“It was Chris’ child,” she admitted. “I worked a case, and I lost the baby. I blamed myself for a long time. Then, when time was right, I started having kids. Look at my brood.”
She wiped her eyes.
“What if I can’t, though?”
Elizabeth was honest.
“There are babies and little ones who need homes. Addison isn’t of my body, but she’s my daughter. Then, there’s Daniel. There’s Willa, and Bethe. There’s Dolly, and there’s Takoda. I love them so much, and I had no part in their conception or birth. That doesn’t make them unloved or not mine. There are ways, Gabby.”
She began calming down.
Elizabeth was to the point.
“First, breathe, and don’t blame yourself. Mothers go through more than anyone in the world, and you were just a mother. That little angel will always be yours. I think about the child I lost a lot. I know Chris does. That was our only chance at a biological child together, and we both wonder what would have happened had the child been born.”
She let Elizabeth soothe her.
“You will have babies one way or another. Yeah, a stork might actually drop one off in a car, or you might get on a plane to go pick one up. Being a mother isn’t about the labor of birth. It’s about the labor after. You can’t tell me that your handsome man wouldn’t adopt twenty kids in a heartbeat.”
She had a point.
“You’ve told me how he is with his nephews and nieces. Trust in that with Finn. He needs to know your worries so he can help walk with you through them. Don’t keep secrets. Look at Michael and Graham.”
Yowza.
That hit the bullseye.
“Trust in Finn. He loves you.”
She was about to say something when the door opened, and Finn came back in. It was clear he had been crying. It was clear that he’d been mourning.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
Elizabeth took control.
“I’ll do it for you. Finn?”
He came into view.
“Yes?”
“I need you to sit down.”
Oh, Jesus.
He’d just told Catherine, his sister, and she was rallying the family to help him, and Gabby, get through this. Now, he felt like he was getting ready for the second gut punch.
He felt it coming.
“What?” he asked.
Elizabeth told him.
“Gabby has had miscarriages before with her first husband. She’s afraid you’ll leave her if you find out.”
He gasped.
“Leave her?” he asked, horrified. “I’ll never leave her. She’s my woman. We’re going to get married. I love her, and I’ll never not love her. This isn’t her fault!”
