The thought of her alone could warm him up, but right now his blood ran cold with thoughts that someone might want to hurt him. Want him dead. That could certainly have been the end result if he’d been thrown into the ocean. No one would have found him in this weather.
What would happen to Jordan if he was seriously injured or died? Yes, Chelsea was her biological mother, but he didn’t want her to have to go through any legal battle or red tape to take care of their child. First thing Monday morning, Theo planned to call his lawyer. It was time he changed his will to make Chelsea the benefactor and give her all legal rights to their child.
“Theodore, it’s so great to see you.”
“Hey, Mom,” Theo answered, slipping into his mother’s embrace. “It’s great to see you, too.”
“How’s my granddaughter?” she asked, peering down at Jordan wrapped around his leg. Bangor International Airport was crowded and noisier than she was used to. Not to mention, she normally only saw his parents through the computer screen. They’d only been able to visit in person a few times since Jordan was born. You’d think the girl was shy.
“I don’t know.” Theo craned his head to the right and left. “She was around here somewhere, but I seem to have lost her.”
A tug on his pant leg was followed by a tiny voice. “I’m wight here, Daddy.”
“Hmm…I thought I heard something. Did you hear something, Mom? Dad?”
That got the child jumping up and down and finally hopping into her grandmother’s arms for a hug. It always took a few minutes for her to warm up to people she hadn’t seen in a while.
“I hope I’ll get one of those, too,” his father said as he reached for Theo. Theirs was a quick clap of the back followed by a handshake. By the time they got to baggage claim, Jordan was riding on her grandfather’s back.
There were times he regretted not going back to Ohio, so Dan and Laurie Lapierre could spend more time with Jordan. Luckily, his older sister and brother had provided them with plenty of other grandchildren to spoil. Now that Chelsea had returned, he knew he’d made the right choice. With all the sabotage her father had thrown at them, she never would have sought him out, even if she’d known where to look, and Jordan would have missed out on ever seeing her mother.
“We’re so excited to be here for your birthday, honey,” his mom said to Jordan as they waited for their luggage.
“I’m gonna have face paint and magic and a big cake.” Jordan’s eyes were huge as she listed off her party activities.
“And what do you want for your birthday?” his father asked, getting down on her level.
“Daddy already got it for me.”
Both his parents grinned at him, and he looked at them confused. Her present was being constructed as they spoke. He and Chelsea had gone in together and bought a big swing set and climbing structure. His budget had been set, but when he’d mentioned it to Chelsea, she’d asked if she could pitch in and get a larger model. Although he hated to accept her money, he’d agreed, since the one he’d picked out wasn’t the one he’d liked the best. He wouldn’t let her put any more money in than he had. But how had Jordan known?
“What did you get?” his father asked.
“I got my Mama back.”
The adults all froze at her softly spoken words. The emotion in his child’s voice crushed him. It was something she’d asked for many times.
“It’s even better, ‘cause she got a dog and kitties and they are so adorable and I can play with them.”
The carousel started spinning and pushing out luggage. His dad took Jordan’s hand and led her closer, inviting her to help him find the bag.
“Are you okay, honey?” Mom touched his elbow.
“Yeah. It’s just that Jordan asked me when her mom was coming home a dozen times. It still doesn’t seem real that’s she’s back. I keep expecting her to disappear in a puff of smoke like in some fairy tale.”
“How are things between you and Chelsea?”
“Moving slowly, but they are moving. So I guess it’s all forward, and forward is good.”
“She didn’t want to come today?”
Taking a deep breath in, Theo said, “First, she’s at the house, because Jordan’s real present is being delivered and set up. Second, she’s nervous about meeting you.”
His mother’s face crumpled. “Why?”
“She figures you hate her for deserting me and Jordan.”
“Oh, honey.” She hugged his arm tighter. “We certainly hate what happened to both of you, but now that we know the whole story, we can hardly blame her.”
