Page 91 of This Baby Business
At this point, he didn’t care if Mr. Lane was apologizing under duress and in order to reconcile with his wife. He’d take it. “Apology accepted.”
“I can explain, not that it’s any excuse.”
“You don’t have to. I realize how hard this has been for you. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“No, I’m sure you didn’t. Grace is your daughter, and you have a right to raise her. Wherever you’d like.”
“A good job brought me out here, or I wouldn’t have taken her so far away.”
“It was meant to be, I’d say. Carly has a heart of gold. So did Sandy, despite what anyone else thought of her. I need to tell you something about her. I’m not trying to excuse what she did in any way. As fathers, we have it tough. We don’t always have a say in what happens. But even though you two weren’t together, sheshouldhave told you about Grace. You shouldn’t have found out the way you did.”
Levi nodded, but he wasn’t blameless, either, he could now admit. He hadn’t given Sandy his phone number or the slightest indication that he’d ever want to see her again. And the temporary nature of their relationship had come back to bite him in the butt in a most significant way. Would it have been different if he’d treated Sandy with more respect and consideration? Maybe she would have at least tried to contact him. Now, he’d never know.
“Sandy was a handful for most of her life. Her mother died, too, when Sandy was ten. Irene did her best, but Sandy remembered her mother too well and Irene was no substitute in her book.” He dragged a hand through his short hair. “We were too strict with her during the teenage years. When she went away to college, she went wild. And because she probably knew we wouldn’t approve, she didn’t keep in touch after she graduated. I thought maybe I could right my wrongs with her through Grace, which was a dickhead move. You don’t get to do this over again. Remember that if you don’t remember anything else.”
Levi didn’t speak, but he’d always remember those words.You don’t get to do this over again.
“My wife and I are going back home in a couple days.”
“Both of you?”
“Yeah.” Mr. Lane gave a half smile. “I’m finally listening to her. Truth is, I know I need help. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to talk to someone about all this…crap that’s swirling around in my head making it hard to think straight.”
Grief. Levi understood a little bit about that, too. “Smart.”
He pointed. “Women are smart. Remember that, too.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Irene assured me that Grace is a wonderful baby girl, smart and well cared for, and that you’ve had everything to do with that.”
Not just him.“And Carly.”
Interesting that after three failed attempts he’d wound up with a nanny who didn’t know babies but had managed to school them all. And it wasn’t because of her baby business; it was because of her heart.
“Right. She’s something. She called me, too. After getting off the phone with her, I won’t lie—I wanted to talk to my daughter. But I won’t get that chance.” His voice cracked. “Don’t you be an idiot, son. Make sure you tell the people you love how you feel every day.”
Levi drove home. Carly now usually met him at his place at the end of the day. One other thing she’d done for him without being asked was become Digger’s official dog walker. When he opened the door, Digger greeted him, wagging not just his tail but essentially his entire backside. Levi squatted, always feeling like a giant next to his dog. “Hey, Digger. What’s up.”
Digger ran to the sliding glass door and scratched on it to be let outside. He guessed that he was now officially stuck with his adopted mutt. According to Emily, he’d joined the club of flyers who’d wound up with a dog of their own through the program. Levi followed the sounds of splashing water and Grace’s squeals to the bathroom. Carly was probably giving Grace a bath in that new contraption someone had sent her to review. He heard her voice before he opened the bathroom door.
“Should we wash your hair now? This little plastic hat will keep the water out of your eyes. Why didn’t I think of this invention? I know the water is a shock to the eyes, but it’s not going to hurt you.” More splashing and squeals from Grace. “For dinner, you can have mashed carrots. I have no idea what I’m having for dinner. Or what your daddy is having. Do you think he wants to have dinner with me again tonight?”
“I know he does.”
Carly startled and turned. “Levi! You scared me.”
He stared for a moment, because damn, she was so beautiful. Her always wild, wavy blond hair fell partially over her right eye. She knelt beside the tub, slightly disheveled and wet from all of Grace’s splashing. Cheeks flushed. A breathtaking mess. His mess. So here he was, taking ownership. Staking his claim.
Make sure you tell the people you love how you feel every day.
She had his heart. The words, which were right on the tip of his tongue, caught in his throat. No wonder since his own parents had never been too keen on the words. Love was all in the actions, and the way Levi had been taught.
While he’d once thought Carly held back from him, the tough-to-face truth was that he was the one with issues here. He’d been the one to hold himself in check for years, his heart locked up tight, an ice man to the core. As long as he didn’t feel anything too deeply, he couldn’t be hurt. But first Grace, then Carly, had changed everything for him. Try as he might—and he had tried, at least with Carly—they’d both single-handedly wormed into his heart. With an ice pick.
Smart.
CHAPTER37
