“I have a kid, Jules.”
“Yes, you do.Mom is going to flip out.”
Griffin grunted out a laugh.“Yeah, she is.She’ll make Hadley call her Kate.”Hadley.His child’s name was Hadley.
Julian laughed.“No one will ever call her Granny.”
When Griffin rubbed at his face again, he was surprised to find his skin wet with tears.What the hell was happening?He couldn’t recall the last time he’d cried about anything.“We thought there wouldn’t be any kids to call her Granny.That was the plan.”
“Plans change.Shit happens.”He picked up Griffin’s phone and handed it to him again.“You should reply to McKenna.”
“Right.”He stared at the reply screen as he tried to think of what he should say.
“Tell her the baby is beautiful, which she is.Tell her you love her name.Tell her you want to meet her.”
He’d never been more thankful for Julian than he was right then as he replied exactly the way his brother had suggested.
You can meet her any time.Just let me know when.She’d love to meet her daddy.
Her daddy.
He was her daddy.
Hadley’s daddy.
Christ have mercy…
He was a disaster of tears and emotions he’d never experienced before.“What the hell is wrong with me?”
“You just had a baby,” Julian said.“Your reaction is totally normal.”
“She’s really gorgeous, isn’t she?”
“Despite looking like you, she is, in fact, gorgeous.”
Griffin chuckled at the predictable comment.The normalness of that brought him comfort during the strangest moment of his life.“Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out… Not so fast.”
“I know, right?”
Something about the way Julian said that had Griffin wondering what was up with him, but he didn’t have the bandwidth to ask right then.
He stared at the phone screen, scrolling through the photos over and over again, his desire to see Hadley in person growing with every minute that passed.Replying to McKenna’s last text, he wrote,Would tomorrow be okay?
She has a doctor’s appointment with shots that’ll make her cranky tomorrow, so Friday would be better.What time is good?
He started to say after work, but stopped himself, realizing he wouldn’t be able to think about work or anything else until he’d met his daughter.Would eleven be okay?
Noon would be better.She’ll be up from her morning nap by then.
Noon it is.Same address as before?
Yes.
See you then.
“Friday at noon.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
