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I shook my head in disbelief. “My dad is going to kill us.”
Lincoln’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but he didn’t respond. My father was the pastor of our small, oceanside town, and to say that he was strict was an understatement. “He’ll understand.”
I scoffed. “No, he won’t. Sex before marriage is a sin.”
“You’re his only daughter. You’re pregnant with his grandchild. He has to understand.”
I bit my bottom lip and nodded even though I wasn’t fully convinced. I knew my father, and I could already hear the lecture and disappointment in his voice. But maybe since I was his family, his blood, he would understand.
My thoughts turned to another problem. “How are we going to raise a baby? We don’t have jobs, or a place to live, or—”
“Stop,” Lincoln interrupted, grabbing my hand. “I graduate in a few months, and I’ll get a job. I’ll save up everything I can before the baby comes, and hopefully, we can get our own place.”
My dreams of going to Duke and becoming a biologist evaporated before my eyes and were replaced with diapers, bottles, and baby cries. My eyes welled up with more tears. “But I still have one more year of school left. And what about college? This wasn’t the plan, Lincoln.”
I started to sob, overwhelmed by our situation. I wasn’t ready to be a mother. We weren’t supposed to have a baby for at least another ten years, once we both had careers, a home and financial stability.
Lincoln wrapped his arms around me, and his familiar scent washed over me. He smelled like clean laundry and rain, and his scent always calmed me. “I know, baby, I know. This is just a small curveball. We just have to modify the plan a little. No matter what happens, it’s you and me.” He pulled back and cupped my face in his hands, then stared into my eyes with conviction. “Always you and me.”
I placed my smaller hands over his, losing myself in his eyes. They reminded me of the sky right before a summer storm, and I always found comfort in them. “Promise?”
His thumbs caressed my cheeks as he smiled; a real smile that time. “I promise.”
Then he leaned down and kissed me. My fear and trepidation about being pregnant were eased from his words and touch. He was my rock, and I knew we could overcome anything as long as we were together.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to the hustle and bustle of Charlotte. I’d lived there for a little over eight years, and the large city was completely different than my hometown of Beaufort, and at times, I missed the comfort of my small seaside home.
But I couldn’t go back there; not after everything that had happened. I couldn’t face him or my family, and I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in their eyes.
I sat at the dining room table in my apartment drinking a cup of hot tea as I did every evening to unwind after work and went through the day’s mail. Instead of just typical bills and junk mail, I came across something different.
I set my tea down and slowly picked up the small envelope. I read the sender’s name and address in the top left corner several times to make sure I’d read it right.
My brow furrowed as I stared at the out-of-place mail. I tried to figure out why he would be writing to me when we hadn’t spoken in nine years.
My stomach knotted as I thought about the reasons for his letter. Had something happened back home? Was something wrong with him? Or my parents?
With shaky hands, I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. My eyes ran over the words on the page.
* * *
Dear Liv,
Hope this letter finds you well. Fuck, what has it been? Nine years? Ten? I guess it would be about nine since that’s how old our daughter is. She found me, Liv. She wants to meet us—both of us. I thought we should make the decision together. I can come to you, or you can come home. I know your momma misses you something fierce. Let me know what you decide.
Lincoln
* * *
I blinked several times in disbelief as I tried to process what I’d just read.
Our daughter.
My chest tightened as I thought of her. All the feelings that I’d spent years burying were starting to resurface, clawing their way up from the depths of my broken soul. And after all the time that had passed, I still didn’t know how to deal with them.
Memories from the day she was born flooded back to me, stirring up a whirlwind of emotions that made it hard to breathe. It was so long ago, but the pain was still so strong that it felt like yesterday.
I could still remember the way she felt when they placed her on my chest. I still remembered how she smelled and the sound of her cries when she entered the world.
