“In this case we’ll make an exception, since Mommy is here with you. Okay?”
It seemed to satisfy Emily, who grinned broadly and clasped her tightly around the neck in a hug. Emily wiggled down from Taylor’s lap and extended her hands.
“Mittens, Mommy?”
Taylor fished them from her coat pocket and covered her daughter’s hands with the pink-and-purple knit. Emily clapped her hands together with a muffled slap and announced she was going to swing. Taylor watched her dash toward the cold, metal jungle gym. Her heart contracted at the sight of the little girl who was her life.
She glanced again at her cell phone. If Mr. Wallace didn’t hurry, she was going to have to call her secretary, Jane, and see if they could get the fabric swatches sent by courier to The Anchor Hotel for the owners to decide which color scheme they liked best out of the three she’d drawn up for their renovations.
“Am I that late?” His smooth, masculine tone startled her, making her jump slightly on the wooden bench. She’d been so wrapped up thinking about work that she hadn’t even heard him approaching the bench.
“A little.”
“Sorry. I got caught up with a client.”
Immediately she wondered how often that was the case, and if he’d be using that excuse when things got difficult with Emily. Her father had often enough.
He walked around the bench and sat down at the opposite end. His broad shoulders nearly touched her, and the warm, woodsy-and-citrus scent of him invaded her airspace. From his dark sable hair to the soft brown of his eyes, he was plainly Emily’s father. Even the stubborn shape of his firm jaw reminded her of her daughter. How she couldn’t have seen that before, she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as if the test had changed any of them. And yet it had changed everything. Taylor tried to ignore the warmth that radiated from his direction.
“Is that Emily?” he asked, tilting his head in the direction of the jungle gym.
Taylor nodded.
He bent forward, resting his arms against his legs and cupping his chin in his large hand. She expected Reece to want an instant introduction, but instead he sat there mutely, watching Emily from a distance.
“Did you want to meet her?” she prompted.
“In a minute.”
Taylor bit her lip. What was he thinking? Did Emily resemble his late wife? She found herself curious to know more about him. What had they been like together? Did he dream of his family, and how was he coping with their loss? Would he feel a connection to Emily even though he’d never met her? Taylor pushed the thoughts away and instead broke the silence hanging between them.
“I’ve pulled together some picture albums of Emily’s childhood.”
His gaze drifted up to meet hers and his warm look made her heart jump. She swallowed.
“I was thinking that if you had a chance you might like to look at them.”
He smiled at her. “I’d really like that.”
Emily’s huffing breath turned both their heads.
“Mommy, who is this?”
“Emily, I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Reece Wallace.”
Emily sized him up with a glance. “Mommy says you’re her new friend, but I don’t know if I like you yet,” she stated bluntly.
Taylor groaned to herself and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was not going as she had planned.
He seemed to take the statement in stride, grinning at the little half pint. “I’d like to be your friend, too.”
Emily took a step closer, leaning forward in a confrontational stance. “Mommy says friends care about each other. Do you care about her?”
Taylor was mortified by the direction her daughter’s questions were taking.
Reece quirked his head to one side, his gaze catching hers for a second before returning to Emily. “That’s a very good question. I think I could care a lot about both of you.”
His response surprised her, making a tiny quake shiver down her spine. Reece was a good-looking, successful guy, who seemed pretty decent. A catch by anyone’s standards. But she wasn’t just anyone, and this wasn’t just a normal situation.
Emily moved protectively toward Taylor’s knee. “My mommy is the best in the world,” she stated emphatically, placing a hand on her mother. “She takes care of me real good.”
Reece smiled. “I can tell,” he said, glancing over the little girl’s head. His eyes were deep, dark, and liquid like chocolate syrup, and shone with admiration. Taylor felt a warm ripple of appreciation wrap around her. What would it be like to have a guy like this dote on her?
Satisfied with his answer, Emily smiled, then lifted her chin with authority and placed her gloved hands once again on her narrow hips. “I have to go play now, Mr. Wallace. You and Mommy be good until I get back, okay?”
