Tingles covered me from head to toe. “Well, that’s just lovely for you, I guess. But I thought you’d never do it. You said she would get half of everything.” If I had stayed, would he have still divorced her? Had I screwed up by leaving so soon? By not telling him that he was a father? My stomach rolled over.
“She did. Half of everything that I had while we were married. That’s why I’m opening several new stores, W&P.” His words trailed off.
“Rebuilding the fortune, eh?” I scoffed. Of course he was. What else would he be doing in Kansas? Searching for me? Not likely.
Leslie ran in with her stick-horse. “You wanna ride Sally-Jo? I got her for my burfday.” She held out the stick-horse to him and my heart twisted. A sob caught in my throat. To see them interacting was almost more than my rollercoaster emotions could handle.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll be too heavy for Sally-Jo? I’d hate to break your birthday present.” He smiled lovingly at her. He seemed so at ease with her. I had never thought of him as the fatherly type. The roguish, rich, playboy type was more fitting with my mental image and memories of him.
“No, silly, she’s a pretend horsey.” Leslie giggled, tilted her head to the side and for a moment, she and Ross looked so similar. A tear slipped from my eye and I quickly stood, swiped it away, and walked to a window just to have an excuse to turn my back on the scene.
“Well, how about if I promise to take her for a ride in a little while? I need to finish talking to your mommy right now. Is that okay, Leslie?”
“Sure. You talk funny.”
Spinning, I said, “Leslie LeighAnn! That wasn’t nice. Apologize to Mr. Worthington.”
“His name is Ross.” She held Sally-Jo close in a hug.
“Apologize to Ross, then.” I wouldn’t allow bad manners. I had taught her better and expected better but I knew she was talking about Ross’s distinct Massachusetts accent.
She turned to him, looking at his feet. “Sorry, Ross. But you do talk funny.” She ran back toward the den.
Ross laughed loudly. He held up a hand to me. “It’s okay. It’s my accent, I’m sure.”
I sat at the table again, suddenly more mentally exhausted than I had been since finding out I was pregnant with Leslie.
“Why did you leave, Anastasia?” His voice was low, deep, and touched my heart. “You must have known that I loved you.”
“Loved me? No, I did not know. Never even suspected. You were married and carrying on an office romance with the new girl, Ross. That’s not what I would call love.” I didn’t realize I was yelling until Leslie ran to me and held up her arms.
I picked her up, fighting tears again, fighting the urge to yell more at Ross. How could I have ever known he was even thinking of love? It’s not like he ever told me. The real reason it angered me so much to hear it from him was that I had been falling in love with him just before I left. Had he told me how he felt, I might have stayed. Our family might not have been separated.
“How could you think otherwise?” His voice was full of tension, he was keeping it cool because of Leslie.
“Mommy, I love you!” She wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed tightly.
“I love you, too, sweetie. Always and forever.” I hugged her back.
Ross stood. “I had planned on telling you the day I gave you the coat. I wanted it to be a special weekend away from everything and everybody when I bared my heart.” He waved a hand over his head. “But then, you were gone. And now…” His eyes cut to Leslie and he stopped speaking.
There it was. The proverbial lightbulb had just turned on in his head. I held my breath and stood, holding Leslie tight and staring at him over her head.
He looked at me, his mouth dropped open and then it shut. He did this a few times, looking like a fish out of water. Pulling out the chair, he sat again. He pointed to Leslie and raised his eyebrows in question.
“What, Ross?” I wasn’t giving up the information just yet. At that moment, I was more scared than I had ever been.
“Anastasia, is she?” There was a sadness in his voice.
“It’s Leslie’s nap time, Ross.” I hurried up the stairs. Leslie waved to him over my shoulder.
“Bye, Ross.” I felt her wave at him and I heard the sob catch in his throat as I cleared the last riser and disappeared from his sight.