“That doesn’t mean no,” he insisted. “My mom says she’s not sure lots of times. It means maybe.”
“Right.” Gabe swallowed, the thought of parenthood engulfing him in a wash of anxiety. Not yet, his brain screamed. I’m not ready for that yet, God! I’ve only just taken the first steps to changing my life.
“It’s okay. You can think about it if you want.” Daniel smiled, then leaned near Gabe’s ear. “But could you hurry up? My teacher says we’re having parent-teacher day pretty soon, and Joey Lancaster is bringing his dad. I don’t like Joey Lancaster.”
Gabe got the implied message loud and clear. My dad is better than yours. Poor little tyke! Belatedly he wondered how long Daniel had been praying for a father.
A wave of anger washed over him as he considered how much he’d missed. A baby, a toddler, hugs, good-night kisses, Christmases and birthdays. He’d known none of that. But Blair had. And she’d kept him in the dark. On purpose. That hurt more than he’d ever imagined, though Gabe didn’t understand why. He knew he wasn’t daddy material. He was a loner. He didn’t need anyone. He couldn’t afford to.
But she could have told him.
Gabe turned to stare at Blair and immediately rethought his position. He had no rights when it came to Daniel. None. He’d lost them all when Blair, sweet, innocent Blair, walked out of his life with her childish dreams ruined. By him.
“You need me, Gabe,” she’d sobbed that morning.
He cringed, remembering his furious response. “I don’t need anybody.”
“I thought you loved me enough to believe I’m not like the others. I’ve tried so hard to be what you want, but you still can’t see the real me. You can’t see beyond the security of your business and your money. You can’t see love.”
That memory could still make him ache for her shattered innocence. Blair, backing away from him, hair tumbling around her shoulders in that glossy riot of curls that he’d touched only moments before.
Once, just that once he’d let himself desire something more than security. Daniel was the result. The knowledge ate at him like acid on an open wound.
He’d sent her away with his child.
“You’d better do your chores, Daniel. Maybe Albert will help you.” Blair’s soft voice broke through his reverie.
Gabe looked up. Who was Albert? Someone Blair was interested in? Was that why Daniel needed a father, to ward off the unwanted attentions of this Albert person?
“Okay.” Daniel grabbed two cookies from the nut-cracker cookie jar that perched on a low shelf. He whirled to grin at Gabe. “See you later,” he offered.
“Yes, you will,” Gabe returned evenly, refusing to look at Blair. “I’m glad I met you, Daniel.”
“Me, too.” Daniel raced out the door, jacket forgotten as he sang a new song.
“You’re the child’s father, aren’t you?” The woman Blair had called Willie stood surveying him with watery blue eyes. “Anyone with vision can see that you’re Danny’s daddy. It’s about time you showed up and took some responsibility. Now the first thing will be to get the child a decent home.”
“Don’t, Willie. Daniel isn’t going anywhere. He’s going to stay right here with me.” Blair’s chocolate eyes dared Gabe to say any different. “I’ve got things to do. Mac, you and Mr. Sloan no doubt have your deal to discuss. I’m going out.”
She was gone in a rush, those russet-tipped curls flying behind. Gabe stood and watched her through the window. He heard two voices speaking, saw an older man hug her close and kiss her cheek before the derelict old truck rattled down the road.
“She’s not too happy with me, son. And I can’t say I blame her. It was a nasty trick to play on my granddaughter.” Mac’s sad voice was resigned.
“Then why did you?” Gabe could see no remorse on the lined, worn features.
“Because I love her. And I love that boy. I don’t want to see either one of them hurt. I’m not as young as I was, you know. I’m afraid of what will happen to her when Willie and I aren’t around for her to devote herself to. Blair is killing herself trying to look after us all.”
“Look after you?” Gabe returned to his seat and thoughtfully sipped his coffee, aware that the ethereal Willie had drifted into another room. “Why should she look after you? Are you sick?”
“Willie is, though she won’t admit it. Her medicine costs something terrible. I’ve got a heart condition, but it’s nothing serious. Not yet. As long as we’ve got my pension, we can manage, but what happens when I’m gone? Albert can only do so much.”
There it was again.
“Albert?” Gabe fixed the older man with a severe look and waited.
“Albert Hunter. He’s been our friend for years. Keeping busy around here is about the only thing that makes him forget the bottle. He’s an inventor. Blair brought him home one day, asked me to help him sober up, and she’s been taking care of him ever since. That’s what Blair does—takes care of people. She needs to be needed.”
“Oh.” Gabe digested it all with a nod, his mind busy as he tried to merge this information with the woman he’d known. “Are you sure Daniel is my son?” he blurted. It was a stupid question.
Mac apparently agreed. He favored him with a severe look. “You know that right well enough, without me telling you. We were supposed to fly out Saturday morning for the wedding that night. But just as we were heading out the door, Blair phoned and said it was off. Next thing we knew, she’d dropped out of her last year of college. She came home at the end of October. Boy turns six at the end of May. You work it out.”
Gabe didn’t have to. He knew without doing the math. Hidden away in a trunk he hadn’t opened in years was a picture his mother had put in an album just days before her death. His first day of school. He and Daniel could have been twins.
Gabe couldn’t stop the questions. “Why didn’t she tell me? Let me know?”
“Don’t be daft, son! You pushed her away.” Mac sniffed, his face scrunched up in anger, eyes blazing. “This is going to hurt her a lot, and I don’t like to see my granddaughter hurt. Goes against everything I believe. The Rhodeses take care of each other. Always.”
“So why drag me into your wonderful life?” Gabe couldn’t stop the sneer from coloring his voice. This man would know soon enough that he wasn’t the person to direct Daniel’s young life. Gabe was totally wrong for that job. Suspicion dawned. Was this just another taker, the latest in a long list of people after his money? “What do you want from me?”
Mackenzie Rhodes fixed him with a fierce glare. “I want you to be a father to that little boy. It isn’t right for him to grow up without a dad. Children need a man in their lives.”
“What about you? And Albert?” Gabe almost laughed at the glower on Mac’s face.
“I’m half dead! I can’t be around for the boy forever, much as I’d like to. My rheumatism acts up in the winter so’s I can
