The One That Slipped Away

by LaShawn Vasser

  She looked down at her feet, too afraid he’d see the truth in her eyes. “Thank you.”

  Harrison drank in the sight of her. “Mia, I’m sorry.”

  At first, she stood there without any reaction at all. Then, Mia took a deep breath and rolled her head around. “You apologized the other night, and I don’t need to hear that anymore.”

  “I suppose you don’t, but I needed to say it.” He hesitated. “You and Michael have a child together?”

  Her head snapped up, and she wrapped her arms around her body. “Harrison, what is this all about? Why are you really here?”

  “I never slept with her.”

  She turned her head away. Angry at herself for the ache in her chest and for how small her voice sounded. “If you didn’t, it was probably only a matter of time. We were broken. Our relationship was in trouble.”

  “Mia . . .” Harrison raked his hand through his hair. “After my father died, I tried to keep it together and be strong for everyone, but I couldn’t find my footing. I made a lot of mistakes during that time. It’s absolutely, no excuse for what happened, and I’m not making any. I just wanted you to know after you left, it took me awhile to get myself together.” Harrison reached into his inner suit pocket. “I tried to contact you, but by this time, you weren’t answering my calls.”

  Briefly, Mia closed her eyes. She remembered it well, but she couldn’t understand why he continued to say he tried to contact her. There were no phone calls or messages. What she did remember were the sleepless nights and having to go through her pregnancy alone. Mia’s voice broke. “Harrison, please. I don’t want to revisit that time in my life.”

  He managed to close the gap between them before she even realized it. “I know you don’t believe that I wanted to make it right, but honestly, I tried.” He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her.

  Mia looked at the worn document for a long time but didn’t take it. Instead, she glanced back up at him. “W-what’s this?”

  “It’s the letter I wrote that you returned.”

  Her eyebrows drew together. “I never saw this, so it would have been impossible for me to return it.”

  “Whether you returned it or not doesn’t really matter. You never saw it, and it came back to me.” He laughed, but it was pained. “It took me two months to write. I had hoped you would give me a chance to prove how sorry I was and that . . . I loved you.”

  Mia didn’t know what to say, so she remained quiet. There was a time she would have given her left arm to hear those words.

  “Please take it.”

  Her hands were a little unsteady as she reached out for it. Their hands touched briefly causing Mia to suck in a breath. She wasn’t prepared for her response to him.

  He wasn’t prepared for it either and couldn’t ignore the energy between them. It wasn’t a lot to give him hope, but it was something.

  Mia snatched her hand back like she’d been burned by a fire. To cover for her response, she turned around and placed the letter on her desk. She just needed a minute to gather herself. As soon as she sat it down, the door to her office burst open.

  Michael stood in the doorway. Angry wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the look on his face. “Well, well, well. I guess now I know why you haven’t been answering your phone and accepting my calls.” He focused on Harrison. “It’s good to see you again, but since you’re my client why the hell are you here with my fiancée?”

  Chapter 27

  Mia’s eyes widened in surprise. “Michael! What are you doing here?”

  He shrugged. “Apparently, interrupting something.” Michael continued to look back and forth between them.

  Harrison didn’t owe Michael a damn thing and remained silent.

  Michael stepped further in the room and focused his anger directly at him. “I asked you why the hell are you here talking to my fiancée?”

  Harrison knew he was in the wrong and would probably have behaved the same way as Michael, but he didn’t care. The man had Mia, and that alone made him want to snap his neck.

  Mia walked quickly over to Michael and pressed a calming hand on his chest before things got out of control while closing her door. “My life is not fodder for office gossip, Michael. Harrison and I had something to discuss.”

  Michael bucked his eyes. “Is he the reason I couldn’t reach you?”

  “I have a life, Michael. A career. I was busy. I was going to call you later.” Mia touched her hand to her forehead. “Please don’t overreact.”

