Dylan’s Redemption(69)

He ran both hands through his hair in sheer frustration. Why didn’t his mother get it? Why couldn’t she see what she’d done and be contrite about it?

“Jessie gave birth to our daughter, and I didn’t get to see her come into this world. I didn’t get to hold her. I didn’t get to help Jessie pick out her name, or dream with her about what our child would be like when she grew up. I didn’t get to hear her cry. I didn’t get to hold her in my arms and feed her. I’ll never know what she smelled like, or how soft her skin felt against mine. I’ll never know how strong her little grasp was when she held my finger.” He spoke to his father from his bleeding heart. “I never got to tell her I love her. I never got to say goodbye. Hell, I never got to say hello!” He raged at his father, because his mother didn’t get it and he needed his father to understand. “Shall I go on? There are millions of things she took away from me. All because she doesn’t like Jessie. It’s unforgivable what she’s taken from me.”

“You have Will, son. I know it isn’t the same, not even close, but at least you know what it is to have a child,” his father offered.

“Don’t you see, she was only here for a short time, and I didn’t get to see her because Mom lied? She lied to Jessie. She lied to me. She lied to you. She knew that baby was mine. She just didn’t want to accept the fact I love Jessie.”

Will chose that moment to chime in. “I’m keeping her. She saved me. She’s my new Mommy. I chose her like I chose Daddy.”

Surprise and disbelief crossed both his mother’s and father’s faces. He turned to glance down at Jessie lying quiet in the bed. She stared up at him, eyes wide and devastated, and he knew. She’d never heard her own daughter call her Mommy. One more thing she’d never get. He wasn’t sure how she felt about Will’s declaration. He had a lot of explaining to do about Will, and how they’d become a family, one that needed a wife and mother.

“Will is adopted,” he said to Jessie. “He chose me. I’ll explain later.”

She didn’t say a word. She’d had no idea that he’d adopted the child. Will didn’t look like Dylan. She’d figured he resembled his mother. It did something strange to her heart to know another woman didn’t have Dylan’s child.

Greg decided now was a good time to give her a push, and she’d have liked to smack him. “You couldn’t pick a better mom than Jessie,” he said to Will and gave him a squeeze. “You’ve got great taste in women, kid.” Greg only smiled when she kicked him in the thigh.

“You don’t owe her an explanation,” Martha said to Dylan. “Jessie is better now and going home tomorrow. I’m sure she knows how much we appreciate her saving Will. We should let her get back to her life. After everything that’s happened, I’m sure she’d be happier if we all just left her alone.”

Jessie couldn’t let that pass. “What you’re really saying is you want Dylan to stay away from me. You don’t want him around me because you think he can do better.”

For some people in Fallbrook, she’d never measure up. She didn’t care anymore. She’d spent too many years making herself into something she could be proud of. She’d overcome so much, and she wasn’t going to let someone like stuck-up Martha McBride make her feel unworthy.

“You two have nothing in common,” his mother said.

“We have more in common than what separated us. I grew up privileged. She didn’t. What does that have to do with who she is as a person? She has the kindest, warmest heart of anyone I know. She’s got more strength in her little finger than you do in your whole being. She stands up for what is right, and fights for what she wants. So don’t tell me she’s not good enough for me, because the truth is she’s better than I could ever hope to be.”

“Don’t say that. You are a good and decent man, destined for great things,” his mother said, her eyes filled with pride for a man she didn’t know or understand. She didn’t see the real him through her rose-colored glasses. “That baby wasn’t yours. She wasn’t yours,” she tried to convince Dylan. “Jessie only wanted to use you to get away from her father. She used you to get to the McBride money.”

“The McBride money has kept you well all these years, Mother. We have money making money. Tell me, how much is enough for three people? I mean, how much should Will get? He isn’t blood after all. Maybe I should just make sure he gets the clothes and the food he needs. He can go to public school. Wouldn’t want to waste any of that precious McBride money on a private school for him. I suppose college is out of the question.