Page 41 of Shimmering Emeralds
38
Levi
My first instinct was to openly blame Meg for my absence from my little girl’s life. I didn’t want Harper to think it was my choice not to be with her, or that I had in any way neglected her. This had been Meg’s decision, and now she needed to deal with the consequences of her choices.
Knowing that my first job was to reassure my little girl that my absence from her life had nothing to do with her, I cleared my throat and prepared to answer her distraught questions about where I’d been all of this time and why.
When I glanced at Meg, her strong, yet heartbroken nod made me waver. It was obvious that she wanted the truth to come out as much as I did, but she was the one who was facing all of the risk here. After spending time in this room with her, it was clear that Meg loved her daughter more than anything.
As angry as I was at Meg for keeping this secret, I couldn’t crush her by risking ruining her relationship with our daughter. Rather than following my initial instinct of being outraged and placing the blame on Meg for the years we missed together, I downplayed her role. Harper would likely figure it all out eventually, but hopefully, she and I would have forged enough of a relationship that she would find a way to forgive her mother.
With my eyes locked on my beautiful daughter, I spoke with utter sincerity. “I have been your Daddy all along, sweet girl. I just didn’t know about it until a few days ago. I’ve been in Nashville recording the music you and your Mama listen to, but I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. Being your Daddy is the most important thing in the world to me, and I want to spend every minute I can with you.”
The relief that crossed my daughter’s expression at my reassuring words nearly bowled me over. I would have never believed I could love anyone as much as I already loved this sweet cherub. The only person I’d ever come close to loving this much was Meg, but she had tarnished that love by keeping my daughter a secret from me.
“You’re not going back to Nashville? You’re staying here? Will you live with us like a real family?” Harper’s eyes were shining with barely-contained excitement.
My gaze darted to Meg’s in time to see the hurt expression shadow her eyes at Harper’s insinuation that they weren’t a ‘real’ family. Despite myself, I felt bad for the woman. I knew deep down that she had simply been being protective and doing what she felt was best for her child.
We hadn’t yet had a chance to discuss the logistics of how this would work or a custody arrangement, but I wanted to alleviate Harper’s concerns. Inserting more confidence into my tone than I felt, I said, “We’ll figure it all out, sweetpea.”
“I want you to live with us, Daddy.” Hearing my daughter call me that nearly melted me on the spot. I couldn’t have told her no if she asked me go to outer space and bring her back a constellation of stars.
Meg stepped in to help. “Daddy wants to live with you, honey, but he doesn’t want to have to put up with me. So, you’ll spend some time with him at his house and the rest of the time with me at our house. It will be like you have two houses and two families, so it will be double the fun!”
Despite how much Meg tried to make it sound great, the little girl wasn’t buying it. She was shaking her head back and forth vehemently. “That sounds like Micah’s divorceded parents. I don’t want to be a divorceded kid.”
Meg and I shared an amused look over the little girl’s adorable mispronunciation before Meg reassured the child. “Lots of kids grow up in families where the parents aren’t married or there’s only one parent, and it works out just fine. Aunt Claire and I both did, and so have you so far, and I think you’re pretty great. Adding Daddy to the mix will only make things even better for you.”
When Meg lightly tickled the child’s side, she giggled, and I found myself beaming at the two of them. It hit me then that I was at the proverbial fork in the road. I could keep a tight grip on my justifiable anger and try to forge a relationship with my little girl independent of Meg. Or I could forgive the love of my life and form a happy family with both of my favorite females.
It would be easy to be bitter. That’s how I knew it wasn’t what was right. Forgiving Meg would be difficult. It would take time and effort, but the rewards would be worth it. Life with Meg would never be easy, but even the worst day with her would be better than the best day without her.
Not aware of the life-altering, snap decision I made, Meg forged ahead with her attempts to comfort Harper. “No matter what happens, we both love you more than anything, and we only want what’s best for you.”
Watching the woman closely, since I was putting her on the spot, I said, “You know, I’m not sure I want you to have to shuffle back and forth between two separate houses. I think it might be kind of fun if we all lived under one roof.”
Meg’s surprised gaze darted to me. I lifted one of my brows in a silent challenge and was thrilled when one side of her mouth tipped up in happy acceptance.
“Kind of fun, huh?” She asked as the other side of her lips curved up.
I shrugged, pretending like it didn’t matter, even though it was all that mattered. “Maybe. But there would have to be some ground rules.”
Meg crossed her arms as if she was waiting for the catch. Sounding wary, she asked, “Like what?”
“Like you putting your clothes away, rather than stacking them on a chair or in piles on the floor.” Turning to Harper, I lifted a hand to my mouth to stage whisper, “I was in your house, and your mom is a slob.”
“Oh, is that how it’s going to be?” Meg asked, pretending to be outraged, despite her wide smile.
At my nod, she said, “Well, then, I’ll have to demand that you eat some real food. We’re humans, not rabbits.” Turning to Harper, she added, “The man eats nothing but vegetables.”
Harper cackled, enjoying our silly banter. The sound was better to my ears than the most beautiful music ever written.
Jumping in to join the fun, Harper said, “I have a rule for the ground, too.”
Intrigued, I asked, “And what would that be?”
“I want you two to be a Mommy and Daddy couple, not just a separate Mommy and Daddy.”
