“A baby changes everything!” I said, throwing my arms into the air. “I’m a father, and you kept that from me. Jesus!”
I turned around, rubbing my hands through my hair. A child. I had a three-year-old kid. The thought made my stomach go out. I’d missed out on so much already.
“Who else knows?”
She made a face. “Everyone knows.”
I turned to her and stared. She had crossed her arms now, her shoulders a little more relaxed. She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Jesus, Brandon. She looks exactly like you. Everyone knows she’s your kid. Your parents babysit every once in a while.”
It was like the hits kept coming. My parents knew. Of course, they knew. That explains my mother’s expression when she saw me coming here, why she looked a little worried.
I felt like my world was spinning and I couldn’t stop it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Again, you left.”
“You talk to your brother all the time. You never once thought to mention it to him?” I paused. Why hadn’t he told me? She had told her brother and asked him not to tell me?
She snorted. “You think he brings you up in conversation? Do you honestly believe when we talk, I ask about you?”
“I’m her father,” I stated. “You could have told me.”
I shook my head. “No, you’re the man who slept with me and created her. A father would never have left.”
“You act like I had a choice.”
Her eyebrows went up. “You did have a choice! And you chose to leave! Jesus, do you have any idea how hard it’s been? Everyone knows we slept together, and everyone knows that youleft. You rejected me. So, don’t come at me because you fucked me and left me behind.”
No, I didn’t. I wanted her. I didn’t think I could leave without knowing what she was like. I couldn’t leave her without having her at least once. The memory of her.
But I never thought about how that would look. I never thought of what she might have thought. I looked at Jade, noticing the dark circles and the paleness of her skin. She was thin, and I knew it was from malnutrition. But Ilsa was perfect.
Ilsa was a plump, perky kid. She had a big smile and hope in her eyes. You could tell that Jade had done right. She’d worked hard to give her daughter what she needed. You could tell Jade had given up her sleep, body, and soul for Ilsa.
The guilt hit me, and as mad as I was about missing three years, I knew Jade had done this alone. Her father wouldn’t help, and while my parents were helpful, I imagine with my father, it only went so far.
“Let me help now.”
Her eyebrows went up lightly, looking a little surprised by my words.
“I’m here now, and I can try righting my wrong. Let me. I’m her father after all.”
Jade’s face relaxed. “I didn’t mean it that way…of course, you’re her father, Brandon. I just mean…I understand you’re angry, and you have every right to be. But I do too.”
I took a slow breath in. “Does she know who I am?”
Jade shook her head. “No. She doesn’t. We’ve…we’ve never talked about you.”
“How do you introduce my parents?”
She swallowed. “Your mother said to go with they are friends of mine. They live next door to my dad, so it works.” So, she didn’t even introduce my folks as her grandparents.
“And your brother? He was okay keeping this a secret?”
She shook her head. “Kaleb doesn’t know.”
My eyes widened. “But you said…”
She nodded. “I said everyone knows. But you and Kaleb. Everyone who lives in the pack is aware of who her father is. She looks like you. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots.”