  “Too busy . . . for me? The man you’re planning on marrying. But, when I come to see you, you’re all hugged up with an ex. Explain to me again how I’m supposed to react?”

  “Michael, please. We weren’t hugged up, and it’s not what you think.”

  He raised his voice and pushed Mia’s hands off of him. “Please what? If it’s not what I think, then tell me what it is?”

  Harrison crossed the room in seconds and snatched Michael up by the lapels of his suit. “You need to calm the hell down. You put your hands on Mia again, and you’re going to have a real problem.”

  Michael tried to push Harrison back, but he didn’t budge. He did somehow manage to rear back his fist in an attempt to punch him, but Mia grabbed his arm before he could throw it and connect. “Stop. Please, Michael. Stop!” He snatched his arm away and in the process smacked Mia in the face knocking her down onto the floor.

  Harrison saw red. He pushed Michael away so forcefully that he smacked into the wall. Michael struggled as Harrison flipped him around pinning his arms behind his back and smashing the side of his head against the wall. “I asked you to calm the hell down; now I'm telling you.”

  Michael spat out. “Screw you!”

  Harrison responded through gritted teeth. “I suppose lawyers don’t need their arms.” He pulled them back even further. Michael winced and yelled out in pain. “Get it together before I break both of them.”

  Mia scrambled to get off of the floor. She held the cheek Michael struck her on with her hand and pleaded with them both. “Please, stop. Don’t do this. My god, I work here!”

  Breathing hard, Michael stopped struggling.

  Harrison held him against the wall a little longer than necessary before finally releasing him. As soon as he did, Michael turned around. The fury in his eyes was unmistakable and trained directly on Mia. “You were lucky to have me. Fortunate that I would want to give you my name, and your daughter, a father.”

  Mia could see it in his face what he was about to do. “Don’t do this Michael.”

  He ignored her. “You let this white boy use and abandon you while you were pregnant. Don’t come crawling back to me when he does it again.”

  Harrison’s eyes flew to Mia’s. The verbal sucker punch knocked the wind out of him, so when Michael pushed against him, Harrison stumbled backward. A feather could have knocked him over. Michael created just enough space to side step him.

  “Put the ring that you never wore in the mail, Mia.” Michael snatched the door open so forcefully that it flew back and crashed into the wall behind it.

  *****

  Harrison wasn’t sure he could stand. “Mia, did I hear him correctly? What did he mean when he said I abandoned you while you were pregnant?”

  The tears started to stream down her face. She wrapped her hands around the base of her neck. Mia could barely form words. “Harrison, I . . . “

  His eyes were desperate. “What. Did. He. Mean?” His voice was hoarse. “Do I have a daughter?”

  Mia squeezed her eyes shut. The moments it took for her to answer felt like an eternity to Harrison. Finally, she whispered. “Yes.”

  His breathing was uneven. Harrison’s jaw clenched. His own voice sounded strange even to him when he responded. “That would make her around five years old?”

  Mia nodded.

  “I want to see her.”

  Her eyes flew open. “Harrison, that’s not a good idea.”

  It
was his turn to be furious. “I don’t care what happened between us, Mia. You hid my child from me for five years. FIVE YEARS! I want to see her. I have a right to see her!”

  Mia pressed her lips together. “Not like this. Please, not like this. She’s so smart, and she’ll pick up on everything.”

  Harrison wanted to see her this very minute, but Mia had a point. It wouldn’t hurt for him to have a few hours to absorb what he’d just learned.

  Dammit! He was a father.

  “When?”

  Her voice was so low he almost couldn’t hear her. “Can you meet me at my house tomorrow?”

  Harrison wanted to explode. It took everything for him to remain just outside of calm. “Tomorrow? Are you kidding me? I want to see her today, Mia. TO-DAMN-DAY!”

  This nightmare couldn’t be happening. Only it wasn’t a nightmare, Mia was completely awake. She was on the edge of falling apart and doing everything to keep it together. Breathless, she responded. “Okay. Just give me a few hours to take her home and explain everything.”

