Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
I nod. “It’s hard for me, but just in a few days of being with Kent, talking to him, I believe him. I see him in my dreams. I have for years. It’s always the same thing, he’s reaching out for me to come with him. I wake up before I can take his hand. The same dream over and over and over again.”
“Aw,” Dawn says. She presses her hands to her chest. “It’s like a real-life fairy tale.”
“I haven’t talked to my mother about all of this yet. She and Kendrix fly in tomorrow. I wanted to ask her face-to-face. I need to see her reaction when I ask her all of this.”
“What can we do?” Kendall asks.
My heart swells. I’m so happy Kent has these amazing women surrounding him. Supporting him. And if what my heart feels is right, my daughter too. I don’t know what that means for me, but right now, they’re in my corner as well, and it brings tears to my eyes. “Nothing. You’ve done so much by listening. This is all such a huge mess.”
“What about Kendrix? She’s coming with your mother, right?” Kendall asks.
“She is. I can’t wait to see her. It’s only been five days, but I miss her so much.”
“How about a play date?” Kendall offers.
“Definitely,” Mara chimes in. “Finley would love that.”
“The boys too.” Reagan nods.
“Daisy loves her cousins,” Dawn adds.
“This way, she doesn’t have to be there in case things get heated. I assume you don’t want her with Kent, at least not just the two of them. Not until she knows him.”
“We’re getting a paternity test. Just for the concrete proof since I can’t remember,” I say sadly.
“Right. And even though your heart tells you what he’s saying is true, even though you can see him in her when you look at them, you’re a momma. We have to keep our babies safe, even from heartbreak.” Mara smiles kindly.
“I know you don’t know us,” Reagan tells me. “But we’re good people. You can trust us with her.”
“I can feel that. I know that sounds crazy, but you’ve all been so welcoming. I can’t thank you enough for that.”
“Okay, so how about you bring her here tomorrow? Or I can come and pick her up?” Mara offers.
“Thank you. Let me think about it. Maybe see how things go. My mother is not the yelling type. She’s more the silent treatment, but I can’t promise that I won’t lose my cool. That’s not me, but she lied to me. She denied my little girl her daddy. I don’t remember him, but in the short time I’ve spent with him this week, I know without a doubt he would have been there.”
“He wouldn’t have missed a single second of it.” Reagan smiles, wiping at her eyes.
“Well, you have our numbers, or you will,” Dawn says, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Her fingers fly across the screen, and I feel my back pocket vibrate. This happens three more times as all of them send me a message.
“I appreciate you all. Thank you. I hope I don’t need it, but I would like to get the kids together. Let them play. That way, if the need does arise, Kendrix will feel more comfortable. However, my little girl doesn’t really know a stranger. It doesn’t surprise me that she’s taken so well to him and his friends.”
“She’s going to fit right in with this brood.”
“Babe,” a deep male voice calls down the steps. “Pizza’s here.”
“Let’s go eat.”
Upstairs, the kids are all sitting at two small kids’ tables. Kendrix has the same Little Tykes table in her room. That’s where we have our tea parties. They’re munching away on pizza, which is cut up into small pieces, with sippy cups in front of them. There is a napkin tucked under each plate that none of them are using, which makes me smile. The daddies dote on their kids. They’re involved, and it makes me miss my own father. He was hands-on every step of the way. I am the epitome of a daddy’s little girl.
The adults are gathered around the huge dining room table. We each take our seats and Kent immediately leans in close.
“You doing okay?”
“Yes.” I smile at him. His concern touches me. With every interaction, he cements my gut feeling that he’s a good guy. The kind who tells the truth. I wish I could say that my mother falls into that category, but unfortunately, that’s not possible. I’m dreading this confrontation with her, but I push that out of my mind and just enjoy the night.
“Well, since everyone’s here, we have something to say,” Mark says and looks at Dawn and smiles. The one look says so much. You can see it in his eyes that she’s his entire world. “We’re having a baby.” He never takes his eyes off his wife.