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“Sounds good,” I said, and that was an understatement. It sounded like a lot of people, and I didn’t look forward to making a grand entrance—me, the outcast, with my surprise baby.
“This used to be a formal living room,” Faye said as we went in. “We don’t do formal around here, so when Simon moved in, we turned it into a den.”
“Otherwise known as my man cave,” my father said.
“Every home needs one,” I said, thinking of my office, which was as close as I came to one in my smaller place. I’d just ordered a custom carved bookshelf to make it feel like my space.
Simon’s room contained a masculine leather love seat and an extra-wide chair, as well as a small desk in the corner with a computer on it. He gestured for me to take the chair, and he and Faye sat on the love seat. I set Juniper’s car seat in front of me.
“How was your trip?” I asked them, preferring the spotlight to be on them instead of myself, even though I knew questions—about myself but especially about my daughter—were inevitable.
Faye let out a sigh. “It was fabulous. Perfect weather, lots of good food, and I got to meet some old friends of Simon’s. But we want to hear about you. It sounds like you’ve had quite a bit of drama lately.”
“That’s one word for it.” I leaned forward, my gaze going to my daughter’s apple cheeks, my mind rolling over the past two weeks. “Breaking the news to you and the rest of your family about our connection was no small deal, and then the very next day, this nugget turned up.”
“You said you found her in your car,” Simon said. “I can’t understand what whoever dropped her off was thinking.”
“I thought it was a joke at first,” I admitted.
“It’s like something out of a movie or a novel,” Faye said, shaking her head.
I’d already told them on the phone about that day and about the paternity test results, as the news had spread all over Dragonfly Lake, and I didn’t want my father to hear it from someone besides me.
“Have you heard from the mother?” Simon asked.
I shook my head. “She’s not answering the only number I have for her. No longer works for the employer she used to. I’m not sure what else to do to find her. And then I stop and wonder why I’d want to find her. Just to get more details about my daughter, I guess.” And give Gina a piece of my mind. But mostly I’d decided that would be a waste of energy and do no one any good. I was moving forward legally to protect my daughter.
“That’s something I can relate to,” Simon said as he rested his elbows on his thighs, similar to my position. “I missed a lot of years. Alotof years.” He shook his head sadly.
“You both did,” Faye said.
Simon’s gaze shot back to me. “That’s true. I’ve been twisted up over missing out on your life, but you’re the one who grew up without a father.” He frowned. “I’m trying not to be upset with Janet, but we lost so much…”
“Yeah.” I blew out my breath. “It adds a whole thick layer to the grief, believe me.”
“I’m sorry, Knox. You must be going through so much,” Simon said.
I managed a smile. “I’ve had some time to work through a lot of the stuff about my mom. She had a heart of gold. She gave up a lot for me.” My throat tightened with sadness and the pain of missing her.
A young woman I hadn’t met before stuck her head in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, but we can’t find the extra plates, Faye.”
“Of course you can’t because we moved them,” Faye said lightly. She stood and went toward the doorway. “Excuse me. You two keep talking. I need to check in on food prep and show Mackenzie where we moved everything.”
Simon nodded at his wife.
Faye paused before disappearing. “I’ll want to hold that baby when she’s awake.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, smiling. This baby had struck it lucky with her new grandmother. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.
Simon was looking after her, the expression on his face one of a man clearly in love.
Once she’d left, he sobered, turned his attention back to me, and said, “I want you to know something, Knox. The time I spent with your mother was the blink of an eye in the overall scheme of life, but it was…special.”
“I got that impression from her letter,” I told him.
“It’s been a lot of years. I’ve been lucky enough to love and be loved by two women since then. Some people would claim that the weekend your mom and I spent together was too brief for love to be involved, but I don’t know. Maybe they’d be right, but maybe not. What Icantell you is that our connection was unique. Powerful. But always intended to be temporary. Maybe that was part of the intensity, the magic.” He shook his head as if he was still puzzling it out to this day. “All I know is that meeting her when I did, spending that time together… She was exactly what I needed at that moment. Strangely enough, she helped me straighten my head out about Nita, who became my first wife, and see I was being a jackass about some things.”
He met my gaze with a sheepish expression, and I grinned. “She made me see when I was being a jackass about some things too. A couple hundred times at least,” I said.
