His voice turned icy. “What’s wrong?”
“I took Chance for a walk and when we came home, Matt’s SUV was in the driveway.”
“What does he want?”
She kept her eyes locked on Matt’s vehicle. “I don’t know—I haven’t gone in yet. As soon as I saw it, I called you.”
“I’m leaving now. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
He disconnected without giving Monica a chance to respond. She reattached Chance’s leash again to keep him near her. Bracing herself for what might await her, she breathed in deeply as every nerve stood on end. Every step closer to the house made her heart pound louder.
She found Matt sitting in a rocker on the porch. Tortured eyes, filled with pain, stared back at her. “When no one answered at the address Carrie had for you, I figured I’d find you here.”
It was understandable he could find out Stella’s address from Carrie’s records, but how would he have gotten Rex’s? She shoved question aside, as that was the least of her concerns. “What are you doing here, Matt?”
“I’m doing what’s best for Emily.”
“Where is Emily?” She looked around and saw the car seat by his feet.
Matt loosened the restraints and removed Emily, gently held her close to him. “I love you, little girl, more than you will ever know. Please forgive me one day for not being stronger.” Tears streamed down his face.
“What is going on? Does anyone know you’re here?” Monica kept a firm hold on her phone, ready to call someone, anyone.
“No, my parents left to settle their affairs in Florida.”
Rex sped into the driveway, leaving a trail of dust behind him. He must have doubled the speed limit to get home. After jumping out of his truck, he ran to the porch, not taking the time to shut the door. He took his place beside Monica.
Rex cleared this throat, alerting Matt to his presence. “Why don’t we go inside and talk.”
“No, I need to do this now before I can’t.” Matt’s tears came down harder and his voice was full of emotion. “I love Emily, but I can’t raise her. I’m in no shape to be the dad she deserves.”
Monica searched for the right words, trying to tread lightly. “You’re still grieving, Matt. You need to find help.”
“I know I need help, but I can’t stay in Pennsylvania. All I see is Carrie, everywhere I look. Her memory haunts me day and night. Carrie chose you as Emily’s godmother. If anything ever happened to us she wanted Emily with you. Now she is gone, and I am not capable of being her only parent. Emily deserves to grow up with two parents who will give her all the love in the world. I want you and Rex to raise her. Please.” He stopped and gulped. “I’ve never seen such love between two people except with Carrie and me. I know you will give her what she deserves. I’ve already had my lawyer draw up all the paperwork assigning both of you full guardianship. You only have to sign them.”
Rex clutched Monica’s hand. They stared at each other in shock at the magnitude of the situation before them. Rex pulled her to the other end of the porch, needing privacy but unwilling to let an unstable Matt out of their sight. They spoke in hushed tones.
Monica invoked all the training she’d ever had to stay calm. “What do we tell him?”
“Do we have a choice?” Rubbing the back of his neck, Rex kept his sight on Matt. “He isn’t stable and shouldn’t even have driven this far with her.”
“But we’re not even married yet. How can we take on this responsibility now? Emily needs her dad.”
“I agree, Monica. But what else can we do?” He ran his fingers through his hair.
“My parents or his could have watched her while he got help.”
“There is no easy solution. Carrie chose you as Emily’s godmother, and now Matt’s is placing her in our hands.”
“And you are okay with becoming a parent overnight? What about our plans? I just found out I was accepted to UL. How am I going to go back to school and work with a newborn?” Too many thoughts fighting for space short circuited her thinking.
“I meant what I said about when the time is right. For reasons we never imagined, we are being given the opportunity now. We can work out the details later, but we have a decision to make now.” He held her arms in a firm from comforting grasp. “We’ll make your plans happen whatever it takes, and we have our family to help out.”
“I’m scared, Rex. This is a huge responsibility. I don’t know the first thing about being a mom.”
“Do you think I’m not scared? The idea of being a dad and holding that responsibility scares the daylights out of me, especially when thrown at us like this. But we already love Emily, and someone needs to be strong for her until Matt can get himself together.”
“You’re right.” She inhaled deeply. “We’re doing this?”
