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"Her husband loved her. Macayla's dad." Brady pointed out.
"She was easy to love." He shook his head. "She never cheated on him-" He smiled at Brady's skeptical expression. "She never did. He was a decent man and knew she was in love with me.
She cared about him enough to be faithful to him. When he died suddenly, it broke her apart. She turned to me and I comforted her. I begged her not to marry again and she couldn’t bear the thought of me being married. Your grandfather was still alive and would have ruined her.
Then we had you and I wanted to try and make it work." Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes briefly, before looking at his son. "Now do you see why we need this? It’s too late for Michelle and I, but you and Macayla have a chance, I’m urging you to take it."
"Under false pretenses?" Brady's tone was tinged with bitterness. "She doesn’t love me and, even if she agrees to this madness, it will be out of a sense of duty to her mother. I don’t want her resenting the child or me."
"You’re thinking of your mother."
"Can you blame me?" He asked impatiently. "This is madness, Dad. Getting a child involved is irresponsible as hell. "
"You’re in love with her?"
"Yes, and I have since I was a gawky five-year-old boy. She was amused by me. She was three years old and amused by the way I always wanted to play with her when you and Michelle met in the park." He lifted his broad shoulders.
"Even when we were teenagers and I would come back for the summer, she always had something going on. Then when she found out about you and her mother, she resented me. There’ll always be that between us."
"She isn’t seeing anyone and the relationship you had with that English actress is over seeing as you ended it."
"I did. It wasn't going anywhere and it wasn’t fair to Giselle for me to pretend otherwise." he finished his drink. "It's frustrating to be in love with her and not able to tell her."
"Then it's time for you to change that." His father pressed. "Having a baby together will change that."
"It never did for you and Mom." Brady reminded him.
"That's because I was in love with Michelle and your mother was -she was incapable of love. Macayla is warm and giving-" A smile touched his lips. "She’s moved past her resentment of me and we get along these days. She’s determined to be a tomboy, but beneath that is a lovely young woman who knows exactly what she wants."
"You’re a fan?"
"Of not only her as a person, but the books she’s written. She refuses to use her own name and insists on a pseudonym. When she started writing, I offered to hook her up with one of the publishing houses we invested in and she refused.
She told me if she couldn’t do it on her own then it wasn’t worth doing. She’s done extremely well, and I’m proud of her. I want her as a daughter and you want her in your life. It's that simple."
"Or that bloody complicated." Brady muttered.
"Has she agreed to meet you?"
"She’s at the cabin and yes, she’s agreed to meet."
"That's a good sign."
"Or she’s just meeting me to say, hell no."
"I doubt that. When are you leaving?"
"This afternoon. It's a long drive and I won’t get there until the evening." He glanced at his watch. "Which reminds me I have to get to my place to grab a shower and change."
"I’m hoping for the best."
"So am I."
*****
He used the drive to reflect on the situation. The traffic was surprisingly light, considering it was a Friday afternoon.
It was probably too early and people were still at work. It was the beginning of fall and there was evidence of the season everywhere he looked. The trees made even more glorious by the moisture left by the rain that had fallen earlier.
