by Glynna Kaye
“To say the least. And you gave her enough ammunition to keep the town gossiping for weeks.”
He doubted it. Once Angie’s presence became common knowledge, all else would be forgotten.
“So the historical society met here today? I didn’t see that on the calendar when I checked it a few days ago.”
“It was a last-minute thing. I didn’t think you’d mind,” she added quickly. “I invited them here for a tour. Sandwiches.”
“Kind of a promo event?”
“The society is in contact with a lot of visitors to our community. Their word of mouth recommendation for lodging could send business our way. That’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, sure.” He kicked his booted toe at the step, then leveled his gaze on hers, aware that they were both sidestepping the elephant in the room. Or rather, his daughter in the SUV. “Care to elaborate on what Cate said? About you coming home to manage Singing Rock?”
Her eyes widened slightly, his question apparently catching her off guard, but she recovered quickly. “That’s what I thought my parents expected of me. But with them hiring you…”
He frowned. “But if I hadn’t been here when you returned?”
She didn’t answer.
“This explains a lot.” Like why she challenged his decisions. Argued with him about the direction Singing Rock should go. “Paulette led me to believe you had no intention of staying for long.”
“And she’s right. I won’t be.”
“Because I’m the manager of Singing Rock?”
“Because I have better things to do.” She turned toward the lodge door, then hesitated, looked back with questioning eyes. He knew what was coming. Braced himself.
“How is…your daughter?”
Olivia stood off to the side, watching as Rob expertly extracted his pride and joy from the car seat. Shoulder-length, dark brown curls. Red-and-white sundress. Tiny sandals. A gauze-wrapped ankle—where the bee had stung her? What a doll. Gray-eyed like her father, expression alert, inquisitive, but her face rounded with toddler softness.
Snuggled in her daddy’s arms, she solemnly studied the woman she didn’t recognize, then looked up at Rob, eyes questioning. He focused on Olivia, his own gaze uncertain. Wary. As if unsure of the reception his daughter would receive.
“This is Olivia.”
Angie smiled shyly. “Libbia.”
“She looks like you, Rob,” Olivia said softly, her heart going out to the little one.
“You think?”
“Oh, yeah. Same eyes. Smile.” She wished he wouldn’t look so uneasy. So uncomfortable. Then again, it was in many ways an awkward moment for both of them. Presenting his out-of-wedlock child to a woman who’d known him in college as a man who championed the sanctity of marriage. A woman he’d thoroughly kissed but a handful of days ago.
“Mom and Dad pushed for a DNA test until the first time they saw her. Never mentioned the subject again.”
Why would his folks push for that? Had there been some question that Angie might not be his?
“Hi, Angie.” She gave a small wave and the child giggled, buried her face in Rob’s shirt. Then peeked at her.
“You are such a beautiful little girl.”
“Can you say thank you?” Rob prompted.
“Tank you.”
“You’re welcome. What did you do to yourself here?” She pointed at the gauze-wrapped ankle.
Angie lifted her leg and inspected it. “A big bee stinged me.”
“Oh, my. Did that hurt?”
The little girl nodded.
“The doctor says the reaction wasn’t life-threatening.” He shifted Angie in his arms. “That this might be a one-time thing. The allergist thinks it was a more severe reaction since she’s so small. But I’ll keep a close eye on her. Already stopped by a Canyon Springs doc this afternoon to fill out paperwork and get her a follow-up appointment.”
Olivia patted Angie’s foot. “You are a brave girl.”
“Yes.” Angie gave a jerky nod of confirmation. “Jesus made me better. And Daddy gave me a puppy.”
Rob smiled and kissed his daughter’s cheek. “A stuffed one.”
“May I hold her?”
Olivia sensed his hesitation. A flash of anxiety. “She’s kind of a daddy’s girl. So don’t take it personally if she doesn’t go for it. Let’s see if you can get her to come to you on her own. Sometimes that works best.”
He gently set the child on the ground. Helped her get her balance as he held her hand. Straightened her tiny skirt. “I’ll have to dress her more warmly for living up here. It was almost a hundred in the Valley when we left.”
If she was to live here, he must at least have joint custody. Or would Angie’s mother be joining him, too? She crouched a short distance away from the father-daughter duo. Smiled. Tilted her head. Whispered a few reassuring words to the child who fixed curious eyes on her.
“How old are you, Angie?”
Still gripping her father’s hand, she thrust out three fingers. Rob bent to curl one under, making two.
“You’re two now but you’ll be three someday, won’t you?” Olivia nodded emphatically. “Yes, you will.”
The tiny girl giggled.
Olivia held out her arms. “Do you want me to hold you, Angie?”
The child studied her—that solemn look so like Rob’s—then she looked up at her daddy. He nodded his okay. Then releasing his hand, she headed straight for Olivia, who swept her into a hug.
A relieved-sounding laugh escaped Rob’s lips. “Wow. Never seen that before. You must be a kid-whisperer.”
Olivia gathered the sweet-scented Angie closer, looking up to see Rob still watching with somewhat anxious eyes. “She’s a sweetheart.”
