Page 33 of Rescuing Tobias

Almost like she would have had a chance.

How did you deal with complete indifference?

He didn't seem angry with the news, or disappointed, he wasn't happy, he just seemed to be nothing. Like it was no big deal. Like there wasn't going to be a child that was half his walking around out there without him being part of its life.

Only … the baby wasn't really half his.

Not if he wanted no part of its life.

Sure, biologically speaking, the baby was fifty/fifty him and her, but contributing sperm didn't make you a father. A father was someone who picked you up when you fell and encouraged you to try again. Who was there for you when you were scared, who shared in your joy with you, who wiped away your tears. A father was someone who made sure you never faced anything, good or bad, alone.

So since he wanted no part of this child’s life, the baby wasn't half his. He’d abdicated his rights to call this little one she carried his. Which meant that the baby growing inside her was all hers.

A terrifying thought.

As far as she was concerned, it was either play an active role in the child’s life or remain completely out of it. That included paying child support. If Tobias didn't want anything to do with their baby, then she didn't want his money.

He thought he could force her to take it, but he’d forgotten the name he’d christened her with the night he and a SEAL team had saved her life.

She was a firecracker. A fiercely independent one. There was no way in hell she was going to take a single cent from him, and he couldn’t make her.

Okay, that sounded a little childish, and she wished he’d given all three of them an opportunity to work something out so that their baby was well taken care of and loved. But he hadn't done that, he’d arbitrarily made the decision to back out, and in doing so, backed her into a corner.

“From here on out it’s just you and me, little one,” she whispered, caressing her stomach where it was hard to believe her baby was safely tucked away. “Somehow, we’ll figure out how to make it work. I promise you that I will do a better job oftaking care of you. Of taking care of both of us. You need me, and I'm not going to let you down.”

Not the way Tobias had let their baby down.

Or the way he’d let her down.

Because, right or wrong, she totally felt let down.

Maybe she hadn't gone expecting him to be thrilled with her news, but she’d expected him to talk it through with her. To ask some questions about how the pregnancy had been going, to ask about her plans, and discuss how they would move forward together. Because even if they weren'ttogethertogether, they were still the parents of this baby.

It was possible she’d even been hoping that this might be the spark they needed to come together as more than just the baby’s parents. The last month had been filled with thoughts of Tobias Ashford, a desire to get to know him, and spend more time with him. She thought she had accepted that he didn't feel the same way when he ignored her texts, but her disappointment right now told her otherwise.

Sitting alone in an airport waiting for a flight back to Becca and Connor’s place was not even one of the options on how she thought the day would end.

Sex was.

Stupid.

She needed to get her emotions under control when it came to Tobias. There was nothing there, and there wasn't going to be. He wasn't interested in her, the sex had probably been pity motivated, and she needed to find a way to let it go.

Only how was she supposed to do that when their baby was going to look a lot like him?

Their child was mixed race and would have darker skin like his or her father, and the same soulful brown eyes. Every time she looked at her little one, she would be reminded of a futurethat breezed briefly through her life but disappeared before she could grab hold of it and make it a reality.

Across from her, a little boy of about three, sitting on the floor building with some Duplo blocks began to howl when his tower fell down. His mother was sitting on a seat behind him, trying to bottle feed a fussy-looking baby, and while she attempted to soothe the little boy by reminding him he could just start over, it wasn't working.

Living as she had in impoverished villages, Isabella was used to everyone pitching in and helping. So she pushed out of her chair and approached the little family.

Catching the mother’s eye, she arched a brow and nodded at the child, silently asking if she could help. When the woman nodded, she sat down on the floor and crossed her legs.

“Hey, buddy, I was watching you build that super awesome tower, you got it so high! Do you think I could help you build another?” she asked.

His howls ceasing, the child eyed her warily for a moment, before his cute little face broke out into a grin. “Can we build it all the way to the roofs?”

“We can try,” she said enthusiastically as she picked up two blocks and joined them together.

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