still seemed poleaxed by her dad coming to see her, but at least she’d lost that little girl lost look from her face. He knew it was hard for her to accept his sudden change, especially since he hadn’t given her any real reason for it, but she seemed to be starting to accept his word. Now all he had to do was figure out what the hell to do with a teenage daughter.
“I’m good. Am I still staying here with you?”
“Where else would you be going? Your dad and stepmom and I are going to work some things out in the future but for now, let’s just get through the next few days. We still need to talk about what you did, sending that message to Marissa the way you did.”
He gave her a stern look here because as much as he felt for her now, that was a horrible thing to do. He had no doubt that it was her mother’s influence, something he was going to get together with her dad and Cora in the future to curtail. The kid was going to need therapy of some kind going forward, but for now, his only interest was in protecting her from others finding out.