“You can see why it killed me to leave her in Phoenix the past several weeks. But I didn’t have anyone to take care of her while I worked.”
“And you do now?”
“Meg has a friend who can most of the time.”
“And I’ll take care of her the rest of it.” She gave Angie a delighted squeeze. But when Rob’s gaze met hers, a too-familiar puckering of his brow telegraphed what he thought of that idea. She should have known better than to make the premature suggestion. She’d been so enraptured by Angie, she’d gotten ahead of herself. He owed her answers and he knew it.
“Thanks for offering, but it will work out. I talked to Mrs. Mabank, and she says she’ll cover if I’m called out at night.”
He squatted and tugged on the sash of Angie’s sundress to get her attention. “Come on, little lady. I promised your aunt Meg we’d stop by her house after I picked up a few things at the office.”
“No.” Playing with Olivia’s necklace, Angie shook her head.
Olivia glanced at Rob, amused at the befuddled look on his face. “That’s her favorite word now I suppose—no?”
“It’s getting to be.”
He pried tiny fingers away from the jewelry. “Come on now, Angie. Don’t make Daddy a liar. I’ve been telling everyone what a good girl you are.”
Angie continued shaking her head, but allowed her father to draw her into his arms. He stood and Olivia did, as well. She patted the little girl’s sandaled foot. So tiny.
“Will you come visit me again?” The question was as much for her father as for the toddler. Rob was clearly distancing himself. Clearly uncomfortable in her presence. And why shouldn’t he be? He was no more the man she’d believed him to be than she was still the wild child of her teenage years. “Your daddy and I need to talk.”
Angie nodded emphatically as Rob’s somber gaze locked on Olivia’s. “Tell Olivia bye-bye, Anj.”
“Bye-bye, Libbia.”
Had he
no intention of arranging time to explain himself? Did he not think he owed her that much? It looked as if this was God’s confirmation that it was over between them before it had even begun.
“I wish I’d have had more time.” Rob watched as his sister cradled a sleepy-eyed Angie on her lap, Meg’s dark tousled hair brushing his daughter’s head. “More time to get to know Olivia—for her to get to know me—before I dropped the ultimate bombshell on her.”
Meg’s troubled expression conveyed her concern. “She didn’t take it well?”
He pushed back from the kitchen table, listening to warm laughter echoing from the living room. His brother-in-law, Joe, and nephew Davy had excused themselves after dinner to play video games. Meg had agreed to keep Angie for a few nights so he could baby-proof his apartment. Get her room set up. Secure a safety gate at the top of the stairs. He’d barely had Angie in town more than a few hours and was already relying on his sister, taking advantage of her good nature.
“She intercepted mom’s call about Angie’s hospitalization. Then she started asking all sorts of questions while I was trying to get out the door. I blurted it out and took off.”
“Have you talked to her? Seen her since?”
“Today.” He reached over and ran a finger over Angie’s soft cheek. The little girl smiled, her eyes now closed. “Right before I came over here.”
“How was she?”
“Nice to Angie. But it was awkward. I can tell I really hurt her. Not just by not telling her, but the whole thing. My messing up. Letting her down.”
“You care for her a lot, don’t you?”
He sat back in his chair, his eyes still on Angie. Watching her gentle breathing. “Didn’t intend to. Tried not to. But Olivia’s…special.”
“Does she know that?”
Face warming at the memory of the kisses they’d shared, he darted a look at his too-observant sister. A knowing smile tugged at her lips. “I think I made myself clear enough—the night before Angie’s hospitalization. But I don’t think that much matters now. I think finding out about me the way she did erases whatever understanding we’d come to. Can’t say I blame her.”
“Have you had an opportunity to explain what happened?”
With a fingertip he scrolled an invisible design on the table’s surface. “Not yet. She said we need to talk, but I’m not sure she wants to hear what I have to say so much as she wants me to hear what she has to say.”
“You need to let her do that.”
He grimaced. “To be quite honest, Meg, I don’t need another woman telling me I’m not the man for her. Been through that twice, don’t care to hear it a third time.”
“You can’t be sure there will be a third time.”
“You didn’t see her face when I told her I had a daughter.”
“But you said she was nice to Angie.”
“Yeah. Talked to her. Hugged her. Said she’d be happy to fill in as a babysitter if I need her to.”
“I don’t know, Rob…” Meg gave him an encouraging smile. “That doesn’t sound like a woman who’s rejecting your child. Or who’s slamming the door on you, either.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t much matter at this point.” He leaned his forearms on the table edge. “I can’t risk Angie getting attached to her, then Olivia hitting the door. Makes me understand the protectiveness of single moms I’ve known through the years. How they wanted to make one-hundred-percent sure a relationship would pan out before they’d introduce their kids to a boyfriend.”
“You’re saying you think she’s too much like Cassie? Capricious? A fly-by-night?”
“Not to that extreme. She’s a strong believer in God, whereas Cassie wasn’t there yet. But from what I pick up from her oldest sister, she has a history of drive-by relationships. Part-time jobs. I know she switched her college major half a dozen times. Incapable of settling down for more than a few moments before she’s off to the next big adventure. She’s planning a trip to the Holy Land as we speak.”
