“She was six pounds, five ounces. Small. The doctor had wondered if she was early. I couldn’t answer that question.”
With a sigh, she whispered, “She was almost three weeks early. I figured I got pregnant right after we were married.”
“I did the math, with and without an early delivery.”
Her head whipped up. “Did you think she wasn’t yours?”
Reaching over, he rubbed her back. “I never questioned who her father was. I know you were only with me that summer. It wasafteryou left that things fell apart.”
She didn’t seem to hear him as she turned the page and looked through more pictures. Jordan’s first solid food, first steps, first birthday. Then, later as she made friends and grew bigger.
“I missed so much.” Chelsea’s voice wobbled, and tears trailed down her face again. Pulling her against him, he stroked her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead. God, he’d missed her. What in the world had happened? They’d have to hash it out at some point, but right now she seemed so fragile.
After leafing through the pages of the photo album, she flipped back to a few of the earlier ones. “You’ve given her lots of love, haven’t you?”
“She’s the most precious thing in my life.” His throat felt scratchy and dry.
Her head bobbed up and down as she leaned more heavily against him. The occasional sniffle wafted his way, her fingers still stroking the pictures. The deep emotional turmoil must have depleted her reserves, because after a while, her eyes closed. Her breaths evened out. Asleep.
Easing her to a more comfortable position, he propped a pillow in his lap and laid her head on it. They’d been here before. Memories surfaced of him playing with her silky hair and smoothing it back from her face. Her hair was longer now yet still as soft as ever. The little heart-shaped birthmark called out to him from under her ear. It was so he always knew where to kiss her. That had been their little joke. He’d kept it up with Jordan.
No matter how much he’d hated what she’d done, or what he thought she’d done, he could never find it in him to hate her. Too often, he blamed himself for pushing her into marriage when she was so young. She’d barely been twenty and had recently lost her grandmother. Maybe, in the back of his mind, he’d hoped she would grow up enough to take responsibility and come back to them someday.
It was one reason why he’d kept the picture of their wedding day on the mantle. He’d never spoken ill of her to Jordan either. What he’d tell her when she was older, he wasn’t sure. But he had never wanted it to be that her mother didn't love her. Now, he knew it was the truth.
When he’d first seen Chelsea last week, fear had run rampant through him, thinking she’d shown up to finally take Jordan back. With her father’s money, he’d never stand a chance, no matter what the circumstances. Then, when she hadn’t even mentioned the child, he didn’t know what to think. Now, he knew why.
What he didn’t know was why she never called or returned any of his calls or texts. His first priority was making sure that Jordan wasn’t hurt in any of this.
The sound of a car pulling up shook him from his thoughts. The tread on the stairs sounded like Angie. Looking at his watch, he realized almost two hours had passed. She must have done her class with the Junior Rangers, then come back here.
As she opened the screen door, he put his finger to his lips and shook his head. Anger crossed Angie’s features, but she stayed quiet. Maneuvering out from under Chelsea, he indicated the porch, followed Angie outside, and eased the door most of the way closed.
“What is she doing here?” Angie whispered viciously.
Leaning back against the porch railing, he crossed him arms over his chest and sighed. “Did Jordan say anything? Does she know who Chelsea is?”
“I didn’t tell her if that’s what you mean. But that little girl has looked at the pictures of her mother every day for years. She’ll figure it out.”
“Chelsea didn’t know about Jordan.”
Angie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean she didn’t know? How do you not know you’re pregnant?”
“Her father told her the baby was stillborn.”
“You buy that?” Angie had seen his pain for the past four and a half years. Chelsea wasn’t her favorite person.
“Look. After you left, she passed out. Woke up hysterical about how I’d stolen her baby. The last hour or so, all she did was cry. There’s no way you can fake that kind of anguish. It got worse when I showed her pictures of Jordan from the album you put together.”
Angie’s gaze roamed the woods across the street. “Time she’ll never get back.”
“Yeah, something like that. God, Ange, I don’t even know what to do.” His voice cracked.
Moving into his arms, she hugged him tight. She’d been his rock throughout all this. After taking his fill of her comfort, he stepped back.
“I have several meetings today. I’ve already missed the first one, but I don’t want to leave her alone or wake her up and send her on her way. She’s not in any shape to drive or be by herself.”
“I can stay,” she said, glancing at her watch. “I have another Junior Ranger class this afternoon at four. Can you be back by then?”
