He stared at them, shaking his head in disbelief. “You were wrong,” he said as he became choked up with emotion. “I was with her the night I left. She did have my baby. I saw her in town and I saw my daughter, who is now just over a year old. She looks just like me, and she has my eyes. She has your eyes, mom. I would have come straight home, I would have been right back here helping her raise my baby if I had known, but you two turned her away and never said a word about it to me.” He shook his head at them and handed them his cell phone, showing them the picture he had taken of Maggie and Carly.
His parents stared at it as if they were looking at a ghost. “Oh my god,” his mother said as her hand went to her mouth and she looked at the image. “That’s her... that’s the girl... and that’s....”
“That’s your granddaughter. The one you turned away and told never to come back The one you blocked me from knowing about or seeing. I have a responsibility to that baby, and to her mother, and I want them in my life. I owe them everything. She had to go through her pregnancy alone, through the birth alone, and she has had to raise that child for the last year all on her own. She gave up finishing her degree, and she has missed out on a great job that she was working so hard for, because she had to get a job and work to support herself and the baby, and all the while I was out running around the country because the two of you turned her away. I can’t recapture that time that I’ve lost with my daughter, and I can’t make it up to her mother, but I’m going to spend the rest of my daughter’s life trying. If there’s one thing you two have taught me above all else, it’s that family matters, well, they are my family, and they are your family, and you should know it.” He watched them intently and they both went pale and looked immeasurably miserable.
His mother’s eyes filled with tears and his father looked away from the image in utter shame. Eva looked up at her son and shook her head.
“I didn’t know... I was sure she was lying. The timing was just too close...” she looked back down at the image. “I have a... a granddaughter!” she exclaimed as she began to smile and shake her head. “She’s beautiful!”
Keith sighed. “I’m so sorry, son. There is no way your mother and I can ever make up this mistake, but we are going to do our best to try. There’s no excuse or apology that can make it right, but we will go forward from this doing all we can to make it right and to be a part of that baby’s life. Can you... can you forgive us son?” he asked in a small voice.
Jonathon looked at the sorrow and misery that his parents were feeling and knew that they believed that they had been acting in his best interest. He knew that they believed they were protecting him from a random girl they had never seen, and one they believed was trying to trick him.
He sighed and went to them as they stood up from the sofa. “I forgive you, but you have to make this right. You have to see Maggie and Carly and tell them that you’re sorry. It has cost all of us precious time and memories. We are going to have to move forward with this, but you two need to give Maggie an explanation and an apology.”
They nodded and hugged their son. “Do you think we could see her tomorrow?” Eva asked with wet eyes and a sad smile.
Jonathon nodded. “I think you could. I think she’s working until the afternoon, but you might be able to go over after that. I’ll get in touch with her and let her know, but I think it would be all right.”
Keith shook his head. “I’m so sorry, son, there is no greater joy than being a parent, and we’ve cost you that up to now. We’ll make it up to her and to you, and especially to our little one.”
Eva looked at the image again, and gazed at her granddaughter, looking back at her with her own eyes. “What’s her name?” she asked softly.
“Carly Wilson-Tanner,” he answered. “Maggie gave her both of our last names.
His parents looked at each other with profound joy, and they embraced their son again, telling him how much they loved him and how grateful they were to have him back, and to have this new child in their lives.
His father leaned back then and looked at him and said, “You know, this has been a big week for changes. Things were so quiet around here until you got back. Your mother and I are going to buy Janis’ parents place in Costa Rica to help them out.”
Jonathon looked at them in surprise. “Are they selling it?” he asked. “I’ve seen the photos of it. I didn’t know they were going to sell it. Janis was talking about us having our honeymoon there.”
Eva shook her head. “Well, her dad is struggling with cancer and I guess they decided that they have to sell it so he can come back to the states for treatments. They need the money. We didn’t see any reason not to buy it from them, you know, to help out and to keep it in the family. It seems so sad that she would lose a home she spent so much of her childhood in just because her father is sick. Poor man. We wanted to do what we could to help.”
Jonathon looked at them in amazement. “Wow... that’s incredible!” he said as he looked from one to the other of them. “Are you sure?”
They looked at each other and then back at him and nodded. “Yes, we’re sure. She’s family, and we do what we can for family.”
“Thanks, Mom and Dad,” he said with a smile. “I appreciate all you’re doing.”
They nodded and his mother looked at him keenly. “I can’t wait to see little Carly. Please check with her mom and see if we can visit her tomorrow.”
“I will,” Jonathon said. “Where’s Janis?” he asked, looking around.
“She’s back in her room, I think,” his mother answered. “Send this picture to me so I can have it please?” she asked with a smile, handing his phone back to him. He nodded and went down the hall to find his fiancée.
Jonathon knocked on her door and she called out for him to come in. He entered and found her on her computer at the desk in the room, near the window. She closed her laptop and stood up, turning to face him.
