by Robyn Grady
“Jacob?”
“Is it because of the distance?” His voice was so raw.
“That’s a factor.” But hardly the deal breaker.
“We can make that work. Some weekends...vacation time...”
“You have a child to consider now.”
And wasn’t it telling that she was the one who had to mention that? If she was in his place, a new parent, no one would be able to shut her up.
Jacob sounded uncertain now. “Does that make a difference to how you feel about us?”
She shut the window blinds and withered into a chair. “I don’t want to get in the way.”
“If you need time, Tea, I’ll wait.”
“Jacob, that wouldn’t be fair.”
“On who?”
“You need time to focus on that baby.” You need to make sure that works, not us.
While another silence stretched out between them, the nerves in Teagan’s stomach squeezed and squeezed. She’d broken up with Damon because she hadn’t been able to give him the family he’d wanted. Jacob had never wanted children—that fit with her physical but not her emotional makeup. She loved kids. And she worried that Jacob’s ambivalence would taint his relationship with his son, perhaps deeply.
She couldn’t fix that, or be a part of it. Inevitably, it would tear her, and them, apart.
“You’re right,” he said finally. “I’ve got a full plate at the moment. You do, too.”
Tears were stinging the backs of her eyes. She hated that this was happening, but she just couldn’t see any other way.
“There’s a lot going on,” she agreed.
He cleared his throat. She imagined him running a hand through his hair.
“So, best of luck with selling the gym.”
Dying inside, she held the phone closer to her ear. “All the best with...everything.”
She was thinking of something more to round off the goodbyes. It all seemed so abrupt. So final. But then it was too late.
Jacob was already gone.
Nineteen
“I know this must be a surprise.”
Teagan gaped at the woman standing at High Tea Gym’s entrance and admitted, “That’s the understatement of the year.”
“I was in town for an event,” Lanie Rawson said, wearing her jodhpurs and knee-high boots like the best socialites wore Givenchy. “We need to talk.”
Teagan wanted to roll her eyes. Stop with the intimidation tactics already.
“You obviously haven’t heard,” Teagan replied. “Jacob and I aren’t seeing each other anymore.”
They’d said goodbye six long weeks ago. It still hurt, and she still wondered, especially lying awake late at night. But her decision to step away was the right one. Jacob had an important job ahead of him. He needed to work all his issues out for himself. It wouldn’t help anyone, including that baby, for her to be involved.
As Lanie looked around, that storm of long brunette hair swished across her shoulders. The main workout area was filled with clients cycling, running, pumping weights. The music was pumping, too. “Can we go somewhere more private to talk?”
What could they possibly have to talk about? What was the point? But then Teagan thought back to how Jacob and Wynn’s relationship had started off—they’d been like two bee-stung bulls ready to charge. By the end of their Sydney visit, the pair were shaking hands and meaning it. She wouldn’t turn Jacob’s sister away now without giving her some time.
Then she’d kick her out.
They went into Teagan’s office and took seats around the small conference table. Lanie swept back her hair, clasped her hands on the tabletop and pinned Teagan with a no-holds-barred look.
“First,” she began, “I want to apologize. When you were at the farm, I was rude.”
Teagan almost spluttered. Well, yeah.
“I was angry,” Lanie went on. “Worried that Jacob would be hurt again.”
Because of his relationship with Ivy Schluter?
“Lanie, you don’t even know me.”
The other woman paused and then came at it from a different angle.
“We were all surprised to learn that Jacob was a father,” she said. “I know he was, too. Until recently, it was the furthest thing from his mind. But when the results came in, there was never any doubt that the rest of the family would accept and love Benson.” A thoughtful smile softened her gaze. “He’s the most adorable little boy. You can’t imagine.”
Teagan could imagine, because she’d felt the same way when Tate had been born. Instantly smitten. One hundred percent committed. That went for Honey, as well.
