by Cindy Kirk
Like hunting dogs that had caught a scent, the boys froze at attention. “Will we get to climb the wall?”
Prim’s gaze softened. “Probably.”
“It sounds like fun.” Brynn tugged on David’s hand. “I bet a lot of my friends will be there.”
David nodded to Max and Prim. “We’ll be there.”
Once the Brody family disappeared from sight, Brynn wanted to check out the climbing wall. They were standing in line when Brynn squeezed his hand. “You know what will make Sunday absolutely, positively perfect?”
“No rain?”
Brynn chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Hadley being there. She loves climbing as much as I do.”
Hadley didn’t accompany them to the party on Sunday. She’d still been baking when they left. Without a single glance in David’s direction, she’d promised Brynn she’d stop by Rakes Farm if she got the chance.
She never showed.
All afternoon, Brynn kept asking if he’d seen Hadley. After the third no, she quit asking. The pinched look on his daughter’s face reminded him of the way she’d often looked when Whitney hadn’t shown up for an event.
Though David felt bad for Brynn, it had been easier not having Hadley at the party. There was an uncomfortable tension between them. Until the DNA test results came back tomorrow, he didn’t have anything of substance to say to her.
Part of him trusted her. She was the woman he’d fallen for, the one who brought light into his life and made him believe in second chances. But the logical, rational part of his brain told him not to discuss anything of substance with her until the test results were in and he could be certain she was indeed Brynn’s birth mother.
He didn’t know why she would lie when the fact was so easily proven, but he had to know for certain.
David pulled into the driveway and just sat there for several long seconds. Hopefully by this time tomorrow night, he’d have some answers. After unlocking the front door, David stepped inside after Brynn.
Ruckus greeted them with enthusiastic barks, then went back to lie on the rug near the hearth.
“Hadley.” Brynn called out her name, but David wasn’t surprised when she didn’t answer. The house had an empty feel.
Surely, she wouldn’t have left without saying good-bye to Brynn. Unless she was worried what the results of the DNA tests would show…
A muscle jerked in his jaw.
Brynn’s brows pulled together in worry. “Where is she?”
“Probably out running a few errands.”
Hadley appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen, and Ruckus offered a welcoming woof.
“Actually, I was on the back porch watering the plants.” Hadley’s gaze shifted from David to Brynn. “Did you have fun?”
Brynn lifted a shoulder, let it drop.
“They had the climbing wall up.” David filled the awkward silence. “Brynn made it all the way to the top. Twice.”
“Wow. Congrats.” Hadley moved to Brynn’s side, raised a hand for a fist bump, but lowered it when the girl only looked away.
When he stepped back, he noticed that the book Brynn had made for Hadley lay open on the coffee table. Without thinking, David scooped it up and began to read.
“We like to climb walls.” The childish penmanship made him smile, as did the picture of two blondes, one tiny, one tall, climbing and waving at each other from the top of a rock wall.
He flipped the page.
“We teach our dog tricks.” There was Ruckus sitting up while the small blond-haired girl handed him a dog cookie and the woman smiled.
“We defend ourselves against bad people.” This picture showed Hadley with her booted foot on Clive Gourley’s chest.
The other pages were more of the same. Hadley and Brynn reading to each other, cooking together, building sand castles…
“This is nice.” He smiled at Brynn.
“Nice and stupid.” Brynn snatched it from him. “I don’t even know why I made it.”
While Hadley watched in horror, Brynn tore up the book, tossing the bits of paper to the floor.
“Hey”—Hadley stepped forward—“that was mine, not yours.”
“You didn’t want it anyway. Just like you didn’t want to come to the party today. Or climb the rock wall with me.” Brynn’s blue eyes flashed. “You’d rather stay home and text your friends or play on the computer.”
Visibly startled by the vehemence in the girl’s tone, Hadley took a step back.
“I bet if you were my mom, you’d be too busy to help with my family-tree project, too.”
“Is that why your mom texted you this afternoon?” David gentled his tone. “To tell you she couldn’t help?”
“She’s too busy.” Brynn sneered the words, then shifted her gaze to Hadley. “Just like you. You promised you’d come.”
“I said I’d try—”
“You didn’t try, though, did you?” Brynn’s accusatory gaze pinned Hadley, who’d bent over to pick up the pieces of paper that had once been a book. “You never planned to come.”
Hadley’s fingers tightened around the paper scraps as she stood. “It didn’t work out for me to come today. I wish I could have been there.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Hadley’s face blanched as if she’d been slapped.
“Brynn.”
The child whirled on him, her eyes filled with accusation. “You made Mommy leave. Now you’re making Hadley leave. I hate you both.”
Stunned, David watched his daughter stalk down the hall.
“Brynn Elizabeth.” Hadley’s voice sliced the air like a knife and had the child stilling. “Come back here. Right now.”
With chin jutted high and hands clenched at her sides, the girl returned to the room.
David could only stare. Never had he seen this behavior from his daughter.
“Do you think speaking to your father in such a manner is acceptable?” Hadley’s tone remained firm. “Is that how we speak to someone we love?”
Brynn shook her head, but her mouth remained sullen.