“Janis...” he said, walking toward her and slipping his arms around her waist, looking into her eyes. “So much has been going on. How are you doing? Are you all right?”
She nodded and gave him a small smile. “I’m still processing everything. It was a big surprise to find out you have a child with another woman, and now my dad and mom are having to sell their place in Costa Rica,” she said, looking up at him forlornly.
“I know, I’m so sorry about that. My mom and dad have told me that they’re going to help your parents, though, and buy the place.”
“They’ll have to hurry, the other man who wants to buy it is offering my parents more money and telling them that he’ll have it to them very soon. I just can’t lose it, Jonathon. Please don’t let me lose it,” she pleaded with him.
“I’ll talk to my parents and see what we can do,” he promised. “In the meantime, we should discuss my daughter.” He looked at her earnestly.
She turned away from him. “I need some more time with that; it was such a surprise... such a... a shock. I need to process it more,” she said coolly.
He sighed. “I understand. It was a lot for me to take in as well. I’m sorry that you found out the way that you did. I’m here to talk anytime you’re ready.”
She looked away from him and nodded. “All right. Just please focus on my parents’ house, though, Jonathon. I couldn’t stand to lose it.”
He nodded and kissed her cheek. “I will. I promise.” Then he hugged her and leaned down to kiss her lips, and she let him for a moment, kissing him back softly, but then she stepped back out of his embrace. “I can’t let you get me too heated up...” she said with a smile. “Marriage first, and then the fruit on the vine.” She smiled sweetly at him.
Jonathon nodded and blushed a little, and then turned to walk out of the door. “We’d better get married soon. I’ll work with my parents on saving your parent’s house, but you might want to start working on wedding details with my mother.” He winked and grinned at her and then closed her door behind him.
Chapter5
Maggie couldn’t believe that she was going to be seeing Jonathon’s parents. He had told her how they had reacted to her when they had found out that she really did have his baby, and how mortified they were that they had turned her away. He explained how the timing was so close that they believed it just wasn’t possible that she was pregnant with his child and they were desperate to make it up to her and to meet both her and Carly.
Jonathon came to her home to pick her up and knocked on the door. She and Carly were ready to go. He’d told her that they wanted to take them all to an early dinner, and Maggie was willing to give it a chance. These would be grandparents that Carly could interact with; her own parents were much older and while they were happy about their granddaughter, neither one of them was in any condition to do much more than see her in the nursing home they were in. She wanted to give her daughter the chance to have grandparents who loved her and wanted to be part of her life, if that was what they wanted as well.
Jonathon greeted her with a hug and a soft kiss on the cheek as he picked up the car seat and walked with them to his car. After Maggie showed him how to put the car seat into his vehicle, they got their daughter strapped into it, which was just as much work as getting the seat in, and then they were able to head to the restaurant.
“Are you nervous?” he asked her, giving her a sidelong glance.
She shrugged slightly and bit her lip. “Maybe a little. I just want this to be a good thing for her, and for us,” she said softly.
He nodded. “I do, too, and it will be. They were amazed that she even exists, but they were happy. This will be a good visit.” He was quiet a moment and then he said, “I was thinking after we eat and they get to see her, that you and I could take her for a walk, maybe go to the park and walk along the creek. What do you think? Would you like to do that?”
Maggie smiled widely and him and nodded. “I’d love that!” she said happily. It was becoming clear to her that he meant every word he had said about wanting to spend time with his daughter, and she was relieved and grateful that it was happening. She had spent so many nights thinking of what her daughter’s life would be like growing up with just one parent, and now it was changing and she was beyond relieved and thrilled about it.
They pulled into the restaurant parking lot and Jonathon nodded to a couple who were sitting on a bench outside of the restaurant doors. “There they are; they’re waiting for us.”
Maggie looked and saw that they seemed just as nervous as she did. She got out of the car and let Jonathon take Carly. He walked up to his parents, and both of them looked at Maggie first, their eyes so filled with remorse and regret.
“Maggie,” Keith said earnestly, “we are so sorry, we didn’t understand. We didn’t know you and Jonathon had spent time together. We feel horrible that we’ve lost so much time with you and little Carly here, but we are going to do our darndest to make it up to you. We want to see her and be part of her life, and part of your life, and we want you to know how much it means to us to have a granddaughter. We want to be around as much as we can to help you with her and support you. Do you think you could find it in your heart to forgive us and let us do that?” he asked humbly.
Eva nodded and looked at her imploringly. “We can’t tell you how much we regret the way we handled this.”
Maggie nodded and gave them a little smile. She could see how sincere they were and how much they meant it. She knew that if she forgave them and let them have the chance that they were asking her for, then they would be very good to Carly, and to her as well, and there was not much more she could ask for than that.
