Page 225 of The Single Dads Club
“The man whose baby she thought she was carrying not a week before? Hardly the natural choice, don’t you think? You told her you were disappointed about not having a baby. Do you think she wanted to make you the person who told her she might never have a baby?”
My breath caught in my chest and, slowly, I shook my head. “I guess I never thought of it that way.”
“That’s the way it is.” My mother set her coffee down on the table between us, then rested back against the sofa cushions. “So, sweetheart, it makes complete sense why she went to Dr. Thomas.”
“But that’s not the part I should be wondering about?”
She shook her head.
“Care to enlighten me, oh wise one?” I asked.
She folded her hands together. After letting out one long breath, she said, “Haven’t you wondered what’s going on in this girl’s head that every time you get close to her, she freaks out and runs away?”
“Well, she told me she got weird about intimacy.”
“Yes, but why? What do you know about her past? Any boyfriends who left her? If her parents’ relationship was bad?”
“Shit.” Icy realization crept down my spine. The most important relationship a woman had was with her father. Bren had lost hers at a young age, before she’d matured into a successful adult and long before she was ready. I couldn’t even imagine what it felt like to lose a parent, especially during those angsty teenage years.
Mom continued on. “I imagine you told her about my cancer and the divorce, but she never reciprocated at all?”
I blinked, trying to focus in on my mother’s words in a way that might force them to make sense. “She lost her father,” I finally uttered.
Mom nodded. “She has a fear of abandonment. My suggestion is to go to her. The longer you let her stew in her thoughts, the more she’s going to convince herself she did the right thing by leaving you. Whatever is making her run isn’t going away anytime soon. In order to open her warm, loving center, you’re going to need to peel away her fear layer by layer. If she’s worth it, you have to try.”
I nodded. “I will. Thanks, Mom.”
She rose from the couch, giving my shoulder a soft pat. “Anytime. You actually caught me on my way out.”
I hugged my mother goodbye and set off for my place, the desperate need to see Bren almost making me pull a U-turn and go straight to her place. But I needed a moment to think, to come up with a plan—figure out the right words to say. I wasn’t about to let us end like this. I’d spent my whole life searching for my one perfect mate, and I’d finally found her. I just had to make her see it.
When I pulled to a stop in front of my place, Bren’s car was already parked outside. The sky outside was turning an ominous shade of gray and a rumble of thunder vibrated in the distance.
“Bren,” I breathed. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”
She shoved a strand of golden hair behind her ear. “Sorry, I had a lot on my mind and when I got in my car, I just drove. I ended up here.” She let out a massive sigh, her eyes just as dark and stormy as the sky overhead.
“It’s fine. I was thinking we should talk too.”
A crack of thunder made Bren flinch.
“Come on.” I tugged her toward the house.
Once inside we toed off our shoes and I lead her into the living room. “Something to drink?” I asked as we passed the kitchen. Bren shook her head, stopping in front of the windows.
For a moment we just stared at each other, neither one wanting to break the charged silence.
“You were right,” we said the words in unison, then met eyes, both of us afraid to laugh.
I hesitated, waiting for Bren to speak, and then she offered me a small smile and began.
“There are certain things about me that I don’t like to share with people. But now… with you . . . ” She shook her head.
I smiled but didn’t speak. I wanted her to be open to telling me whatever she had on her mind.
“I told you about my dad on the plane, but I guess I left out the parts about how it affected me.”
My stomach dropped, but I stayed quiet as she rushed to continue.