“I promise,” he replied, crossing his heart with his finger and raising his right hand. Emily tipped her head like an inquisitive puppy and stared at him for a moment before she broke into a grin, then trotted off to the jungle gym.
Taylor watched Reece out of the corner of her eye, taking in his reaction. She was touched by the gentle strength of the man sitting beside her. It was clear this was difficult for him. His back was painfully straight, his shoulders stiff, and he gripped the front edge of bench with a white-knuckled hold.
“It’s obvious that she’s well cared for and has great self-esteem. And she clearly loves you. You’ve done very well,” he said, his voice broken and stilted.
Taylor swung her head around and gave him a slight smile before looking down. “Thank you. She means the world to me.” She paused, carefully selecting her words. They were hard enough for her to say, harder still to the stranger sitting next to her who wanted to be a critical part of her life. “She seems to like you.” She bit her lip, the truth sounding distasteful to her at the moment. But who was she to judge? Emily didn’t have a past that got in the way of seeing the best in this man and she had great taste.
“She does?”
“She doesn’t smile at just anyone. She sizes them up first. Apparently you passed Emily’s test.”
Her daughter’s reaction to this man galled and intrigued her at the same time. What was it exactly that Emily saw in him from a child’s point of view? At first glance he was buttoned-up and conservative, someone too intimidating for a child. She had seen his emotions surface as he had talked with Emily. Sadness mingled with hope in his eyes, then settled back under a carefully arranged exterior. All except for the longing she saw in him now as he watched Emily play.
“I’m glad to hear it. For a moment I wasn’t sure.” He folded his hands together and focused his gaze on Emily while she played. “She seems very bright,” he murmured. “Do you have her in any enrichment programs?”
She stiffened. His question put her on edge. Enrichment programs had been another word for getting her out of the way so she wasn’t underfoot when she’d been a child. Besides it had given something else for her father to brag about. She’d determined early on to be more involved in Emily’s life than that, even if she were a single parent. She fixed her gaze directly on Reece and straightened her shoulders even more.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, Reece, but I’ve never needed anyone to tell me what to do with Emily. I hope you won’t try now.”
He turned his head to look at her. The muscle in his jaw flexed. “Right now I’d just like to know some more about the two of you,” he replied calmly.
With trembling fingers she tucked a swing of blond hair behind her ear. Perhaps she was misjudging him. Perhaps she was overreacting to her own father. But her gut reactions were hard to break. “Sorry. I guess I’m not used to sharing.” This time she gave him a smile that was warmer and more inviting. “But don’t tell Emily,” she added, pointing a warning finger at him, “I’ll get a lecture on not playing nicely.”
He snickered and visibly relaxed. “Alyssa was like that, too. If we made rules, everybody had to follow them, and she was chief rule enforcer.”
Tayl
or nodded, looking down and releasing some of the rigid tension in her frame. Her toe scraped a wide arc in the gravel beneath her feet. She glanced again at the photo she’d taken out of her purse. She carried Alyssa’s picture with her everywhere she went. Seeing the little girl she’d lost had enlarged a gaping hollow she hadn’t known existed. Reece was probably the only person she could share that with and the thought was unsettling and appealing all at the same time. She was wary about giving up too much to this man, afraid of what she might lose if he turned out to be less stellar than he appeared to be.
“About those albums, perhaps we could share some more stories and pictures of when they were babies, sometime. Over dinner maybe,” she volunteered and looked up.
He stared at her, then ran a tapered finger along the inside edge of his starched collar and swallowed. Her skin warmed and her stomach tightened.
“Sure. Does Emily have a favorite restaurant?”
Her heart sank a little.
She suddenly realized she’d been hoping for something more personal and intimate. A place where they could carefully dole out memories to one another and maybe build something new. Ultimately it would be for Emily’s benefit if they became better acquainted, she reassured herself. “I was thinking more along the lines of a family dinner for three.”