“Thank you so much,” she said with a kind voice. “I appreciate your apology; it’s been a hard couple of years on our own, but I think we could move forward from this together and it will be really good for all of us.”
Eva’s eyes filled up with tears and she reached her arms around Maggie and pulled her close, hugging her tightly and patting her back. “We are never going to let you down again. We’ll do our best. We promise. We’re so sorry, Maggie, and thank you with all our hearts for letting us have a chance with Carly and you,” she said as she let Maggie go and took a good look at her.
Maggie wiped a tear from her own eye. It felt tremendously good to have some real genuine support from people who were not going to let her down or let her go. It felt secure and real and safe. It felt like love, and she was overwhelmed by it.
Eva shook her head. “My goodness, you are such a lovely young lady. I just can’t get over it! You have such beautiful eyes.”
Maggie smiled and laughed a little. “So do you; I see them in my daughter all the time and now it’s wonderful to see where they come from.”
Eva grinned at her and then she and Keith turned their attention to Carly who was staring at them in fascination.
“I don’t know if she’ll go to you, sometimes she can be a little shy, but maybe—” Maggie stopped.
Carly leaned out of her father’s arms and reached for Eva, whose heart was completely stolen in that instant, and she lifted her granddaughter into her arms and held her close. Keith played with her, reaching for her hand and touching her cheek. Carly liked her grandparents right away and even gave her grandmother a kiss, as she was learning to do.
After a few minutes of bonding, they all went inside and ate together, and Maggie was taken in by the feeling of being together with them as a family should be. One thing made her curious, though. She leaned over to Jonathon and asked him, “Where is Janis?”
He smiled a little. “She wanted to stay home and I thought that just for this first visit, that was probably a good idea. We can introduce her to Carly later. This needed to be just us, I think, as it’s my parent’s first time with their granddaughter.”
Maggie nodded. “I understand,” she said and smiled back.
Their meal stretched on a while, but eventually his parents said goodbye to their granddaughter and as Maggie was hugging them goodbye, Keith handed her a card. “This is from us to you and to our granddaughter, to kind of chip in for all that we have missed and all that you’ve had to do on your own. I know how hard it can be. Please just accept it, and use it for whatever you want,” he said with a smile and then hugged her warmly and let her go.
She nodded and took the card, slipping it into her purse, and then Jonathon took her and Carly to the park, and they settled their daughter into her stroller and walked with her along the side of the creek, through sunlit trees and warm summer air.
“How do you feel it went with my parents?” Jonathon asked curiously.
“I think it was amazing!” Maggie said with a grin. “It went much better than I expected. They’re really wonderful people and I can see why they were trying to protect you and why they might have thought that the timing for Carly might have been off, but I think that’s all in the past now, and we can focus on the future. We can build our lives together somehow from here forward.” She shook her head and smiled as a tear touched her eye.
“It felt so good today, Jonathon; it felt like we were a family. Like we weren’t alone anymore, and it wasn’t Carly and I against the world, it was all of us together as a family, and it hasn’t felt like that... ever. I hadn’t realized how much we needed it, but we have, and now we have it. It’s so surreal,” she said trying to hold her emotions in.
He stopped walking and turned to look at her, seeing her as she tried to deal with it, and he reached his arms around her and held her close to him. “We are going to do this together, all of us. You won’t do it alone, I can promise you that. They will be there for both of you, just as I will be, no matter what. We are a family now, because Carly has made all of us a family, and we will go forward with that, all of her life.”
She smiled at him and looked up at him through her wet eyelashes. “Thank you so much,” she told him, holding him tightly. “That means so much to me.”
His heart began to beat rapidly and he found himself gazing into her sea green eyes. He found h
imself getting lost in the same beauty that he had the night they made Carly. He could not fathom the depth and strength of the woman he was holding, and he could not explain the fire coursing through him that seemed to draw him nearer to her, like a magnet, pulling him to what he could not turn away from.
She felt it too, as she looked at him, and she didn’t want to turn away from it. His arms felt so good wrapped around her, holding her to his chest, to his swiftly beating heart; it felt like nothing was ever going to go wrong in her life again. She looked up into his eyes... his blue eyes that were a replica of his daughter’s eyes, and when he leaned closer to her, slowly nearing her mouth, she did not turn away, but lifted her chin to him, closing her eyes and letting the soft warmth of his mouth against hers sweep her away as it had the night she met him.
Jonathon felt like he was in a dream as he pressed his lips to Maggie’s, kissing her softly, holding her to him as if there was nothing in the world but the two of them and their daughter beside them. His arms were closed tightly around her and his hands squeezed her gently as his tender kiss began to heat and he parted her lips with his, tasting her and suddenly feeling the fires that had engulfed them on their first night together. She kissed him back just as intimately as he kissed her; slow and sensual, rediscovering the edges of a passion that had been so strong it had created a life.
The Cowboy's Secret Baby: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 5