Page 32 of Like the Season
“No, sorry.”
“It still boggles my mind that they just…threw her out.” When she looked at him again, there were tears in her eyes. “Like garbage. How could theydothat to her?”
He gathered her into his arms. “Because people are shitty and do shitty things sometimes. If it takes too much time, I’ll find out who you have to contact in the military to see if they have records on them. As their granddaughter, you might be able to do that.”
“I don’t know why I want to find them. Not like they wanted me or Mom. If anything, I want to tell them off. Tell them what assholes they are.”
“It’s human nature to want to come from somewhere, to know your roots.”
“I know she felt discarded,” Ella said, breaking his heart. “Not by you—by her parents. She told me every night how much she loved me, and how she’d never abandon me the way they did her. She wanted to make sure I never felt like that. I could talk to her about anything, no matter what.”
He didn’t have a response for that.
When her phone rang, she frowned when she looked at the screen.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“It’s Rick McDorman.”
“Don’t answer it. Send it to voice mail. Depending on what he says, you might need to save that to play for Lorena Calgary.”
She did just that, both of them waiting to see if he left a message.
Stupid bastard did.
“Listen, you bitch. I told you I’m not paying for your baby. You know fucking well I didn’t coerce you to have sex with me. You called me! You’d better go to HR tomorrow and retract your statement, or so help me, I will fucking ruin you. If I lose my job because of you, you’ll regret it.”
“Guess I’m going to HR first thing in the morning to play that for her,” she said. “And I guess I can forget him willingly paying for anything.”
“Probably for the best. Want me to go in with you to talk to her?”
“No, I can do it.” She laid her hand on her stomach again. “So how do I break it to her that her father’s an asshole who wanted me to abort her?”
“Or him.”
“I’ve been thinking of her as a her. I mean, I don’t know. Just a hunch.” She stared at her stomach and then patted it. “Sorry, kiddo. You deserve better than that loser.”
“She’ll have two grandfathers who will kick anyone’s asses who so much as look at her wrong.” He smiled. “Think of it like that.”
Her sad smile nearly broke his heart. “It’s way better than the alternative.”
“Alternative?”
“Of having no one but me.”
* * * *
Tuesday morning, Boyd got up before Ella did and was waiting for her in the kitchen to send her to work with a hug. “You sure you don’t want me going to work with you and hanging out in a waiting room or something in case you need me to kick his ass for you?”
At least he got a smile from her. “I can adult,Dad, but thanks.”
“Oooh, I’m getting sarcasm already.” He grinned. “I like that.”
This time, her smile looked a little easier as she hugged him again. “You’re making it hard to want to stick to my plan to work as long as I can before I move. Which is the adult choice, because I need my insurance and I’m supporting myself.”
“And yet your old man is begging you to let him help you out. Self-reliant, but stubborn.” He smiled. “Like I said, you get it honestly from me.” He slipped into the accent. “Ah, you betcha.”
That earned him a giggle. “I promise I’ll text or call you if I feel I need parental backup today. Otherwise, I won’t be back until at least seven. Here’s a spare key for you.”
