Page 134 of One Good Puck
Chapter 52
Abby
“Levi.” It feels so weird to say his name.
His eyes are wide as he gazes at me. Like he can’t quite believe it’s me.
He takes a few steps forward and opens his mouth to say something, but then looks at Emma. He stops dead in his tracks. His brow hits his hairline. For a long moment, he stares at her.
He clears his throat. “Emma.”
She smiles at him, then looks at me. “Mom, is this your friend?”
I open my mouth to speak, but I can’t. I’m still processing the shock of seeing Levi after all these years.
And the shock of how…happy he looks to see her. He’s never, ever looked at her like that before.
I shake my head, feeling dizzy and disoriented, wishing I knew the right thing to say. I don’t want to lie to Emma. But I don’t want to get into the painful history of her dad in the middle of a Christmas tree farm.
Just then, I feel Gavin’s hand on my arm. Concern radiates in his ocean blue eyes as he gazes at me.
He digs a few dollars out of his pocket and hands them to Emma. “Why don’t you run up to the gift shop and grab a Christmas cookie. See if they have any gingerbread ones. Your favorite, right?”
“Right,” Emma says brightly before running off to the small gift shop just ahead, just a few feet away. She waves at Levi as she trots past him.
Levi’s gaze follows her as she runs off and disappears behind the gift shop door.
A protective feeling courses through me. Every muscle in my body is tense, on high alert. I watch Emma through the giant window of the gift shop as she looks at the cookies before turning back to Levi.
“What are you doing here, Levi? I thought you moved away.”
He turns to look at me and shoves his hands in his coat pockets. “I, uh, came back for my job.”
The look in his brown eyes is sheepish. Like he’s embarrassed. And ashamed.
Good. He should be. He abandoned his daughter when she was an infant without a second thought.
The three of us stand around, the tension in the air growing thicker with each passing second of silence.
Levi lets out a heavy sigh, his shoulders sinking with the movement. “Look, I know how hard this must be for you, seeing me like this. It’s not like I planned to run into you and Emma.”
He looks at Gavin, who’s glaring at Levi.
“Do you know how hard this is?” I say sharply.
“Come on, Abby,” he says in a tired voice. “You know I’m sorry for how I left things.”
I let out a laugh that’s pure disbelief, riddled with anger.
“You are unbelievable. A real piece of work.” I tug ahand through my hair, pissed off and frustrated and feeling like I’m going to explode. “You abandoned us, Levi. Emma was barely six months old when you decided you didn’t feel like being a dad anymore and ran out on us. You didn’t try to reach out. Seven years and we never heard a word from you. So no, I don’t know that you’re sorry. But as far as I’m concerned, you never acted very sorry for leaving us.”
His face twists in pain. “I deserved that.”
“You deserve worse,” I say, wiping the hot tears that have fallen down my face.
“Let me make this right, Abby. Can I…can I tell Emma that I’m her dad? Maybe I can start visiting her too…”
That protective feeling from earlier sharpens. My adrenaline spikes up, and I glare at him.
