Defender: A Stepbrother Romance
Page 15
“I’m here if you need me.”
I nodded, afraid to look at her because I was afraid my courage would shatter. It was hard enough to get out of the house without caving in to Crawford’s demands that he go with me.
I crossed to the barn and paused inside the door for a minute. He was carving what might become a dove out of a large piece of marble. It was beautiful, filled with white and pink streaks that only added to the beauty of the piece beginning to take shape under his hands. I watched for a long while, remembering the many, many times I’d done it as a child. I had wanted for my child to grow up around the art, to watch his magic unfold. I’d always thought my Daddy was a magician. Or an angel. I wanted my children to see their grandfather that way.
“It’s beautiful.”
He turned, a proud smile in his eyes. But then he saw me and the smile died. His eyes moved briefly to my swollen belly, then he turned again, focusing on the marble as though it was the only important thing in the entire room.
“You can’t ignore me forever.”
His shoulders tightened, but he didn’t speak.
“You told me that all you wanted was for me to happy. And I am happy.”
He made a noise, something like a groan, but again he didn’t turn to look at me, didn’t say anything.
“We’re not related by blood, and you never adopted him or anything—“
“Only because his father refused to give up his rights.”
That made me pause a little. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, well, that’s because you were a child. We didn’t want to burden you with it.” He dropped his chisel and turned to face me. “It doesn’t change the fact that we raised the two of you together. You were raised as siblings. There’s nothing different between that and two children born of the same mother and father.”
“But there is, don’t you see that? Sure we spent some time growing up together, but—”
“You followed him around everywhere he went.”
“Because I was fascinated with him. Because I loved him, even then.”
My Dad shook his head, anger clear in his eyes. “Because you looked up to him. He was your brother.”
“He’s my brother, but I don’t know if I ever fully looked at him that way.”
“But I did.”
“I know that. But I…” I shook my head, frustrated because I didn’t know what else to say. “You told me I was like my mother. That she was always who she was, even when she was sick and dying. And that I was the same. That I would always be me no matter what happened. And that’s true, Daddy. I’m still me even though I fell in love with Crawford.”
He turned away, moving around the room, adjusting tools on his worktables.
“I love him, Daddy. He wants to marry me. He wants for us to be a family. But I can’t marry him without you. I want your blessing. I want you to walk me down the aisle.” Tears were falling down my cheeks. “I want to be a family again. I know I disappointed you. I know you don’t understand. But this is the way things are. And you have to make a choice. You have to decide if you want to be a part of our family the way it is now.”
I reached up and wiped the moisture from my cheeks with the back of my hand. “You never gave me a choice when you asked Mom to be your wife, when you brought her and Crawford into our family. But you have a choice. I really want you to be a part of this, but I can’t keep waiting. The baby will be here soon, and I want her to have Crawford’s name. And I want him or her to have a grandfather. I know you can understand that.”
He stood completely still by the worktable and didn’t say a word, the tension in his shoulders so tight that he looked as solid as the marble he was carving.
“Please Daddy… I know it’s not exactly what you want but I need you.”
I waited for a moment, but I was met with nothing but silence.
“I love you, Dad,” I mumbled through tears.
There was nothing else I could say. I turned and walked away.
Twenty-Seven
Crawford
I knew the moment I saw her that it was a moment that would forever live in my memory. Her dark hair swept off her shoulders, her swollen body swathed in white silk. She was the most beautiful bride a man could imagine. Was it bad that all I could think about was how hard it was going to be to get her out of the dress? She shared my bed every single night, yet I still couldn’t get enough of her.
She smiled as she looked toward the altar, her lips widening when she met my eyes. If someone had told me a year ago, even just seven months ago that I would be standing there, I never would have believed them. Me, get married? Have a baby? No way. I was the guy who liked to pick the prettiest girl in the nightclub and dance with her just long enough to get her into the bathroom then fuck her bent over the sink. But that guy…he died a very swift death the moment Eden said she wanted me.
She was my dream come true.
The church was full. My mother was sitting in front of me, tears already falling over her rounded jaw. Kendra was beside her, holding her hand and feeding her tissues. Nearly everyone in town was in the pews behind her, friends from high school, my English teacher among them, as well as the clerk from the grocery store and the teenage pump jockey who filled my car with gas just that morning.
But they were all just background props as Eden began the final march of her single adulthood. I wanted to rush to her, pull her into my arms and refuse to let her go. No one had told me how nerve-wracking that part would be. What if she changed her mind at the last minute? What if she realized what a bad deal she’s getting and ran for the hills?
But her eyes never left mine. She walked slowly, more because of her swollen belly than the slow tempo of the wedding march. She reached out her hand for me the moment she was close enough, but then Dad turned her to him and whispered a couple of words in her ear before lifting her veil and setting it carefully in place.
When he handed her to me, there was pride in his eyes.
Finally, acceptance.
“I know you’ll be a good father,” he said to me the night before. “You’re kind and patient but smart enough to know when to be firm. That’s the part I was never very good at. But you…you’ll be everything to your child that I always wanted to be to mine.”
“You’re a wonderful Dad,” I replied. “I wouldn’t know how to be a father if not for you.”
He smiled that smile he often wore when he felt his esteem had been bolstered. “Just be who I couldn’t be to Eden. I’ve made some mistakes. Don’t repeat them.” He touched my arm lightly. “And take care of my daughter. She uh… loves you.” Even as he said it, I could still sense the slight discomfort in his voice. “Don’t ever make her feel that her love is misplaced.”
It took a while for him to come around. Slowly, we were able to visit the house without him running us out, then eventually we got through a few uncomfortable silent dinners together. When he found out that I had proposed, I suppose he realize that nothing was going to tear Eden and I apart. Our love was real, no matter how unconventional it may have been.
And he loved Eden unconditionally. No matter how angry he got, he couldn’t shut her out of his life forever.
It meant everything to me to have earned my stepdad’s trust. And to have his blessing after such a hard road meant everything to Eden. The day wouldn’t have been nearly as perfect if he hadn’t accepted our marriage.
All the darkness that had brought us together was finally behind us. As I took Eden’s hand in mine and turned to face the priest, we looked towards the future. I believed no matter what it held, we would always face it together.
Eden and I.
Mom & Dad.
Family.
That was all that mattered.
The End
Kira Ward is an steamy romance author. To receive her unreleased books and updates free, join her mailing list here:
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