“But the mother.” Lanie visibly shuddered. “When Jacob and Ivy dated, he was in a constant spin. She was either smoldering or colder than a January frost. Ivy comes from big money and happily admits that it’s all about her. Jacob was not a priority. I felt like I was watching a replay of how he must have felt growing up. Entirely dispensable.” Lanie’s head angled. “You know the story?”
Teagan nodded. A drug-addicted mother and criminal deadbeat dad. No love. No anything. Lanie was right. As a child, Jacob must have felt thrown away.
“Naturally, Jacob had baggage to burn,” Lanie went on. “But he had faith in my father, and he grew to trust us all. Ivy came along at precisely the wrong time when he was ready to trust on a different level. She reeled him in, spat him out, reeled him in again. Their breakup hit him hard. When Jacob said he was bringing someone new home to meet the family, I was so glad to hear excitement in his voice again. Ivy was finally a sulky blip in his rearview mirror. Then, like any normal person, I searched you on the internet. I learned that Teagan Hunter was the daughter of one of the top three wealthiest men in Australia. Naturally, I thought, Here we go again. Another überrich bitch wanting to jerk my brother’s heartstrings. And when I met you, frankly, you looked the part.”
Teagan’s smile was saccharine sweet.
Don’t respond.
“I was bursting to tell you that Jacob didn’t need that kind of crap again. I wanted you gone. And if you needed a push, no skin off my nose.”
“I’m sure Jacob can look after his own affairs.” In every sense of the word.
As Lanie leaned forward, a dark wave fell over her eyes. “You have siblings, Teagan. If they were vulnerable, wouldn’t you try to protect them?”
Tate and Honey’s faces flashed into Teagan’s mind. With their mother in rehab, their parents’ marriage on life support...
Would she try to protect her siblings?
Teagan lifted her chin. “In a heartbeat.”
The heat in Lanie’s eyes cooled a few degrees and she settled back in her seat. “Do you know that Jacob has the baby every weekend now?”
Teagan blinked. “Jacob asked for that?”
“Ivy suggested it. Almost demanded it. Apparently her beauty sleep has suffered terribly, poor dear. Anyway, Jacob’s bought a place in Connecticut and works from home if Ivy wants another day or two’s reprieve.” Lanie’s gaze drifted off. “I’m sure Jacob loves that little boy...but he’s so torn. He wants to be happy.” Her gaze locked with Teagan’s again. “He just misses you so much.”
Teagan’s stomach pitched. “He told you that?”
Lanie nodded then let out a sigh. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re another version of Ivy. You’re not just me me me. I think your breakup has to do with Jacob becoming a father out of the blue. But no matter how much you try to hide it, I can see in your eyes that you miss him, too. So maybe there’s a chance...” Her smile was wan. “Anyway, I had to try.”
Lanie had admitted she’d been wrong about her. Teagan had been wrong about Lanie, too. Her behavior at the Rawsons’ farm had had nothing to do with being jealous. Lanie wasn’t in love with her stepbrother. She was a caring sister who had taken a chance in comin
g here today for Jacob’s sake.
After the women exchanged numbers and said goodbye, Teagan sat at her desk thinking about Jacob and the challenges they had faced as a couple since that amazing first night. First, there’d been Jacob’s pending defamation lawsuit against Wynn. No longer an issue. The second challenge was distance, which would only become more of a problem when she moved back to Sydney. If she moved back. This morning she had signed an agreement to sell her business. Although she loved the people—staff as well as clients—she wasn’t as sad walking away as she’d thought she might be. But the more time that passed since her last visit home, the more Teagan wondered. With her father’s life no longer in danger, and Eloise making a real effort for the first time in her marriage, it didn’t seem so critical to make that permanent move for the kids’ sakes.
The third challenge involved trying to reconcile the legacy of Jacob’s childhood with his present-day points of view. Growing up, Jacob had had it rough. Now he was a crusader for those who had been wronged, particularly by corporations—like Hunter Enterprises.
