Shelter Me(40)

I look away, biting my lower lip with worry. “That’s what scares me, Adam. He left once before; he could do it again. What if he decides this is too much for him?”

Taking hold of me softly by the face, he turns me back to face him.

“He had no control over what happened before, and now he does. Trust me when I tell you he isn’t going anywhere. Give him time and let him get to know his daughter; the rest will fall into place.”

“Will it? I just don’t know.” I offer him a wobbly smile. “Thanks for everything. I love you so much.”

Standing up and bringing me in for a tight hug, he kisses the top of my head. “I love you too, brat. I am going to go home and give you time to tell Lucy before he gets here. Call me if you need me.”

With that, my cousin goes and says goodbye to Lucy and Heather, then climbs into his truck and leaves.





Chapter Fourteen



Lucy and I go inside after telling Heather they can do a sleep over at her house in a few days. Taking a deep breath, I sit us both down on the floor where I can talk to her and explain about her Daddy.

“Lucy, Mommy has something very important to tell you,” I begin, cuddling her up against my side. “You know how Heather and her brother have a Mommy and a Daddy?”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Well, you have a Daddy, too.”

“I have a Daddy?” she asks, her eyes widening in surprise. “Where is he? I want to see him! Why doesn’t he live with us like other daddies?”

My arm tightens around her. “Well, honey, something happened when Daddy and I were younger and he had to go away. He didn’t know you were in my belly. If he did, he wouldn’t have gone.”

“Is that why Daddy doesn’t live with us?”

“Yes, that is why he doesn’t live with us, but Daddy and Mommy loved each other very much.”

“Why didn’t you go with him?” Lucy tilts her head to the side with a look of confusion, looking so much like her father as she does so. I blink back tears, suppressing the heartache this question invokes in me. If Luke had asked me to go with him, would I have? Could I really have left Adam and my aunt behind with the knowledge I might never see them again, for an unknown and possibly unsafe future with the man I loved? I put these thoughts aside and concentrate on my daughter.

“Because I didn’t know where he went and he couldn’t tell me,” I say, finally. “The good thing is that I told him he has a beautiful, smart little girl and he wants to meet you.”

“He does?” she gasps with excitement. “I want to meet him too, Mommy! What does he look like? Heather looks like her Daddy.”

“Come on, sweet girl. I will show you a picture of him.” We stand up and I lead her into the kitchen. I get my phone and bend down and show Lucy a picture of Luke I took when we were at his house.

“Look at his eyes, Lucy. They are green just like yours. And you both have black hair, too.”

My little girl just stands there looking at the picture with big wide eyes and the most curious look on her face. What is she thinking? I am just about to ask her when she breaks out with the biggest smile I have ever seen on her face. She reaches up and throws her arms around me, giving me the tightest squeeze as she begins to cry.

“Oh my, baby. Why are you crying?”

“They’re happy tears, Mommy,” she sniffs. “I have a Daddy.” Placing her hands on both of my cheeks, she repeats, “I have a Daddy and he loves me.”

“He does love you, Lucy. Now let’s get you all cleaned up because in a little bit your Daddy is coming to see you.”

“He is?” Jumping down from my hold as quick as lightning, she runs up the stairs faster than I have ever seen her run before. Making my own way up to her room, I find her throwing clothes all over the place. This is one time I will not be yelling at my daughter for throwing her clothes on the floor.

Lucy decides on a purple dress and her pink and purple tie dyed chucks. We pull her hair up into a ponytail before going back downstairs.

Suddenly, Lucy grabs my hand. “I’m scared, Mommy.”

I lean down to look her in the eye. “Why are you scared, baby?”

“What if he doesn’t like me?”

I pull her into a hug and kiss the top of her head.

“Oh, Lucy. He is going to love you, honey! He’s your Daddy and you’re such a sweet girl. How could he not love you?”

I drop another kiss into her hair and take her outside to sit on the porch and wait. We are out there for just a few minutes when Luke’s Range Rover comes into view.

“Here he comes,” I whisper to Lucy, pointing my finger toward his vehicle.