Jenner stood there in the same place I left him. He noticed me, but then he saw Jenni. I studied every crease on his face. Was he confused or worried or overwhelmed? What did his expression mean?
“Jenner, I’d like you to meet our daughter, Jenni.”
He gave a soft smile, and then I noticed the moment my words hit him. The smile froze, and he blinked a lot. “Did you just sayourdaughter?”
I nodded. “Yes. Jenni, say hi to your dad.”
She waved at Jenner and then put her head on my shoulder, obviously tired from the ER visit.
“But how did this... I mean, when did you...?” Jenner shook his head.
After a few moments of what appeared to be confusion, he nodded and turned, then walked out of the hospital. I sucked in a breath in a desperate attempt to keep Jenni from seeing me cry as her father ran away instead of getting to know his daughter.
Chapter 9
Jenner
There was a knock on the door. “Go away,” I called out.
The knock came again, but I ignored it.
It was Wednesday afternoon, two days since Lola introduced me to our daughter.
I had a child.
More knocking and it was growing louder. “Jenner, let me in,” Hamish yelled from behind my door.
I had rented the smallest room The Blue Spot had, as the rooms at the resort were pricey. Since some of my clients now lived in Castle Ridge, I had been toying with the idea of buying a home here. But now that I knew Lola lived here, I was considering nixing that idea and just video conferencing with the clients who lived here so I never had to step foot in the small town again.
“No. Now go away.” Lifting my good luck charm from the bedside table, I rubbed my fingers over the small diamond.
I had never wanted children. Growing up, I’d seen what children did to my parents—it ripped their marriage apart. When my youngest sister was born, I noticed Dad became so much worse. My mother hoped his drinking would stop, or at least slow down, but it didn’t. He was angrier, and when he wasn’t pissed off at something his kids did, he would ignore us.
It didn’t help that his employer, the company that promised to always take care of him and his family, dropped him like he was nothing. What really pissed my dad off was when his old company hired my mom instead. But someone needed to be bringing in money.
I had to learn to care for my sisters when our mom was at work because Dad never lifted a finger. And then, on Jill’s six-month birthday, he left and never came back.
Something hard rested in the pit of my stomach. I had barely eaten the past two days or left the room, yet I couldn’t bear the thought of food or leaving this room.
Hamish said something that caught my attention. “You know, you forced me to do this. I had to call Jocelyn.”
I sat up in bed and scratched at the days’ old scruff on my chin. No... not Jocelyn. She was the oldest of my sisters and the only one who scared me.
It wasn’t like she ever beat me up or taunted me as a child. No, but that girl had a power over me. Much like Lola captured my heart, her sweetness clouding my judgment. Jocelyn had a power where, if she just gave me a certain look, I’d fear for my life.
I raced to the door and pulled it open.
Hamish frowned as he gazed up and down my body. “My god, you look like crap. Are you sick?”
“No.”
Yes... sick in the heart.
“Are you going to let me in?”
I groaned but stepped aside so Hamish could pass.
“I have been calling and texting you for days. I finally had to beg Rock to let me know if you had a room here.”