But the tipping point had come when Jacob received word that he was indeed a father. He admitted that he’d never wanted to be a parent; he certainly didn’t want any more children, and he was afraid of making the same mistakes his own father had made. Teagan hadn’t been able to see herself with someone who was so anti-kids...who was hardly looking forward to accepting and enjoying such a precious gift. The info Lanie had shared today hadn’t convinced Teagan otherwise.
I’m sure Jacob loves that little boy...but he’s so torn.
Teagan studied her screen saver—a photo of Tate cuddling Honey—and suddenly a thought came to mind.
Was she missing something—actually two things—that might make all the difference? She couldn’t know for sure, but there was a way to find out. Of course, it would mean Jacob needing to weather another surprise, and she wasn’t at all certain he would like it.
But first she had to make a decision.
Was she even brave enough to try?
Twenty
After getting Jacob’s address from Lanie, Teagan flew the next morning into Connecticut, then traveled the last few miles by rental car to this house. The double-story Colonial on Huckleberry Lane wasn’t scary. But the anticipation of what came next sure as heck was.
Opening the car door, Teagan reminded herself that she had been the one to call things off. On top of that, she and Jacob hadn’t spoken in weeks. How would he react when, out of nowhere, she came knocking? Perhaps he would welcome her with open arms.
Or would he slam the door in her face?
Teagan wandered up a path that cut through a large, open yard. She had almost reached the front door—was summoning up enough nerve to ring the bell—when she heard a noise somewhere in the near distance. A low conversation.
She crossed to the side of the house and gingerly peered around the corner. Jacob was standing alongside a children’s play area that housed a colorful fort, slide, swing and mini seesaw. He was shoveling from a pile of sand into a boarded-off area—filling a sandbox. His T-shirt was damp around the neck and down the back. It clung to his well-defined shoulders and biceps as he pushed the shovel in and pulled it out. He not only looked more relaxed than she remembered, he also looked sexier—around a thousand times more than she was prepared for.
His words were too muffled to make out. And no one else was around. So, was he talking to himself? But then he looked off toward a big elm that bookended the other side of the playground. A bouncer chair was set up under the tree’s shade. A baby lay beneath the mobile animals hanging from the bouncer’s handle. Every ounce of his focus was fixed upon Jacob.
On his father.
Jacob set the shovel into the sand then rested a crooked arm on the handle and wiped his brow with the sleeve of his T-shirt. He said something more and then chuckled. Oh God, she loved that deep rumbling sound. The baby obviously did, too; his little arms and legs started waving all over the place.
The little guy was dressed in a pale blue sleeveless onesie. Perfect for this late summer weather. His thighs were just chubby enough—so different from Honey’s “lolly” legs. He had energy, too, like he wanted to leap out of that bouncer, grab a spade of his own and show Dad how it was done.
Teagan wanted to laugh. She also wanted to cry. The scene was so ordinary and yet special. So near but also out of reach.
Jacob must have sensed someone nearby and turned around. When he saw her, he didn’t move for so long, she thought he might have turned to stone.
Showtime. Deep breaths now.
Edging forward, Teagan waved in greeting.
“Hi, there.”
Jacob sucked in a breath, which only inflated that amazing chest. But his expression wasn’t expansive. He looked pissed. Put out.
“What are you doing here?”
Her stomach was churning. “I thought I’d drop in.”
“All the way from Seattle?”
She nodded. “All the way from Seattle.”
When the baby squealed, Jacob’s attention whipped that way again and, in an instant, any uncertainty or aggravation dissolved from his face. With that beautiful big-cat gait, he ambled over to the bouncer, tossing his yard gloves off and wiping his brow again along the way. Then he crouched before his son and smiled like nothing else in the whole wide world mattered.
“What’s up, little man?” he asked, unfastening the safety harness and scooping the baby up. “Did you see we have a guest?”
Teagan hung back. She didn’t want to get in anyone’s face, particularly an infant who hadn’t laid eyes on her before now.
