“Yes. I don’t know what finally brought her around, or if anything, except Jessie’s inner strength finally pulled her through. Dad and I tried everything to bring her back from despair. Nothing we said or did worked. It was all Jessie. She never came back a hundred percent. She doesn’t smile like she means it. She doesn’t laugh with her whole heart. She doesn’t live life to the fullest. She doesn’t let any man get close.”
“You said she hasn’t dated anyone.”
“No one. She’s afraid to love again. Everyone she loved hurt her or left her. She won’t allow that to happen again. I hate telling you this, but Dylan, you need to know just how much Jessie suffered.”
Greg turned his hard gaze on Dylan’s mother. “Are you pleased? Did she suffer enough, pay enough for having the audacity to love your son? I hope you rot in hell for all the pain you’ve caused.”
Greg sighed, reining in his temper. “She shifted her focus, went to college and worked for Dad. She started her own business with Dad’s help. All of that gave her a sense of purpose, but not the happiness she deserves.”
“See, she just wanted to get money,” Dylan’s mother accused. “How’d she pay for college, or starting a business? That’s the only reason she called, for the money.”
John stood, arms crossed over his chest, and scowled. “I can’t believe you’re a mother. There’s no love in your cold heart.
“She worked for me, and she got a couple small scholarships. When she would come up short, I gave her the money to finish her degree. When she wanted to start her company, I gave her the money. She didn’t ask for it. I offered. She paid me back with interest. Every dollar. Every dime. Every penny. She worked harder than two of my men combined to earn her pay. She gave me more joy in my life, as if she’d been my own daughter. She worries about me, fusses over me, and generally treats me like family. That girl is better than any two people I know and a million times better than you’ll ever be. You betrayed her. You betrayed your own son. Because of you, he never got the chance to see his daughter.”
“Did you hold her, sir? Did you get to touch her?” Dylan asked, his voice raw.
“Yes, son. I did. Jessie honored me by placing that sweet baby girl in my arms. Besides holding my own son in my arms, there was nothing better. I’m sorry for your loss. More sorry than I can say.”
Dylan didn’t know what to say. He looked up at Greg with the same question in his eyes. He didn’t know why it mattered so much to him to know these men held his daughter when he never got the chance.
“Yes, Dylan. I held her on one of the few times Jessie gave her up, even for a minute. Even at sixteen, you could see Jessie would have been a great mother. In those few days, she loved her little girl enough for a lifetime.”
Chapter Nineteen
* * *
DYLAN FISTED HIS hands then opened them wide. Empty. He hadn’t gotten to hold or love his daughter. He hadn’t even known about her. His mother denied Jessie the simple courtesy of telling her how to contact him. Worse, she’d denied him the chance to know his daughter in the short time she’d been here. Five days. Five days that he’d never get back. Years that Jessie thought him so callous and heartless he didn’t want her.
Years he spent thinking she was dead.
Will sat on the floor pulling pages out of a magazine. He made a mess, but Dylan didn’t care. Let him wreck the place. He was a kid. They made messes.
Then it hit him. Will. He stood and turned to his mother.
“You knew about Jessie and the baby and you didn’t say anything all these years. Not even when I adopted Will. You knew about his parents and how he came to me, and you never said anything. You accepted Will as part of the family, but you wouldn’t accept your own granddaughter. Why? Why would you do that? Because you didn’t think Jessie was good enough for me?”
“You deserve better. You’re a McBride. As for the baby, well, we’ll never know for sure she was yours.”
Both men grabbed his shoulders again as he took a step toward his mother. He stopped, but the urge to slap her was so great he fisted his hands at his side to keep from following through with the impulse.
“I felt sorry for Jessie, but nothing could be done once the baby died,” his mother said cruelly. “What good would it do to tell you after the fact? I didn’t want to hurt you. It doesn’t change anything,” she said, further damning herself in Dylan’s eyes.
Greg tapped Dylan’s arm. “Wait a second, what do you mean you adopted Will? He isn’t yours?” Greg asked.