Harper grabbed the bowl of fruit, along with her coffee, and followed Frankie. The dish of sausages was already there. They all sat and tucked in.
The food was great. Harper took a second helping of fruit. “How soon are you willing to go meet Buck? He’s off today and tomorrow.”
Frankie glanced at her, brow furrowed. “You want to go that soon?”
Harper shrugged. “The timing works, since he’s off. And the sooner we meet him, the sooner we know if there’s a relationship there worth pursuing.”
Willa swallowed her last strawberry half. “Why not go today? He’s only two hours away, right?”
Frankie shook her head. “I have too much work to do today. Emails to answer. Pricing stuff. Plus, we haven’t talked to him about it.”
“I guarantee he’ll be okay with us coming whenever. Let’s do it tomorrow, then,” Harper countered.
“I’m in,” Willa said. “Come on, Mom. Please.”
Frankie looked like she knew when she was beat. “Okay, fine. Tomorrow. If Buck agrees.”
Harper smiled. “I’ll write the email as soon as we’re finished here.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mitch stared at his son and the baby in his arms, the two of them now settled on the sofa in the living room. Joyce hovered nearby in the kitchen, making tea.
Mitch sat in the recliner and cleared his throat softly. “Start at the beginning.”
Kyle nodded. “That’s easy. Addison didn’t want us anymore.”
“How does a mother not want her child?” It was a valid question, and one Mitch desperately needed to understand.
“She didn’t want the baby in the first place. She was going to get rid of her, but I begged her not to. Promised her I would take full responsibility, do all the work, change all the diapers, everything.” Kyle exhaled and rubbed at his eyes. “She didn’t even want her followers to know she was pregnant. Said it would ruin her image.”
“Carefree party girl?” Joyce offered. “With no attachments to hold her down?”
Kyle nodded as he looked over. “Something like that.”
Mitch’s stomach churned with anger. That explained why she hadn’t posted any full-body pictures in the last six months. And why Kyle hadn’t been in them recently. “She didn’t want the baby.”
“No,” Kyle said. The exhaustion in his voice was plain, as was the pain in his eyes.
Joyce brought over a plate of muffins and a big mug of tea and set them in front of Kyle. “There you go.” She held her hands out. “Give the lamb to me. I can hold her.”
“Okay,” Kyle said softly. He handed the baby over.
“What’s her name?” Mitch asked. He didn’t even know it and he already couldn’t imagine her not being here.
“Ruthie,” Kyle answered. “Ruth Jeanine Ripley. She’s fifteen weeks old.”
Mitch sucked in a breath. Ruth had been Jeanie’s mother’s name. Kyle had been very close to his grandmother. Emotion clogged Mitch’s throat. He cleared it again. “You named her after your mother and grandmother.”
“Yeah,” Kyle said quietly. “Addison didn’t know the significance of the names. Not that she would have cared.” He sighed and picked up the mug, drinking deeply before setting it down again.
Joyce smiled down at the child in her arms. “Hello, Ruthie, love. What a little angel you are.”
“She’s a good baby,” Kyle said, almost defensively. “She fusses, but it’s only when she needs something. Addison didn’t get that. Said she cried all the time. But Addison never bothered to learn what her cries meant. I can tell you when she’s hungry, when she needs to be changed, when she just needs to be held.”
Mitch’s heart clenched. “I’m proud of you.”
Kyle looked up, surprise in his gaze. “You are?”