Jacob saw to the introductions. “Benson, meet Teagan.”
“Pleased to meet you, Benson,” she said.
The baby looked at her like Jacob had earlier—questioning, probing. But—ohmigod!—what about the color of his eyes? They were the exact same shade as his dad’s—a mesmerizing, deep amber gold.
Teagan edged closer. “Jacob, he has your eyes.”
Focused on the baby, too, Jacob gave in to a lopsided, proud as punch grin. “They only turned that color the last couple of weeks.”
Then his brows eased together and he looked at her again. Differently this time, like he’d just remembered that six weeks ago she had left him. Goodbye forever and good luck.
His question sounded thin—like he was filling time.
“How’s your family?”
“Eloise seems to be cutting it in rehab.”
“Hope it sticks. You know what they say about addiction. It’s a hard habit to break.”
She smiled. It was a joke. And it wasn’t.
His lidded gaze raked over her again before he nodded toward the house. “Wanna come in for a cold drink? I have ice water.”
“Ice water sounds great.”
“You thirsty, too?” he asked Benson.
The baby beamed and tapped his dad’s chest as if to say, Lead the way.
As Jacob headed off, Teagan asked, “Do you want me to carry the bouncer inside?”
He looked back and then down at the baby. “That’s okay. We’ll come out again later, right, Buddy?”
As they made their way across the yard, up the back stairs and into the house, Teagan couldn’t fight off that sinking feeling. Lanie had said that Jacob had missed her. The vibe she was getting now was more, Do me a favor and disappear. On a brighter note, he didn’t seem to hate being a father, and the baby certainly wasn’t unhappy. Jacob had been so committed to his career. Had she caught him on a good day or was he okay with being a full-on parent every weekend?
Despite dark timber cabinetry, the large kitchen was bright—full of windows welcoming in natural light. Jacob went to the refrigerator and retrieved a yellow sippy cup. Benson put out his hands and took a small sip then another.
“He loves
it cold, but not too much.” When the baby pushed the cup away, Jacob added, “He’s on solids now, so the digestive system’s working right. Which reminds me.” He crossed to a cushioned bench, lay the baby down and, like a pro, checked his diaper. “It’s not good to drop off to sleep when you’re wet, or worse.”
When Jacob was satisfied his son was dry and clean, he scooped the baby up again and moved to a cupboard to grab a couple of glasses. With only one hand free, he got the first glass down, then the next, which he took to the refrigerator water dispenser. Teagan stepped forward. When you were carrying a baby, everyday activities weren’t so easy to negotiate.
“Do you want me to take him?” Then she added, “Or I can take care of the water.”
“Want to go to the nice lady?” Jacob asked Benson.
Teagan put out her hands and offered her best this will be so much fun look. The baby pushed out his bottom lip before he snuggled back into Jacob’s arm and hid his face. Her stomach plummeted. Not a good start.
She was filling the second glass when Jacob asked, “Why are you really here, Tea?”
She hesitated before giving him the glass and the truth.
“I wanted to see if you liked being a father.”
He looked...underwhelmed. Like, I need your approval now? Nevertheless, he asked. “How am I doing?”
“You’re doing great.” From what she had seen.
“I thought I’d have to think about it every minute, you know. But now, whenever Buddy and I are together, it’s second nature.” He winked at Benson—Buddy—who looked so gorgeous and totally at home resting against Daddy’s shoulder. “Did you have any doubt?” he asked her. “Where your younger siblings were concerned, I mean.”
“No doubt at all. After each one arrived, it felt as if they’d always been there, a part of our lives. I can’t imagine my world without them.”
“That’s how I feel about Buddy. I know I was thrown by the possibility, and even more taken aback when I knew for sure he was mine. No getting around it. The news was a shock. But we’re a team now. Done deal.” He looked down, his eyebrows jumped, and then he chuckled. “Even if he thinks I’m a bore.”