Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(33)

And that’s the craziest thing. I have never felt safer than when I’m around him. He’s strong, steadfast, and has stepped in when I needed him most. I trust him, and I barely know him.

It’s now or never.

I gather any courage I have and prepare to confess something that could forever change both their lives. “I do feel safe with you, and that’s the only reason that I have the ability to speak. Connor, I have to tell you something. Or . . . tell you that there’s something that is eating away at me.”

She’s the world, and he deserves to orbit around her as well—if it turns out that he’s her father.

“You can tell me anything.”

I sure hope that’s true because this might not go as I imagine.

“I found out I was pregnant with Hadley about a month after my wedding. I’ve always wondered . . . if maybe . . . she was . . .” I trail off, afraid to say it aloud. “There’s a chance that Hadley isn’t Kevin’s daughter.”

His gaze snaps up before moving to the door she ran out of and then back to me. “You think she could be mine?”

“I don’t know, but she has your eyes.” The admission falls from my lips as a tear drops from my lashes.





Chapter Fourteen


Connor





There’s a chance Hadley could be my daughter?

It isn’t . . . it can’t be . . . possible. Could it?

We made love so many times that night it’s hard to remember if we were careful each time. No, we were. I know I was.

“It was one night,” I say. “I wore a condom.”

“It was. But the timing of it all leaves the possibility. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking because she’s so wonderful and that night was . . .”

I don’t know what to say or think. If she is my daughter, I need to know. “How long have you wondered?”

“Since the day I found out I was pregnant.”

Jesus Christ. I could be a dad. I’ve been around Hadley all this time and hadn’t known I could be her father. I sit back, trying to wrap my head around it all.

What would’ve happened if I had come back? Would I have known then? Why didn’t I piece any of this as a possibility when we met? I’m a fool, and yet, there’s this hope inside me that she is mine.

“Why didn’t you try to find me?”

Ellie’s lip trembles. “How could I? I didn’t know your name or where you were from. I never saw you again until a little over a month ago. I married Kevin the day after we slept together, so it wasn’t as if I could say for sure.”

Right. Married and . . . yeah, it was one night with no names or expectations.

“Wait, the day after?”

She nods, looking nervous and almost ashamed.

But the reality is, I could’ve had a child for the last seven years and missed out on it all. “Does she have any idea?”

“No, no, God no. I’m sorry, Connor. I should’ve told you when you got back here, but I couldn’t risk Kevin suspecting anything.”

Ellie wipes a tear away, and everything inside me springs into action. I made her cry on a night when she should feel nothing but security. I shift closer to her. “Ellie, don’t cry.”

“It’s that . . . I didn’t know. I really don’t know, and she might not be yours, but there’s this part of me that has always hoped she is. Because . . . you were kind to me, and that night is something . . .”

“That night is everything.”

She looks at me, her eyes still brimming with vulnerability. “You told me that you dreamed of me?”

I nod. “I did. All the time. I relived that night in my head, wondering who you were, where you might be, and if you were happy.”

“I wasn’t.”

“I know that now.”

The two of us watch each other as I reel with the confessions just made. I don’t know if I scare her or if she feels the connection that I do.

The sound of thunder rolling in the air snaps me out of it. The two of us blink, coming to the realization that Hadley is outside, probably hiding in a tree while a storm is rolling in.

“I’ll go find her,” I say before Ellie can speak.

“Connor . . .”

“We’ll talk more when I get back, but I’d like you to stay here at least tonight, for Hadley.” And for me, but I leave that part off.

“We’ll talk when you get back.”

I nod and when the thunder rolls in the distance, I feel it in my soul.





I approach the tree where I have a feeling I’ll find her, and sure enough, there’s a scuffling sound on the wood.

It’s hard, this time, not to think about Hadley coming here as some sort of sign or fates way of stepping in. But what are the odds of Ellie’s daughter finding her way to my farm and the tree that means the world to me on her own?

And does she have my eyes?

I try to picture it, but I can’t.

Is she my kid? If she is, what does it mean? Can I have time with her? Does she want that? Does it even matter when I care about her and already view the two of them as a part of my life, one that I don’t want to let go of?

I chastise myself because, right now, I can’t get caught up in a bunch of what-ifs and maybes because there’s a little girl who has been dropped into hell and is struggling to find a way through it.