“What do you want to say to him?”
“I know she didn’t—” David began, but the look Hadley shot him had the rest of whatever he’d been about to say dying in his throat.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I don’t hate you.” The quiver remained in the child’s voice when she turned to Hadley. “I’m sorry I tore up your book. I don’t want you to leave.”
“I’m not leaving.” Hadley dropped into a nearby chair. She gestured with one hand. “See? Not going anywhere.”
“My daddy is mad at you.”
Hadley’s expression gave nothing away. “Is that what he told you?”
Brynn shook her head. “I can just tell. He’s mad and you’re sad.”
David’s first instinct was to deny it. After all, he wasn’t really angry at Hadley. But before he could speak, Hadley responded.
“I am sad. I’ve really enjoyed our time together, and soon I’ll be back at the bakery and you’ll be in school all day. I’m going to miss you lots.”
“But I’ll still get to see you, won’t I?”
Hadley hesitated for a barely perceptible second. “Do you know where Blooms Bake Shop is?”
Brynn giggled, and the sound eased the tension in the room.
“Well, then you know where to find me.” Hadley’s tone softened. “Brynn, someone once told me that often, when we raise our voice and lash out, it isn’t really about the other person, it’s about something going on inside us.”
Tugging on Brynn’s hand, Hadley pulled the child onto her lap. “Will you tell me what’s troubling you?”
Brynn rested her head against Hadley’s, their blond strands a perfect match. “Mommy said she can’t help me with my Founder’s Day project. She says she’s too busy, but she isn’t. She just doesn’t want to help me.”
“We don’t know that, Sweet Pea.” David chose his words carefully. “Your mother hasn’t been feeling well lately
. That might be why she can’t help.”
“Is she okay?” Brynn’s eyes went wide.
“Far as I know. And I’m happy to help you with the project.” David glanced at Hadley. “I know Hadley will do what she can to help you, too.”
Brynn turned eager eyes to Hadley. “You’ll help me?”
“Absolutely.” Hadley brushed Brynn’s hair back from her face with a gentle hand. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing.”
His daughter flung her arms around Hadley and buried her face in her neck. “I love you.”
Over Brynn’s head, Hadley’s eyes met his.
In that moment, David realized Hadley was more of a mother to Brynn than Whitney had ever been.
It was clear his daughter loved Hadley. And Hadley loved Brynn.
Brynn had nailed it. He had been “mad” at Hadley, but the anger had been mixed with a large dose of hurt. She’d betrayed his trust. His knee-jerk assumption had been that she’d used him to get close to Brynn. On closer examination, that theory didn’t hold water, as he was the one who’d approached her about being Brynn’s temporary live-in nanny.
The problem was, he’d started to dream of a future with her and now felt like a fool. Today, listening to Max and Beck talk about family had made him think of the dreams he’d once shared with Whitney.
While there was no denying his wife hadn’t put one hundred percent effort into the relationship, neither had he. Not in the last few years, that was for sure. It had been easier to simply not say anything whenever she planned another trip with her friends.
Another trip without him.
Without Brynn.
He’d told himself he’d remained silent because of Brynn. He hadn’t wanted his daughter caught in the middle of her parents’ turmoil. Now he could see that all he’d accomplished was letting his marriage slip away.
There had been little emotional intimacy between them. Other than early on when she’d told him about her father’s tragic death from Huntington’s, she’d rarely shared her thoughts or fears.
Each time he’d attempted to bring it up, she’d shut down the discussion. By the time they split, he hadn’t had a clue what was going on in her head.
He’d let her push him away.
Now, he was pushing Hadley away.
Just until he got the test results, David told himself. Once he had those in hand, he and Hadley could work on rebuilding their relationship.
As long as it wasn’t too late.
Chapter 19
Hadley tucked Brynn into bed, gave the child a kiss, then left the room. David had already pulled a favorite book from the shelf. Though Hadley longed to stay and listen, she knew father and daughter needed this time together to smooth out the recent bump in their relationship.
While David was upstairs, Hadley commandeered the kitchen and assembled ingredients on the spacious granite countertop. She tried to banish all thoughts from her brain of the book Brynn had demolished. The Adventures of Brynn and Hadley had meant so much to her. She hoped that one day Brynn would make her another book, this one filled with even more adventures the two of them had shared.
Opening the oven door, Hadley slid in the tray containing dollops of cookie dough arranged in neat rows, then set the timer. When she didn’t hear any footsteps coming her way, she briefly considered making another batch.
Instead, she cleaned. By the time the oven timer dinged, the kitchen gleamed.
“Something sure smells good.” David leaned against the doorjamb. He sniffed the air, his casual tone at odds with the tense set of his jaw.
Recalling their prior ease with each other, Hadley experienced a pang of regret.
“Chocolate chip cookies with walnuts.” After donning an oven mitt, Hadley lifted the baking sheet from the oven and placed it on a cooling rack. “Would you like one?”
“Chocolate chip cookies? Hot from the oven?” He shot her an amused glance. “Actually, I don’t think one will do it. I’d like several. And I’d like you to join me.”
