Would it have been so bad to marry Liam and become Maggie’s mom? The whole time she’d been falling in love with Liam, she’d thought he and Maggie were a package deal. And then came their trip to Colorado. When she’d decided to believe him about his brother being Maggie’s dad, letting her heart lead for a change hadn’t felt one bit scary. She’d assumed Kyle would eventually come to Wade Ranch and take responsibility for Maggie. It never occurred to her that Liam intended to fight his brother for custody and that he might propose in order to appear to be the better candidate.
Desperate for a distraction from her turbulent thoughts, Hadley carried the hot tea to her small desk and turned on the computer. Before she’d considered her actions, she cued up the internet and impulsively ventured on to a popular social media site. Her fingers tapped out Noah’s name and she pushed Enter before she could change her mind.
In seconds his page appeared and her heart gave a little jump as she stared at the photo of him and his kids that he used as his profile picture. Five years had gone by. Peter and Nikki were eight and seven now. They looked happy in their father’s arms. Noah’s wife wasn’t in the shot, and Hadley searched through some of his other photos to see if she showed up anywhere. There were pictures of her with both kids, but none of her with Noah. Were they still married? Nothing in his profile information gave her a clue.
Feeling more than a little stalkerish, Hadley searched for Anna, but found no sign of her onetime friend. She almost left the website, inclined to switch to something with less potential for heartache, when she decided to search for Anna’s sister, Char. And there she found Anna. Only she wasn’t Anna Johnson any more. She was Anna Bradley now. A happily married woman with two beautiful girls.
Hadley stared at the photos in numb disbelief. This is the woman she’d been feeling guilty about for ten years? Anna hadn’t wallowed in her misfortune. She hadn’t sat around letting life pass her by. She’d gone to college in Dallas, become an engineer, gotten married and was busy raising a two-and a four-year-old.
It was as if the universe had reached out a hand and smacked Hadley on the back of the head and yelled, snap out of it. Noah had moved forward with his life. He had his kids and seemed to be in a good place with his wife or ex-wife. Anna was thriving with a career and family. Apparently Hadley was the only one stuck in limbo.
With revelations pouring over her like ice water, Hadley shut down the computer and picked up a notebook and a pen. It was time for her to stop dwelling on what had happened in the past and to consider how she envisioned her future. What was her idea of a perfect career? Where did she want to live? Was the love in her heart strong enough to overcome her doubts and fears?
Liam entered the pediatrician’s office and spotted Hadley seated by the wall, Maggie’s carrier on the chair beside her. Overnight the baby’s temperature had risen, and the concern radiating from Hadley caused a spike in his anxiety.
“How is she?” he asked as he sat beside Maggie and peered in her carrier.
“A little bit worse than she was when I arrived this morning. She wouldn’t eat and seems listless. I’m glad we had this appointment scheduled today.”
Hadley was obviously distraught, and Liam badly wanted to offer her the comfort of his embrace, but yesterday she hadn’t believed him when he’d told her there was more to his proposal than his determination to seek custody of Maggie. What made him think that a miracle had occurred overnight to change her mind?
“Do you think the jaundice is causing this?”
“More likely the jaundice is a symptom of something more serious.”
“Damn it.” The curse vibrated in his chest as anxiety flared. He stared down at the sleeping baby. “I can’t lose her.”
“Liam, you’re not going to lose her.” Hadley reached across Maggie’s carrier and set her fingers on his upper arm.
The light contact burned through him like a wildfire, igniting his hope for a future with her. She loved him. The proof was in her supportive tone and her desire to reassure him. But as he reached to cover her hand with his, she withdrew. When she spoke again, her voice had a professional crispness.
“She’s going to be fine.”
He hated the distance between them. He’d been wrong to propose to her as part of a scheme to win custody of Maggie. Even though it hadn’t been his only reason for asking her to marry him, she’d been right to feel as if he’d treated her no better than Noah.
But how could he convince her to give him another chance when she’d rejected everything he’d already said and done? As with the subject of Maggie’s paternity, she was either going to believe him or she wasn’t. She’d been burned before, and her lack of trust demonstrated that she hadn’t yet moved on. He’d have to be patient and persistent. Two things he was known for when it came to horses, but not in his personal life.