“I guess so.” She started up the stairs. “I’ll be out of here by tomorrow night.”
“No rush. It’s not like I need this house. I’ll go back to the city and stay there.”
“Can you have the nursery taken apart and shipped to me?”
He nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
“Helen will be happy you’re on the market again.”
The mere thought of him spending time with the pushy neighbor set her teeth on edge, but she quickly reminded herself it wasn’t her business. Soon, they would be divorced. He would be a part of her past.
He rolled his eyes.
She started moving up the stairs again, but he stopped her with a question.
“Do you plan to kick me out of my daughter’s life?” he asked. “Are you going to hold me to our original agreement and force me to sign over my rights?”
Was it her imagination or was there a trace of pain in his voice?
She sighed. “I told you already that you can have as much or as little to do with her as you want. It’s up to you. I would never cheat my child out of a father thatwantsto be in her life.”
Whether he would be a father like that remained to be seen.
“You can have this house,” he said. “I don’t use it.”
“I think the baby and I will be better off in New York.”
“I want to pay child support.” He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to protest. “If you don’t want the money, you can put it in a college fund. I just need to know my daughter lacks for nothing.”
Sweet. Katie blinked rapidly and dug fingernails into her palms to keep from crying in front of him. “I’ll never ask for a dime, but I won’t throw it back in your face either, not as long as it’s for the baby.”
Chase smiled, but it was laced with sadness. “She’s a lucky girl to have such a great mom.”
He walked out without another word, and Katie sank down on the stairs. The dam opened, and tears flowed. She cried for her little girl because she’d probably grow up without her daddy in her life. She cried for Chase because he would have been a loving father if he would just dump the baggage his parents had burdened him with, and she cried for herself because she’d lost the man that taught her what real love felt like. What she’d felt for Phillip paled in comparison and probably wouldn’t have lasted for more than a few years.
The admission made her cry harder.
The baby kicked, and she gasped. Her hands went to her stomach. The baby kicked a second time. A smile stretched her lips, and joy nearly overwhelmed her. She wanted to tell Chase, share the joy with him, but then she remembered it was over. He was gone.
And she doubted he would care about the baby kicking anyway.
She made a vow to her unborn child that she wouldn’t let Chase into her life unless he proved to her that he saw the baby as more than a possession to rule over. If he loved her, he could be in her life. But he needed to convince Katie he loved the baby or he wasn’t getting anywhere near her.
Katie’s first priority had to be her child, even if her decision to walk away ripped her own heart out.
Chapter Seventeen
When Katie’s cell rang, her heart leaped into her throat. Hoping it was Chase, she quickly swept crumpled tissues off the bed in search of the noisy device. It was late at night, hours after he had stormed out of her life forever. She checked the number before answering and hope died.
Bringing the cell to her ear, she tried to steady her voice. “Hey, thanks for calling me back.”
“Are you okay?” Bianca asked. “The message you left sounded cryptic, not at all like you. What’s up?”
Katie squeezed her eyes shut, and a fresh tear rolled down her damp cheek. “I was just w-wondering if you still want me to move to New York?”
“Yes!” Bianca started laughing. “Sorry for yelling in your ear, but this is incredible. I never thought you’d agree to the move. We’ll have so much fun and... wait a second. What’s going on? Why do you want to move here all of a sudden?”
“I’m getting a divorce a little earlier than expected, and I think a change of scenery would be good for me.”