  Harrison expected an explanation too, but his first priority was meeting his five-year-old little girl. “What’s her name?” He couldn’t believe it. He had a damn daughter and didn’t even know her name.

  Mia whispered, “Autumn.”

  *****

  After Harrison left, Mia came home with Autumn unsure of what to say to her. She was literally at a loss. He was going to be over soon, so she needed to have the conversation with her right away.

  “Sweetheart, mommy needs to talk to you.”

  Autumn was full of energy. Bright eyes and wild hair came bouncing up to Mia with the sweetest smile. “O’kay.”

  “Why don’t you have a seat on the couch with me?” Mia patted the empty spot next to her, and Autumn hopped up to sit beside her.

  She innocently looked into Mia’s eyes. The guilt of her decision was so overwhelming Mia thought she might choke on it. “In a little while, someone is going to come over to meet you.”

  Autumn blinked a few times. “Me?”

  “Yep.”

  “Who mommy?”

  Mia fought back tears. “His name is Mr. Harrison.”

  “You cry’n? Is he nice?”

  Mia sniffed. “These are happy tears.” She picked Autumn’s hand up and kissed it. “He’s very nice and really excited to meet you.”

  Autumn giggled. “Excited to meet me?”

  “He sure is.” Mia took a deep breath and just said it. “Autumn, Harrison is your dad.”

  Her eyes widened. “I have a dad like my friends at school?”

  That comment was a dagger to her heart. Mia threw her head back trying to shake off the pain it caused before refocusing her attention back to Autumn. She’d thought her baby girl was too young to realize she didn’t have a father. Had she wanted a dad all along like the other kids? “Do you want one?”

  Autumn screamed and laughed. “Yes! I can be like everybody else.”

  Mia forced a smile. “Good, because you have one, and he can’t wait to meet you.”

  Excitedly, Autumn clapped her hands. “Mommy, can I wear my new dress?”

  Mia smiled through watery tears. “If you want.”

  “I want to be pretty.” She touched her curls and frowned. “My hair?”

  “We can fix it up too.”

  Autumn hopped off the couch and grabbed her mom’s hand. “Hurry mommy. I want to look nice when I meet him. I hope he likes me.”

  *****

  Harrison compared the address on the card Mia gave him to the address on the house where the GPS led him. It was the same. He sat in her driveway at the end of the cul-de-sac still in shock.

  As soon as he’d left her office, Harrison immediately canceled his return flight to Chicago and went to the toy store.

  He was nervous. He took a deep breath and got out of the car, walking up the neat little pathway lined with an array of different colored flowers.

  He didn’t know what Autumn liked but hoped she appreciated his gifts. Harrison held a pink and white teddy bear in a death grip along with a small bouquet of daisies. The florist said they should fit nicely in a five-year-old's hands. He wondered how big her hands could be.

  Harrison rang the doorbell.

  He heard the pitter-patter of footsteps running towards him from behind the door and a small little voice. “He’s here! He’s here!” Moments later, the door slowly crept open. He came face-to-face with Mia then looked down into the eyes of a little girl whose eyes were a mirror reflection of his . . . and his own father’s. They were wide with curiosity.

  Harrison kneeled down. His hands shook. “Hi, Autumn. I’m . . .” He didn’t know how he should introduce himself and looked up to Mia for guidance.

  Her face fell. She didn’t know what to say either.

  Autumn answered for both of them. Her smile was huge. “You’re my daddy.”

  His throat completely closed up on him. He couldn’t speak, so he nodded. He had to clear it a couple of times before being able to talk. “I brought you something. I hope you like them.” He handed her the teddy bear and flowers.

  Autumn beamed. “Thank you!” She reached out for the bear and flowers. She hugged the bear to her chest and smelled the flowers like she’d seen her mother do when she would receive them. “I never got flowers b’fore.”

  Harrison had already fallen in love. “I’ll give you flowers every day for the rest of your life if you want.”

