Reunited By A Secret Child. Leigh Bale

      A long, swelling silence filled the air. His words caused a shudder to sweep down Katie’s spine. She’d asked his mother about him only a couple of times. After the first year, she’d stopped asking. She could only wonder how bad his home life must have been. But he hesitated, as if there was something else he wanted to say. Something important. But he must have changed his mind, because he shrugged it off.

      “So, you named her Chrissy?” he asked.

      Katie nodded, wiping her damp eyes. “Yes. Christine Joy.”

      He jerked his head up. “Joy is her middle name?”

      “Yes.”

      A half smile curved his handsome lips. “That was my mother’s name.”

      “That’s right. And Christine was my mom’s name.”

      “You named our child after our two mothers.” It was a statement, not a question.

      Our child.

      The words left Katie trembling. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to share Chrissy with him. She’d been raising her daughter on her own for so long that she didn’t know if she wanted to include him in the mix. But now it was too late. Whether she liked it or not, she’d told Reese the truth.

      “Yes. I thought it was fitting that she be named after her two grandmothers. Joy seemed appropriate, since Chrissy brought me so much happiness,” she said.

      He made a small sound of approval. “Mom would have liked that.”

      If the quick way he blinked his eyes was any indication, he liked it, too. And for some reason, that pleased Katie enormously.

      “I just wish you had told me sooner,” he finally said, his gaze burning into hers until she felt as though he could see deep inside her tattered heart.

      Katie swallowed hard. “Quite frankly, I didn’t plan to ever tell you. I figured you wouldn’t want anything to do with us. But this year Chrissy started asking questions about her daddy. Why all of her friends had a father, but she didn’t. Why her dad never visited or sent her birthday gifts. I thought perhaps I’d tell her the truth after she graduated from high school, when she was old enough to understand better. But then I saw you on the national news and I thought... I thought...” Her words trickled off on a sigh of frustration.

      He finished the sentence for her. “You thought I might die and Chrissy wouldn’t get the chance to know her father, is that it?”

      She nodded, unwilling to tell a lie. “You work in a very dangerous profession.”

      He nodded. “Yes.”

      She wondered again if this was a mistake. Her deep, abiding faith in God had brought her to speak the truth. One day, Chrissy would grow into a woman, and Katie didn’t want her to be tormented by the unknown. Always wondering who her father was and what he was like. Katie had read once that kids who lost a parent when they were young frequently deified that parent. Thought their life would be better if only their lost mom or dad were around. It was natural for a kid to wonder about a missing parent. But this situation still wasn’t easy for Katie.

      “I almost can’t believe this news. It’s a bit much to take in,” Reese said. Anger and cynicism filled his expressive eyes. He locked his jaw, hard as granite.

      It served him right. She tried to forget all the hurt and resentment she felt toward this man, but she couldn’t seem to let it go.

      “You abandoned me. Remember?” She bit out the words, trying to contain her own anger.

      “I never abandoned you,” he said with incredulity. “We were kids. We never made any promises to each other. I didn’t even know you were pregnant, Katie.”

      True. And she was just as guilty over what had happened between them. She could have told him no. She could have walked away and protected herself. But she hadn’t. She’d loved him and given herself to him. Her most precious gift. She’d disappointed herself and her parents. But most of all, she’d disappointed the Lord. And now it was water under the bridge. She had to let it go and move on. But it hurt to know that Reese had never wanted her. Not then and not now.

      “You deserted everyone in this town and you never looked back,” she said. “You took off without caring who you might hurt. I think you made the mistake of thinking that no one in this town cared about you, and that wasn’t true. You never came home to check on your mom. You didn’t even return for your parents’ funerals. And frankly, you have no right to be angry with me.”

      He raked a hand through his hair, showing his frustration. “Wait a minute, Katie. My father never called or wrote to tell me my mom had died. By the time I found out, she was already gone. I called three weeks after her funeral. I only spoke to my dad for a few minutes. He was drunk, as usual. A few months later, I received a package and a letter from Grace Chantry, telling me that my father had died, too.”

      Grace was a kind, elderly woman, one of the few people Katie had seen visiting Joy Hartnett, and likely Joy’s only real friend. Katie didn’t ask what was in the package Grace had sent to Reese. She told herself she didn’t care. After Chrissy was born, she’d stopped asking Joy if she knew where Reese was. She was too afraid that her interest might draw questions about Chrissy’s paternity. But right now, she was furious. She wanted him out of this truck. Wanted to dump him off at the cabin. To leave and never see him again.

      The blood drained from his face and he sat very still. “You’re right, though. I hurt my mom. I know that now. And I can’t tell you how deeply I regret it. I wish I could have gotten my dad some help, but I was barely eighteen. I had no job or skills. No money. I didn’t know how to help him, or how to get him into a rehabilitation program. And I didn’t know that I’d hurt you, too. I never knew about Chrissy. That one night we had together, I...I thought it was just for fun. I had no idea we had created a child. I was young and thoughtless. I never considered the consequences of our actions, not even once. And all I can do now is ask for your forgiveness.”

      Whoa! She wasn’t expecting this. Was his apology genuine? Katie narrowed her eyes, studying him, wondering if his look of contrition was real or fake. She didn’t believe him. Except for her father, she didn’t trust any man, especially Reese. She remembered the anxiety of finding herself pregnant, wondering what to do. Her panic had mingled with the joy of feeling her baby growing inside her, and then giving birth to Chrissy.

      Alone.

      Now something hardened inside Katie. Something cold and unforgiving. Reese had been the one to leave, not her. And she didn’t love him anymore. Which was probably for the best. If he had stayed, she would have told him that she was pregnant. For the sake of their child, he might have asked her to marry him. And Katie was so in love with him back in those days that she would have done it. But it never would have worked. She didn’t want to be trapped in a loveless marriage. Unwanted. A millstone around Reese’s neck. They would have probably ended up divorced. And what kind of life would that have been for them and their child? They would have all been miserable.

      “It’s in the past now,” she said.

      “Not for me,” he stated. “It’s like it barely happened. I just found out that I’m a father. That I have a six-year-old daughter. I’m afraid it’ll take a bit of time for me to adjust to the news.”

      Katie almost groaned out loud. She didn’t want him to adjust to the idea, and yet she did. Right now, she didn’t know what the future held for any of them. She didn’t want trouble with this man, but now that seemed unavoidable.

      * * *

      “So, what do you want from me?” Reese asked.

      “I don’t want anything. Not one single thing,” Katie said, sounding a bit outraged.

      She sat in the driver’s seat of her father’s old truck and stared out the windshield. Reese got the impression she loathed him. His mind was buzzing. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He’d come here to Minoa