Reunited By A Secret Child. Leigh Bale

breeze.

      “I’m surprised you stayed here in Minoa all these years. I thought you were planning to go to college,” Reese said.

      “I was.” She couldn’t look at him. Sudden tears burned her eyes and she blinked fast to clear them away. A gloomy, lost sensation enveloped her. She thought she’d gotten over feeling sorry for herself. So why the unexpected emotion?

      “You must have had Chrissy pretty young. Is she why you stayed?” he asked.

      “Um, yeah,” Katie said.

      The road climbed steadily in elevation, the terrain becoming rocky, the piñons and junipers giving way to tall evergreens.

      “Why couldn’t you take her with you?”

      When she didn’t answer, he looked at her. A flush of anger heated her skin. She didn’t owe this man any explanations. Not without blurting the entire story of how he’d left her pregnant at the tender age of seventeen, and she’d been completely dependent upon her parents for financial and emotional support. Barely out of high school. No job. No way to support herself and her unborn child.

      She had to tell him. Her faith in God had sustained her through the long, lonely years, but she wasn’t feeling too generous toward Reese at the moment. She doubted this wound would ever heal.

      “I noticed your mom’s not around anymore. Did something happen to her?” Reese asked in a kind tone.

      A deep sadness swept over her. “Cancer. She died early last year.”

      “I’m sorry to hear that. She was a nice lady.”

      She glanced at Reese, his comment taking her off guard. She wasn’t used to this gentle side of him and wondered if he really meant it. His profile looked strong and handsome, yet forlorn in a remote sort of way. His beautiful green eyes no longer sparkled with a zest for life, but his words seemed genuine enough.

      “I’ll bet she loved Chrissy,” he said.

      Katie tightened her hands around the steering wheel. “Yes, she did.”

      “She’s a nice kid. Really cute,” he said.

      Tell him. Tell him now.

      “She should be. She’s yours.” Katie blurted the words before she could take them back. She wondered if she’d regret it, but then she felt a modicum of peace.

      Finally. Finally, she’d told him the truth and unloaded the burden from her heart. For good or bad, the secret was out now, and the prospects both relieved and terrified her.

      He jerked his head toward her, his eyebrows drawn together in a quizzical frown. “What did you say?”

      Katie’s heart pounded and she breathed fast through her mouth as she pulled up in front of the log cabin. Charlie had built it with his own hands before Katie was even born. It wasn’t large, just three rooms, but it was tidy and comfortable. A sparkling creek ran parallel to the property. The lake was three miles farther down the road. Her family had frequently spent weekends up here, fishing, hiking, sharing sweet memories. But lately, Chrissy kept mentioning that she wished her dad would go fishing with her.

      Katie pulled into the graveled driveway and shut off the engine. Clenching her hands together in her lap, she stared straight ahead. “You heard me correctly. You are Chrissy’s father.”

      “When? How?” he asked, his razor-sharp gaze narrowed on her face.

      “You know when. You know how,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t accuse her of lying. She’d never been with anyone else. Since the night they’d graduated from high school, she’d gone out on a couple dates, but no one was interested in getting tied up with her excess baggage—an adorable little girl named Chrissy.

      “How...how old is your daughter?” he asked.

      Your daughter.

      Funny how he refused to claim Chrissy as his own. That could be good or bad, depending on what happened next. A wave of fear washed over Katie. What if he tried to take Chrissy away from her? Or what if he wanted nothing to do with the child, just like he’d wanted nothing to do with her? She would never let Reese hurt Chrissy. Not if she could help it.

      “She’s just over six years old. You do the math.” Katie tried desperately to speak in an even tone.

      “What’s her birthday?” he asked.

      “March 4. I delivered a week late, which is normal for a first-time mother,” she responded without hesitation.

      She could almost see his mental calculations clicking away. They’d graduated from high school on June 6. According to Reese’s mother, he’d left town on June 7. Chrissy was born almost exactly nine months later.

      “I’m her father?” He blinked, as though he couldn’t believe it.

      “Yes. Your name is on her birth certificate.”

      Katie could imagine how he was feeling. Shocked. Confused. The same way she’d felt when she’d found out she was pregnant out of wedlock. In a larger community, no one would care. But in sleepy Minoa, many people didn’t approve. She told herself that she didn’t care what Reese or anyone else thought. Her child was all that mattered. And yet Katie knew that wasn’t true. She’d cared deeply about Reese all those years ago. Her heart had wrenched when she’d thought about him being killed two weeks earlier, in the wildfire that had engulfed his hotshot crew. But that didn’t mean she still loved him. She was just concerned for his welfare, nothing more.

      He paused for a few moments, as if he were thinking this through. “Why didn’t you tell me I had a daughter?”

      She snorted and whirled on him. “How could I? By the time I found out I was pregnant, you were long gone. No one knew where you went. Not even your mom.”

      He raked his fingers through his short, dark hair and blew out a harsh breath. “Did my folks know about Chrissy?”

      “They knew I had her, but they never knew you were her father. I’ve never told anyone, except my mom and dad. But I saw your parents around town from time to time and they always doted on Chrissy. Even your father. He thought she was the cutest baby he’d ever seen, next to you.”

      Reese jerked his head up. “He actually said that?”

      Katie nodded.

      He scoffed with disbelief. “I doubt my dad was sober enough to understand even if you had told him the truth.”

      She agreed. The man was always drunk. And from the gossip she’d heard, he was a mean drunk. Living with such a man couldn’t have been easy on Reese or his mother. And yet the few times Hank Hartnett had seen Chrissy, when they were downtown in the grocery store, he’d smiled and played with the baby so sweetly. Obviously he had a good side, but maybe Reese had never seen that part of him.

      “Your mom gave me a beautiful baby afghan she knitted when Chrissy was born. It’s made of soft yellow yarn. I’ve kept it safe so it wouldn’t get bedraggled. I thought Chrissy might like to have it when she’s old enough to understand who her other grandma was. I asked your mom where you had gone, but she said she didn’t know. I could see in her eyes that she was heartbroken that you’d left like that.”

      He clenched his eyes shut, his mouth tight. Katie could tell that her words pained him, but he needed to hear the truth. He needed to understand what he’d left behind for all of them to cope with.

      “I didn’t feel like there was anything for me here in Minoa.” His voice sounded soft and hoarse.

      His words hurt so much. She’d been nothing more than a one-night stand. A fling. Certainly nothing lasting. And she’d been left to pick up the pieces without him.

      “What about your mom?” Katie asked, wondering how he could just abandon the woman to his father’s drunken rages.

      “I pleaded with her to go with me, but she refused. She wouldn’t