  Innocently, Autumn giggled even more.

  Mia stood back and watched the interaction between them. She hated to interrupt but thought they should continue the reunion inside. “Harrison, please come in.”

  He couldn’t take his eyes off of Autumn. However, he managed to get up off of his knees. Autumn handed him her flowers. Confused he took them. She placed her hand in his then pulled him along. “C’mon Daddy let me show you my room.”

  Chapter 28

  Harrison’s trip to Phoenix had been an absolute bombshell. First, his unexpected face to face with Mia that was six years overdue was still tripping him up and secondly, finding out they had a child together. It was almost too much to believe. Even two days after returning home, Harrison was still in shock and couldn’t have imagined he had a five-year-old daughter.

  He hadn’t gotten very much sleep since the day he found out about Autumn, but when Harrison did wake up from those brief periods of rest, it would take him almost a full minute to realize none of it had been a dream - He was a father. What was even more surprising was how quickly his heart got all twisted when he had to leave her back in Phoenix. The instant they’d met, he’d fallen totally and completely in love.

  Frustrated, Harrison ran his hand down his face. How could Mia keep something like that from him? He understood their relationship was in a bad place when she left, and looking back, he wasn’t proud of how he allowed his friends and family to treat her. Hell, how he treated her was even worse.

  Harrison knew that his heart had hardened over the years. The day he discovered the level of deceitfulness from people he trusted – his mother and friends, it rocked him to his core. Not only was it devastating, but Harrison was also left reeling after never fully recovering from the betrayal that almost ripped him apart.

  Some of those relationships were completely over, and he wouldn’t ever try to repair them. However, his relationship with his mother that was a little more complicated. It took two years before they even spoke again after that day. Her lies and deceit hurt the most. She was his mother. He loved her with every fiber of his being. Yet, there were times he couldn’t stand to be in the same room with her. Even after all of these years, their relationship was still very fragile.

  There were moments Harrison wanted to move past it all, but his memories wouldn’t allow it. He was haunted by them. Every time he replayed his mother’s part in the schemes to ruin his relationship with Mia, he was consumed with an anger that at times was overwhelming.

  Harrison couldn’
t help but wonder how a parent could be so devious with someone they gave birth to? His anger was always tempered knowing he played a part in the downfall of his relationship. He couldn’t allow his mother and former friends to take all the blame. As pissed as he was with them, some of that anger needed to be directed squarely at himself for not listening more to Mia’s concerns – for thinking they were more about her insecurities than legitimate issues.

  Even though the specific incident happened shortly after Mia left, sometimes it still felt as if it were only yesterday. That couldn’t have been truer after finally seeing her again.

  Harrison closed his eyes and dropped his head. His chin rested on his chest as he thought about the day that changed his life.

  He’d come over to his mother’s house to check on her. She’d been in a bad place because another anniversary of his father’s funeral was looming. Harrison hadn’t been in the best of moods either if he was honest about it. He supposed that was why when he’d seen Liberty and her mother’s car in the driveway, it was no surprise. They had been a big support to her.

  Harrison walked up the three steps to the door and sighed to himself. He was in no mood to deal with all the overt flirting that came along with being in the same room with Liberty or their mother’s trying to push them off on each other. One thing he knew for sure – he was not interested in Liberty Landon. He’d made mistakes and wished he could do so many things over.

  Harrison used his key to enter the house so there was no reason to ring the doorbell. As he crossed the threshold into the living room, he heard voices coming from the kitchen. He walked over in that direction.

  “I would have done anything to get her out Harrison’s life. I’m just glad she’s gone.”

  Harrison froze. He immediately recognized his mother’s voice.

  “We tried to warn him, but Harrison wouldn’t listen to us. I told Mia to her face that she was only after Harrison’s money and that she was just a placeholder until he and Liberty got back together. There was no way I was going to prop that tragic relationship up.” Amber responded snidely.