A smile lifted the edges of his well-defined mouth, and hunger smoldered in the depth of his gaze. “Okay, then. How about dinner at my house?”
Before she could answer, Emily’s huffing and puffing distracted them both, banishing the palpable energy building between them.
“Mommy, I’m thirsty,” she said with drama, placing her hand to her throat and massaging it as though she had spent weeks in the Sahara.
Taylor heard the rustle of a paper bag and glanced in Reece’s direction. He was bent over the arm of the bench, fishing in a grocery sack. He pulled out three pints of chocolate milk and straws, quickly offering a set to Emily and another to her.
“How about this?”
Emily looked at her mother, and when Taylor nodded her approval, the child quickly snatched at the small carton and straw, then smiled wide enough to nearly reach her ears on either side. “Yum!”
“What do you say to Mr. Wallace, Emily?”
Emily gave her mother a slightly petulant glance, then turned back to Reece.
“Thank you for the chocolate milk, Reece.”
The easy familiarity between them clawed at her like a patch of wicked brambles, tearing at her confidence and shredding her security. She raised her chin and examined Emily. Her daughter was fixated on Reece and seemed perfectly content to suck greedily at the straw and gulp down her milk. She was a child, Taylor reminded herself. She meant no harm by it.
Even so, it still hurt to see Emily so easily accept him into her world, when she’d been Emily’s parent the last four years. It hurt bad enough that she resolved not to let herself become any friendlier with Reece Wallace than was necessary. Her unusual response to him was nothing more than sheer lack of any male company for the past four years, she assured herself. She’d already slipped, but could easily put some distance between them. Next time she’d be ready for the unwanted feelings and push them away. Like everything else in her life, this had to be about Emily.
“When you finish your milk, Emily, you need to go get Eddie so we can go home.”
Emily stopped drinking. “Why?”
“Because we still have a lot to do today.”
“Like what?”
Taylor’s patience was wearing thin. “Like painting a picture to send to Grandma for her birthday and feeding your fish after we run some errands.”
Emily looked longingly at Reece. “Can he come, too?”
It was the last dip in an already emotional roller coaster. Taylor nibbled at her lip and stifled back angry tears. Why did Emily seem so drawn to him when she’d only just met him? Hadn’t she been the one there when Emily was sick in the middle of the night? Or there when she was hungry or tired or sad? Somehow it just didn’t seem fair, and while Taylor knew logically she was being irrational about her daughter’s reactions to Reece, it still stung.
“Maybe we can see each other again another day, Emily,” Reece said quietly. “I really had fun meeting you today, but I think your mom is tired.” His gaze flicked from Emily to her.
Emily’s casual use of his first name had taken him aback as well. She could see that now. There were creases in his brow and a wet sheen to his eyes. His smile trembled at the corners. Her heart softened, blunting the edge of her frustration and misplaced irritation, but not her resolve.
He cupped a big hand around Emily’s tiny shoulder. “Why don’t you take her home?”
Emily glanced back at her, then nodded. She leaned forward, getting close to his ear in a conspiratorial manner, but Taylor heard her high voice all the same.
“I’m going to take Mommy home now. I’ll tell you when she gets better.”
He smiled and winked at Emily.
Taylor had difficulty finding her voice, and when she did it cracked. “About dinner…we’ll let you know when it fits into our schedule. I want to see how Emily handles all of this before I commit her or myself to anything more.”
Reece nodded. Emily bounced over to her, a smile dimpling her cheeks. “Come on, Mommy. It’s time to go. Eddie’s going to be awfully hungry when we get home.”
Taylor rose, slipped her purse onto her shoulder, and grasped Emily’s hand. She took a last look at the man on the bench. His thick, dark hair was barely ruffled by the spring breeze and he leaned forward on his knees as if an enormous burden weighed on his back.
“And thank you again for the picture,” she added lamely, holding up the small piece of paper in her free hand.
He smiled and waved.