“So you’re thinking it’s better to let whatever you’d started die a natural death.”
He met Meg’s steady gaze head-on. “What is it about me that I can’t seem to attract—or be attracted to—women who can commit to me?”
“You know, Rob, I’ve learned that in life—and love—you sometimes have to take risks.” Meg adjusted Angie in her arms. “You may not realize it, but if you write off Olivia, you’re setting yourself up for a pattern of allowing fear of rejection to limit you to superficial relationships. You two need to spend time together. Talk. She needs to get to know Angie. And you.”
“Nice in theory, but like I told you and our folks a few weeks ago, I have more serious things to be thinking about than a love life. Every time someone Cassie’s parents’ age appears in the door of the office or I glimpse a New York license plate in town, my heart rate ramps up into the danger zone.”
“From what you’ve told me about their relationship with Cassie, they may easily come to the conclusion that a grandchild isn’t worth the time and trouble.”
“Maybe. But it’s one more reason, until that’s resolved, not to involve anyone in my life. I can’t have her parents portraying me in court as a footloose and fancy-free bachelor out for a little action.”
“Anyone who knows you would know that was a lie.”
He closed his eyes momentarily, wishing for the billionth time that he’d never met the captivating Cassie. Had exhibited more self-control. Had been faithful to his beliefs. Then again, what would life be without his sweet little Angela?
“But the truth is, Meg, your big brother got a woman he wasn’t married to pregnant. The track record is there for the world to see. For a lawyer to twist and exploit to Cassie’s folks’ advantage.”
“Cassie’s track record isn’t exactly stellar, either. Abandoning her child.”
“Angie’s too young to understand what went on when her mother walked out on her. But she’ll soon be asking questions I don’t yet know how I’ll answer. I sure don’t want her dealing with the added confusion and grief of a mother substitute who deserts her, too.”
His wrong choices had already set his little girl up for a lifetime of mountains to climb.
Meg’s thoughtful gaze pinned him. “Are you more concerned with protecting Angie’s heart—or your own?”
“Angie’s, of course.” Rob’s jaw tightened and he shot an uncompromising glare at his sister. “Mine’s already turned to stone.”
Chapter Fifteen
“I can’t help but think he didn’t tell me because he doesn’t trust me, Reyna.” Olivia’s hand gripped her cell phone, her voice low as she rocked in the front porch swing the next evening.
“Seems he’s the one who can’t be trusted—keeping the existence of a child that’s so much a part of his life from someone he’s become interested in.”
“I’m not sure he was ever interested.”
“You said he kissed you, didn’t you?”
Olivia mentally slammed the door on that memory. She couldn’t let herself keep returning to it. Dwelling on it. “Yeah, but he did a lot more than kiss Angie’s mother and apparently that didn’t mean anything. He didn’t even marry her.”
What kind of man wouldn’t marry the mother of his child?
“Have you asked him why he didn’t? Maybe she died in childbirth. Something tragic.”
“If that were the case, he’d have said so, wouldn’t he? Why keep it a secret? So where’s the kid’s mom?”
“You need to talk to him, Olivia,” Reyna said for the umpteenth time since Olivia had called her. “Find out what happened.”
“I already told you. He’s not making it easy to find time alone with him. Wasn’t around much today at all. And when he was around—well, this
isn’t something you discuss in front of friends, family or Singing Rock guests. He’s kept himself well-insulated by staying in the thick of things since he returned. I’m not sure he has any intention of ever talking to me.”
“Be patient. If he’s still the man you believed him to be, this has to be a difficult time for him. The existence of an out-of-wedlock child can’t be an easy thing for him to admit to someone he knew when he was a college church group leader.”
Olivia sighed. “That’s just it. I’m not sure he is the man I believed him to be. I’m coming to recognize that I’m not the world’s best judge of character.” The image of Kendal Paige rose up in her mind. “I’m hurt that he didn’t confide in me. Didn’t think enough of our relationship to let me know he had a child. That tells me he didn’t—doesn’t—trust me. You should have seen his face the whole time I was meeting his daughter yesterday. As if expecting me to do something that might hurt her.”
“You never know, Olivia, that may have happened to him in the past. Someone else’s reaction.”
“Which tells me he doesn’t know me. I’d never do anything like that.”
“No, but that doesn’t mean he can’t come to know you. And you, him.”
“But is all this hassle and hurt worth it? It seems that if a relationship is really a God thing, it wouldn’t be this hard.”
Reyna laughed. “Oh, my. Don’t let your pastor brother-in-law hear you say that. It’s one of my hubby’s pet peeves when counseling couples—that they think relationships should be effortless. They sometimes act so surprised when they discover they have to work at it.”
She hadn’t told Reyna, but she wasn’t certain she wanted to stay at Singing Rock at all. It no longer mattered whether or not she proved herself to Paulette and her parents. She only wanted out of here. As far away from Rob as she could get.
“I’m willing to work when I’m sure it’s the real thing.” Her tone sounded defensive even to her own ears. “Right now I’m doubting that what I thought was God’s leading to come back here was truly His leading, that’s all.”