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Shannon seemed pleased, climbing up on the bench beside her. “Guess what? I'm gonna be a doctor when I grow up, too.”
“Really?” Alec and Jillian exclaimed in unison. Jillian laughed and Alec wished he had taken the time to shower and shave before heading out this morning. Then again, if he had, their paths may not have crossed at all.
Better to be scruffy than to miss this.
He turned his attention to his daughter. “No wonder you were so interested in the boy who bled all over the water park.”
Jillian raised a brow at his comment. “Hmm. Well, Shannon, if you really want to be a doctor, you have to study really hard in school. Do you like school?” She leaned down to rub her ankle again and Daisy licked her fingers as if to say she was sorry.
“Yes. School is fun,” Shannon announced. “I have lots of friends there. They're all coming to my birthday party this Saturday. Will you come, too?”
“Oh, I... uh...I don't know.” Jillian's gaze cut to his in a panic.
“That's a great idea,” he agreed, ignoring the exasperated look Jillian sent his way. He could tell what she was thinking. She was involved in his case so they shouldn’t be spending time together. Yet she wasn't exactly at the top of their list of suspects. Once Rafe finished her interview, there was no reason they couldn't get together as friends at his daughter's party. “There will be at least ten six-year-olds there and I could use all the help I could get.” His family planned to chip in to help, but he liked the idea of having Jillian over, too.
“Please?” His daughter turned big, brown, pleading eyes toward Jillian. “That way Daisy will know you're not mad at her.”
“I'll stop by if I'm not working,” Jillian hedged. “And Daisy already knows I'm not mad at her. Look, she's trying to untie my running shoes.”
Shannon giggled when the dog took a shoelace between her teeth and tugged. It was enough to distract his daughter, and she quickly launched into another topic other than her impending birthday party.
Alec knew Jillian had wanted to refuse. Was she really working? Or had it been an excuse?
He should have felt guilty for backing her into a corner, but he didn't. There was nothing wrong with being friends, right? Jillian gave him the impression of being a loner and he'd learned the value of family and friends over this past year.
“I need to get home,” Jillian said, breaking into his thoughts.
“We'll walk with you,” he said when stood and tested her weight on her ankle.
“There's no need, see?” She lifted her foot and rotated the joint, proving it was uninjured. “I promise it's not painful at all.”
“We'll walk you home, anyway,” he repeated. The park was perfectly safe, but if her ankle acted up, he intended to be there for her.
They strolled along the sidewalk surrounding the park. He kept pace with Jillian while Shannon ran ahead with Daisy, running in circles on the grass.
“She's beautiful.” This time, he knew she meant Shannon.
“Thanks.” His throat closed with pent up emotion. “I feel terrible I wasn't there for her early years, but I cherish every moment I have with her now.”
She sent him a sidelong glance. “I know it's not any of my business, but why didn't you know about her?”
It was a fair question. His family had asked the exact same thing. He didn't like admitting his sins, even though he had begged God for forgiveness and was now at peace. “Her mother, Jenny and I were together for about six months but things didn't work out. We were just too different. Honestly, I think part of it was my fault. I wasn't quite ready to settle down, and Jen broke things off.”
“But she was pregnant.” Jillian frowned.
“She couldn't have known at the time, based on Shannon’s birthday. And I certainly didn't know.” He couldn't prevent the defensive note in his voice. He didn't like anyone assuming he'd abandoned his responsibilities. “There's no way I would have left if I'd known about Shannon. We shouldn't have gotten ourselves into that situation, anyway. And I take full responsibility for not following up with her afterwards.”
“Jenny never contacted you?” She pressed.
He ruefully shook his head. He'd asked himself the same question a dozen times. Why hand Jenny called him? Why hadn't she told him about the baby? He didn't understand, yet she wasn't here to ask. “No, in fact, I'd heard she moved to St. Louis. I'm not sure why she didn't tell me. I feel terrible about that, I’m sure she could have used financial support.” It deeply bothered him to think about Jenny carrying the burden of raising a child alone.
“I can imagine,” Jillian murmured. Their fingers brushed, clung for a minute, before she pulled away.
He told himself to finish the rest of the story. “It wasn't until ten months ago that I got a call from the Department of Health and Human Services. They contacted me because Jenny had listed me as the father on Shannon’s birth certificate. Jen had colon cancer and before she died she gave instructions, requesting Shannon be placed with me.” It was the best gift Jenny could have given him.
She raised a brow. “Did you undergo DNA testing? To make sure she's yours?”
“No need.” He followed Shannon and Daisy with his gaze as they ran through the park. His tone was firm. “She's mine.”