…
Reece watched them walk away. He twisted the gold band on his finger. “It’s nothing compared to what I’ll be asking you to give me,” he whispered to himself, knowing that regardless of how well their meetings had gone she’d be hurt when he asked for joint custody. He wasn’t happy about hurting her—didn’t want to—but he needed to be part of Emily’s life in every sense, including being responsible for her welfare, and there was no other way around it.
He wanted to legally be her father, and right now her birth certificate didn’t show it. He’d had his staff assistant, Jay, do enough research into the legal implications to know that he had to assert his claim to custody in court to validate the biological bond. But he also knew that it was risky. There was every chance that Taylor would fight him on the paperwork, even though his intentions were to care for Emily. She loved Emily. That much was crystal clear. The question was could he prove that he fit into Emily’s life enough for her to accept it?
He couldn’t go home. Not after this. The suffocating sense of loss at the house would overwhelm him, making the heavy weight in his chest press down even harder.
Emily looked everything and nothing like Becca. The dark, glossy hair that swung about her shoulders had red strands of light playing in it, just as Becca’s had the day they met. Her nose, like Becca’s, was pert and of pixie perfection, but the eyes—those eyes were too close to the ones he saw when he looked in the mirror each morning. They had unnerved him. It was like looking at the precious innocence of his own youth for an unclouded instant.
Perhaps more shocking was how much Emily’s small voice made him long for Alyssa. It was bittersweet. One daughter made him only need the other more.
Behind the wheel he found himself driving toward the historic section of San Sebastian where Main Street clung to a bluff overlooking the sea.
After he parked, he crossed the narrow street to the small florist shop nestled among the brick-fronted boutiques. He came out with two roses wrapped in translucent, white tissue paper and two stuffed animals tucked under his arm.
A low stone wall surrounded the graveyard, which was dotted with gray and white headstones between bonsai-like pine trees shaped ove
r the years by the wind. He needed to talk. More rightly, he needed to be listened to.
He passed into the solemn quiet of the graveyard, the dull roar of the waves crashing on the cliffs below in the background and the tang of salt spray in the air.
His feet dragged, and when he came to the spot he knelt in his familiar place, the neatly cut grass a soft cushion under him. His fingers caressed the glass-smooth surface of Alyssa’s headstone, dipping in to feel the little, chubby angel carved on it and then slowly tracing each letter of her name. He laid the pink rose at the base of the stone. His throat ached and his eyes burned. He placed the small plush teddy bear beside the flower and swallowed so he could speak.
“Hi, pumpkin. Daddy’s here. I miss you.” He swallowed again. “I’ve got some news to tell you. I’ve found someone very important to me. She’s funny and bright just like—” His voice cracked, and he could no longer hold back the tears.
Alone, with the light breeze tugging at him, he let them come trickling hot and wet down his cheeks. The pain pierced him, knotting thick in his chest.
This was harder than he had anticipated. He clutched the small, stuffed zebra in his hand. It was for Emily. She already had a favorite bear, so this had seemed more appropriate. He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and lifted his face to take a breath.
In that moment, the pain of knowing he could do nothing for Alyssa transformed slightly into a greater determination to do everything he could for Emily. He would work to be part of her life no matter what the cost. He looked down at the bright glass eyes of the little zebra and the ache began to recede. By sharing what he could of Alyssa with Emily and her mother, his little girl could still live on, still be remembered, still be loved.
He patted the cold stone. “Good-bye, sweetie. Daddy will come and visit you really soon.”
Reece rose slowly and turned to Rebecca’s grave. “Hi, Becca.” He gently placed the red rose beside his wife’s memorial. While their marriage had never been passionate, Becca had always been his best friend and her sudden loss had left a gap he’d never filled.
His voice was ragged. “I suppose you heard me talking to Alyssa. It’s true. I’ve seen our daughter. Emily…looks like you in so many ways.” He pressed his lips firmly together. “I don’t know where this will all go, but I’m going to keep my promise, Becca…I’ll take care of her.”
The Switched Baby Scandal (A Scandals of San Sebastian Novel) (Entangled Bliss) Page 5
