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“Yeah. I agree.”
He couldn’t believe he had a daughter. He still hadn’t gotten used to the idea.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go home.”
“We haven’t made it to the stable yet,” he said, and then he shook his head. “But of course, I don’t mind. Let’s take a rain check on the stable for some other time?”
She nodded and began gathering their things up. There had been a change in her, and he wasn’t sure exactly what it was. But she seemed...anxious.
Regardless, he helped her gather their things and then carried them as they headed back up the beach.
He wasn’t sure how this new development was going to play out, but he did know that if he wanted to fix things, and he did, he needed to make sure that he was treating Dakota the way she deserved to be treated, but he wasn’t sure exactly what that was.
Thankfully, he knew someone who did. He would spend a lot of time praying about this. Maybe God would show him whatever it was that he needed to know. Because, like Dakota had just said, he’d messed up. But messing up wasn’t the end. It was what he learned and what he did to fix it that mattered.
Chapter 10
Two days later, Dakotadidn’t feel any better.
The walk on the beach with Ryan had upset her in ways she hadn’t known she even cared about.
But talking to him had made her realize that one of her daughters had a dad who was interested in her, and one didn’t, and that could end up splitting her girls apart.
Her children fought just like normal sisters did, but maybe because of all of the hardship they’d been through, they were extremely close. Maddie as the elder was very protective and mothering of Rachel. Rachel was less agreeable, and possibly finding out that Maddie had a dad who lived close and really cared about her might be hard for her.
Both of them had expressed sadness when their father had left, of course. Rachel especially had sometimes cried inconsolably at night.
Dakota had tried counseling, but that hadn’t seemed to make much difference. The counselor herself said that children make it through divorce because they have no choice. That they were resilient. That there wasn’t a whole lot she could do other than support her daughters and encourage them and let them know that their mother loved them. After all, Dakota could hardly force her husband to want his children.
Added to that was the fact that she felt guilty for allowing him to think that both girls were his.
That wasn’t something she wanted to face either, but she probably owed him an apology. Owed him the truth. Owed him...something.
And that irritated her, because he’d been the one who cheated, why was she the one who should apologize?
It didn’t matter. If she hadn’t treated him right, she needed to admit it.
