fingers, he reached out. He barely touched his son’s arm, so soft and plump, then moved to Leo’s face where the tips of his fingers brushed his cheek. When Leo shifted in his sleep, Mitch jerked his hand back to his side.
“He’s okay,” Zoe said in a low tone. “Just resettling.”
Right. People moved in their sleep. Even babies.
She gently pushed Leo’s thumb from the proximity of his mouth. “He never took to a pacifier, so I have to keep his thumb away from his mouth.”
Mitch didn’t know what to say. Taking care of a baby was completely foreign to him.
“I’ll give you a few minutes.” She pointed to a white radio-looking thing on the dresser. “The monitor is on. Call if you need anything.”
As she walked away, Mitch gazed down at his son. His chest swelled. Was this what pride felt like?
“Hey, buddy,” he whispered.
Leo puffed out a breath, but instead of panicking at the child’s response, Mitch smiled. The longer he stood over the crib, the more a sense of protectiveness seized him. Now that the initial shock had worn off, he desperately wanted to be a part of this child’s life. No matter that he and Zoe had made a mess of their marriage, he was thankful they had produced this miracle despite things not working out.
For some reason, thoughts of baseball crossed Mitch’s mind. Little League. Rooting for his son as his short legs ran the bases. Wait, was he walking on his own yet? Had he taken his first steps? He’d have to ask Zoe. Before long, he’d tell his son stories about all the cool places he’d traveled to in the course of his career. Eventually, he would take Leo along. Include him in the adventures. Silently, Mitch vowed to be present in his son’s life. He would never be like his own father, distant and disapproving.
Yes, he’d continue to travel for his job, but he’d never close himself off like his own father. So rigid in his ways, he’d tried to squelch Mitch’s spirit.
As he got older and increasingly curious, Mitch would often sneak off whatever military base they were on and explore the local sights and, more often than not, take off on thrilling adventures. His father never approved. Luckily, when his dad retired, he’d brought the family to Cypress Pointe, although he’d expected his son to carry on the generations-old tradition of joining the army.
Ironically, it had been all those years growing up traveling from base to base that had given Mitch a severe case of wanderlust. So, he would show Leo the world. Give him options. Nurture him in a way his own father never had.
The door opened behind him. Zoe’s vanilla and floral fragrance reached him before she did. She took her place beside him again.
“Why Leo? His name, I mean,” he asked after a prolonged moment of watching their son together.
Zoe crossed the room to a basket of stuffed animals. Removing a lion from the top, she returned to the crib and held it out for him to see.
“Do you remember him?”
Mitch stared at the small animal with the fluffy mane. “No.”
“We were in high school. My mother had missed my debate team competition and I was really upset. A few weeks later, a carnival came to town and you made me go. To cheer me up, you said.” A small smile curved her lips as she brushed her fingers over the lion’s mane. “You won this at one of the game booths. Told me not to be sad or scared because Leo the lion would look out for me.”
Her misty gaze met his. “I found the lion when I was packing up our belongings at the old house to move here. I held on to this little guy and cried, over the memories we’d shared and the reality that I would never see you again.” She took a stuttering breath. “When Leo was born, I wanted to give him a strong name. I thought he needed it since he’d never know his father.”
Mitch swallowed hard.
He’d missed so much.
And on the tail of that revelation, anger at the events that had kept him from returning home simmered, but he held it in check. He’d deal with it later, when he could sort through his emotions and vent without giving Zoe reason to keep him at arm’s length.
“So, what do you think?” she asked.
“I think I can’t wait to get to know him.”
The frown again.
“What?”
“I just can’t picture you staying in Cypress Pointe long enough for any quality time with Leo.”
“My priorities will change.”
“Really?” Disbelief tinged her voice. “For how long?”
He turned, bit back the impatient retort he wanted to hurl at her. “For as long as it takes. He’s my child, too, Zoe.”
A mulish expression he recognized as trouble crossed her face. “We’ll see.”
“Do you plan on giving me a hard time about my place in Leo’s life?”
“No. But I won’t let you hurt him when you revert back to form and leave for weeks at a time. I won’t explain why his daddy isn’t here for the milestones in his life.”
Did she have that little faith in him that she thought he would abandon their son? The steel in her tone reflected exactly that. She had no faith that he would put his son above his career.
“I’ll be here.”
She snorted. “Right. Like every other time you made that promise, only to break your word.”
“This is different.”
Her brow rose.
Yes, he had let Zoe down. She’d never understood his need for adventure to begin with, but she had accepted it as part of the man she loved. However, once she’d wanted a baby, things had changed. With each miscarriage, he’d wanted out of the pressure and the expectations he couldn’t deliver on. She’d never stopped to consider how the loss of each baby took a piece of his soul, and because she was suffering, he’d never made his sorrow an issue.
But now that Leo was here, she would never stand in the way of his being a father. He’d make sure of it.
Leo rustled again.
“He senses the tension between us.” Zoe adjusted the blanket over him. “Let’s leave him be.”
Mitch gazed at his son, then at his wife. “This conversation isn’t finished.”
* * *
ZOE CLOSED THE door behind her, waiting for the soft snick. Mitch had hobbled to the living room ahead of her. She took this time alone to center her thoughts and tamp down her frustration.
So Mitch was going to march into their lives and expect nothing had changed? That he had a right to make decisions affecting her son?
Yes. Her son. She’d given birth to him. Raised him. Protected him. Worried over every aspect
