Father by Choice. Amanda Berry

to draw it back in. Blood thundered in her ears. Her thoughts scattered into a million shards. “What are you talking about? I…I told him. He sends money.”

      His eyes remained sad but determined as Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out some opened envelopes. “I’m sorry, Maggie. I thought I was doing right by my brother. Protecting him. I didn’t mean to hurt you or Amber.”

      She took the envelopes. Each one was a letter she wrote to Brady, including the first one. One for every birthday.

      “Brady doesn’t know about Amber?” Maggie felt as if the room had turned upside down. With her mother needing constant care after chemotherapy, Maggie had been so startled and scared when she found out she was pregnant that she hadn’t known what to do. Brady had vanished overseas somewhere. Taking the cowardly approach, she’d written a letter and sent it to the farm. When Sam dropped off the money, she’d been crushed that Brady didn’t want anything to do with Amber, but maybe a little relieved, too.

      “I messed up.” Sam leaned forward again, his hands clasped before him and his head hung. “I want to make this right.”

      “Right?” She felt like a mockingbird, but her chest felt hollow and her mind couldn’t put her world right side up. All these years, she’d been angry with Brady and he hadn’t even known.

      All those missed birthdays. The long nights awake with Amber when she’d been sick. Brady had missed everything from Amber’s birth to kissing her scrapes and bruises better to holding her when she cried at her grandma’s funeral.

      A rush of heat went to her cheeks. She could have tried harder to reach out. Even searched for Brady on the internet. But she’d been too afraid of further rejection to reach out through any means but the letters.

      “I got you a plane ticket for this weekend and talked with Penny about watching Amber. I didn’t open your last letter. You should give it to him in person.” He held out the sealed envelope.

      She looked at him as if he was the Mad Hatter. “What are you talking about? You walk into my house to tell me you’ve lied to me and Brady for eight years. Do you know how hard it is to raise a child alone? How hard it is to care for your mother and your daughter when both are sick?”

      Maggie jumped up and paced away. This was Sam’s fault, not hers. Her mind raced to keep up with her emotions. “You had no right.”

      “You’re right.” Sam didn’t move from his spot. His face was grim.

      “Why?” Her shoulders shook with the anger bubbling within, but tears pressed against her eyes. A million whatifs weighed heavy on her soul. Would she have had to do it on her own? Would Brady have held her when her world fell apart? Would he have been the strong one when she felt small and overwhelmed? Would he have grown to resent her for keeping him from his dreams? Or would he have rejected her like his brother had made her think? “Why would you do something like that? How could you treat your brother that way? What did I ever do to you?”

      Sam rose and set the letter and another envelope on the table. He took a heavy breath and blew it out. “I didn’t think about you. I had my reasons. It’s time to fix this. Go to New York and let Brady know.”

      “New York?”

      “Luke told me Brady transferred to the New York office of Matin Enterprises a month ago. I figured if Brady was this close again, it was time he knew.”

      “Why don’t you tell him?” She shoved the envelopes toward him.

      His lips drew into a thin line. For a moment, it seemed as if he wouldn’t say anything. But something inside him broke. She recognized defeat because she’d felt it far too frequently herself. She refused to feel any sympathy for Sam, though.

      “Because Brady won’t talk to me.” His words came out stilted and harsh. “He hasn’t spoken to me in eight years. The only reason I know anything about his life is through Luke, and he barely speaks to me, either. This is the only way to clean up this mess.”

      She stared at the plane tickets that had fallen out of the envelope. “I can’t go to New York and leave Amber at the drop of a hat. I have a job. I need to work.” Her gaze fell on the stack of bills. “I have obligations.”

      “I’ll take care of it.” Sam stopped by the front door.

      “What? Like you took care of this?” She held the old letters crumpled in her tight grip. Her stomach clenched. Heat flushed through her. This couldn’t be happening. Brady had to know. How could he not?

      “Damn you, Sam Ward.” She made sure all the anger and frustration she felt were directed solely at him.

      “I can’t change the past, Maggie.” She refused to see the pain in his eyes.

      “All I can do is try to fix the future. Brady needs to know about Amber.”

       Chapter Two

      “This project will bring in twenty percent more revenue,” Brady said as a trickle of sweat ran along his spine. Senior management filled the boardroom, and he had their undivided attention.

      “The project appears to be sound,” Kyle Bradford, the CEO of Matin Enterprises, said. In his mid-fifties, Kyle seemed more a friend than Brady’s boss. The past month he’d treated Brady to a few football games and a couple of dinners out to discuss where Kyle felt the company needed to go in the future.

      Jules cleared her throat and stood, showing off her dark red suit as it hugged her killer curves, though they were nothing compared to the sharpness of her mind. “We put together this project to show exactly what Matin Enterprises can be in the future.”

      Brady and Jules had put in long hours and weeks of planning to get this project ready for this presentation. Before he’d made the move to New York, Brady had started with the concept and played with the numbers. Now was his chance, and he had known Jules was the right person to help with the project.

      “I agree, Kyle.” Dave Peterson stood at the far end of the conference table. “However, as a higher-level manager, I would like to help oversee it. That is, unless Brady—” he paused and winked at Jules “—or Jules objects.”

      Jules had told Brady that Peterson had been asking her out since she started at Matin. Even though she always turned him down, it didn’t seem to make a difference. His condescending attitude toward her made Brady want to punch the smug man. The fact that no one else in the boardroom seemed aware of the issue made him more frustrated.

      Peterson raised his eyebrow, daring him to make a scene in front of the corporate heads.

      “Of course Peterson would be a great asset to have on our team.” That way, Brady could keep an eye out for the dagger Peterson would stick in his back.

      “Wonderful. Keep us updated as the project moves forward.” Kyle stood. The rest of the men and women took it as their cue that the meeting was over.

      Brady collected his papers and disconnected his laptop from the projector. Three months of planning had hinged on a one-minute decision.

      “Nicely done, Brady.” Jules gathered the remainder of their presentation materials. She kept busy as Peterson approached.

      Brady shut his laptop and met Peterson’s brown eyes. Peterson was only a few years older than Brady, but the man had let himself go over the years. His shirt buttons strained over his stomach, and his receding hairline was a mixture of black and gray.

      “Great presentation, you two.” Peterson’s eyes strayed over Jules’s figure. “I couldn’t have done better myself.”

      “Thank you.” Brady stopped from adding because you couldn’t have. It was well-known among the staff and lower management that Peterson made his way up the ladder on other people’s backs, taking credit for their work.

      “I expect to be added to all correspondence