Hadley hid her surprise. This was as close to a normal conversation as they’d had in days.
“I’ll put the cookies on a plate.” She kept her tone light. “You get the milk.”
“It’s a beautiful evening.” David opened the refrigerator, speaking over his shoulder. “Let’s go wild and crazy and eat on the porch.”
He’d extended an olive branch. Not a big one, but a branch nonetheless. She supposed she could reject it and demand to know what had changed since earlier today when he could barely be bothered to speak two words to her.
“Sounds good.”
The air was warm, and a light breeze kept the bugs away. Hadley sipped her milk and nibbled on a cookie. “You must have read more than a chapter. You were in her room a long time.”
“We read three.” David’s lips tipped up. “I believe I enjoy the reading aloud as much as she does.”
“Is she asleep?”
“Out for the count.” David lifted his glass, but didn’t drink. “It was a busy, somewhat difficult day for her.”
“I should have gone to the party.”
David lowered the glass. “Why didn’t you?”
“I know you’re angry with me. I didn’t know if I could spend several hours pretending it’s all good between us.”
He inclined his head and took a drink of milk.
“I didn’t think of Brynn, didn’t even consider she might be looking forward to seeing me, to climbing the wall together. I thought only of myself. It was a mistake, and hurting her is on me.” Hadley regretted missing the precious time with Brynn. “From now until the end of the month, I’m going to savor all the moments with her I can. Going back to my apartment, to simply being that nice lady at the bake shop, is going to kill me.”
“If the DNA results show you’re Brynn’s birth mother—”
“I am her birth mother.” Hadley spoke in a fierce whisper, even though they were alone on the porch. Alone, that was, except for Ruckus, snoozing at her feet.
“I’ve been thinking.” David slanted a glance at her. “Once the results are back, we should tell everyone.”
Hadley’s heart flip-flopped. She’d wondered about the next step, but hadn’t expected this. “Are you saying we’d tell everyone I’m her birth mother?”
She couldn’t imagine what else he could be talking about revealing, but wanted to be sure.
“Yes. After we tell Brynn.” His gaze searched hers. “I don’t see a reason to keep her connection to you a secret. Unless you have some objection.”
Excitement threatened to engulf her. She tamped it down. “What will everyone think?”
Those smoky gray eyes turned sharp and assessing. “Do you care?”
“I care that they’ll feel betrayed.” Hadley looked him in the eyes. “Just like you feel betrayed.”
“They’ll get over it.”
“Are you over it?” A hard ball formed in the pit of her stomach when he didn’t immediately respond.
“I’m getting there. The cookies help.” The quick smile he shot her had the knot dissolving.
“The results should arrive in my in-box tomorrow.” He lifted a brow at her sharp inhale.
“This will be the start of a new life for me,” Hadley explained.
“The start of a new life for us.” A muscle in his jaw jumped. “One with no secrets.”
Hadley ignored the second comment.
“I’m champing at the bit to get started,” Hadley said, almost to herself, “but I’m also terrified.”
Without warning, David did something she hadn’t expected. He reached over and took her hand.
“No worries.” The look in his eyes was as steady as the clasp of his hand. “You. Brynn. Me. We’ll get through this…together.”
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked to meet with you.” Hadley glanced at the four women gathered around Ami’s dining room table.
Her conversation with David last night on the porch ha
d her realizing she needed to be proactive. There was no reason to wait for the DNA results to hit David’s in-box. Hadley already knew they’d confirm her story.
Rounding up all four Bloom sisters on a busy Monday morning hadn’t been easy, but Ami made it happen. When Hadley had said there was something of vital importance she needed to tell her and her sisters, Ami had asked if it could wait until evening.
That might have been too late. At the moment, David planned to tell his family at the dinner party his mother was throwing tomorrow night, an intimate affair that would include the Bloom family. But plans could change, and David might get a wild hair to tell his mother sooner. Perhaps the second he received the results.
If that happened, Lynn would tell Steve, and soon everyone in the two families would know. Hadley owed her friends better. They needed to hear the news from her. First.
The Bloom sisters had welcomed her into their family, introduced her to their friends and helped her become a part of the community. How had she repaid their kindness? By lying to them. Not overtly, though each time she’d pretended to have no connection to David or Brynn, she’d deceived them.
Fin glanced at her phone. “I don’t want to be rude, but will this take long? Next weekend is Founder’s Day, and I have a zillion things on my plate.”
“We know the big celebration is next week, Fin.” Marigold rolled her eyes and reached for one of the chocolates scattered atop the table. “We’re all busy. But Ami says this is important.”
“I shouldn’t eat chocolate.” Prim’s hand hovered over a truffle, her daughter asleep on her chest.
“Indulge, Primrose.” Ami’s blessing was all it took for Prim to grab the candy.
“Something tells me this is serious stuff.” Marigold studied Hadley as she unwrapped her chocolate.
“I’ll get to the point.” Hadley took a breath and plunged ahead. “I didn’t just happen to come to Good Hope three years ago. I had a purpose, a mission.”
Clearly intrigued, Fin quit scrolling and put down her phone. She widened her eyes and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “Is this your way of telling us you’re a spy?”