Long-Lost Mom Read online

  “I worked everywhere I went. You’d be surprised how cheaply you can live.”

  “No, I wouldn’t,” he said flatly, reminding her that in the beginning at least, he’d struggled, too. “You never stayed anywhere long. I would have found you.”

  “Any ties felt... traitorous.”

  “To Sara?”

  “Yes. And to you.”

  He nodded as if that made sense and turned back to the door. Head bent, wide shoulders tense, his hand still on the knob, he didn’t move. Discontentment rolled from him.

  With all her heart Jenna wished she could ease it, but he had to make the decision to trust her again himself. All she could do now was be here for him and never waver. But she wanted so badly to wrap her arms around him and never let go. “Stone—”

  “I’ve got to get back to work.” He yanked the door open, but instead of vanishing, he just stood there, watching the rain. “I thought about you. Every day. I hate like hell that I did, but it’s a fact.”

  She came up behind him, heart aching. “I thought about you, too.”

  The rain continued to hold his attention, the stiffening of his spine the only sign he’d heard her.

  “I did,” she said softly. “Every single day, just like you.”

  “You should have called.”

  “I...couldn’t.”

  “Written, then.”

  “I know.”

  “We can’t go back, Jenna.” And with that he left. shutting out the day, the rain, the man.

  Jenna sighed, heart heavy. Of course she should have contacted him. After all, he was a man who would never turn his back on anyone.

  How could she expect him to understand her cowardice when he didn’t have a cowardly bone in his body?

  But maybe, just maybe, she was changing. She went into the little bathroom, flipped on the harsh light, and when she could open her eyes to the glare, she stared at herself for long moments.

  No doubt, she didn’t look the same as she once had. So why was it so hard to believe she didn’t act the same? Certainly the old Jenna would never have stuck this out, not in the face of such overwhelming odds. Yet she hadn’t left, hadn’t even had the urge to run since that night she’d come clean with Stone.

  Jenna smiled, enjoying the sight of herself for the first time since her surgery. She was changing—she was getting stronger. She was becoming the sort of woman she’d always wanted to be—one who stood up for what she believed in.

  She believed in love.

  She believed in herself, and in forgiving herself, too.

  And most exciting of all, she believed in being part of a family with Sara and Stone.

  If only Stone could believe it, too.

  Stone looked down at his daughter. They were standing by the front door ready to go.

  And late as usual.

  Stone sighed and restated the problem. “So you’re telling me you had your report finished, and it was in your book bag. Then at some point in my office yesterday it just vanished?”

  “Not vanished,” Sara said with a shake of her head. “Stolen.”

  “Stolen,” he repeated dubiously.

  “Cindy did it.”

  Stone lifted a brow as he studied Sara. They were rushing to get ready for school and work—again. Somehow his alarm hadn’t gotten through to his exhausted brain, and no wonder. He hadn’t fallen asleep until near dawn.

  His life felt a little out of control at the moment, and he hated that. There were so many things consuming him. Richard gone forever, giving him no chance to ever resolve their differences. That was hard enough to accept, but then there were his parents, suddenly interested in forging a new relationship, at least with Sara.

  Yet neither of those things even began to touch on his biggest problem.

  Jenna.

  At just the thought of her, emotions swamped him. Anger, yes. But worry, too, because he still had to figure out how to tell Sara about her, not to mention how the hell he felt about it all.

  He was afraid he was doing as Jenna had told him he would. He was beginning to trust her—and it truly terrified him.

  Now Sara wouldn’t meet his gaze, and as she stood there under his scrutiny, she kept shifting uneasily from foot to foot—a clear sign of trouble.

  “You can do better than that,” he said.

  She lifted her head, eyes wide, the picture of innocence. “Cindy stole my report.”

  “Sara.”

  “She did!”

  Stone squatted before her and put his hands on her waist “Honey, she’s not a thief.”

  “She is so.” Big fat tears welled in Sara’s eyes. “She’s a daddy thief. Ever since she came to town you’ve been too busy for me.”

  “Oh, baby.” Tugging her close, Stone enveloped her in a hug. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m never too busy for you. Never.”

  Her next words were muffled in his shirt, the second time this week he’d made the mistake of wearing a light-colored shirt while holding a sobbing female. “We lost our game yesterday and you didn’t even seem to mind,” she wailed.

  “I minded.” Sitting on the foyer floor, he pulled her into his lap, then tipped up her chin. “But all of you tried your best, right?”

  “Yeah.” She sniffed and wiped her nose on her clean sleeve.

  Stone rolled his eyes, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her, knowing it could have been worse—she could have wiped her nose on his sleeve. “Try this, sweetheart.”

  She blew noisily, then handed him back his now soggy handkerchief. Stoically he balled it up and tossed it aside, silently thanking Mrs. Potts, who would undoubtedly pick it up, wash it and even iron it for him. “So if you tried your best,” he wondered out loud, “why should I make you feel worse by yelling at you guys?”

  “I dunno.”

  “Sara, about your report—”

  “Don’t worry.” She hugged him back now and offered a watery smile. “The school is pretty crazy. No one’ll notice my missing report.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Mr. Ridgeway got caught kissing Mrs. Taylor, the new second-grade teacher.”

  “Your kidding!” Of course she wasn’t. Even Sara couldn’t have made that story up. “What happened?”

  “Mr. Taylor found them playing tonsil hockey in the storage closet and punched Mr. Ridgeway’s lights out. Now Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Ridgeway are gonna lose their jobs, I think.”

  “Tonsil hockey?” Stone asked, shocked at what his ten-year-old daughter knew.

  “Yeah.” She frowned. “I’m not exactly sure what that is, but it sounds pretty gross.”

  “I see,” Stone said solemnly, but he couldn’t contain his wide grin. “They’re in big trouble, huh?”

  “Yup.”

  His first thought was that Jenna would love this.

  “Daddy, don’t fall in love with her!” Sara squeezed him tight and begged him with her baby blues. “Please, don’t.”

  “Sara—”

  “She didn’t really steal my stuff,” Sara admitted, blinking another huge teardrop down her distressed face.

  “Really,” Stone said dryly as he patted her back. “Look, honey, I understand how you feel, but you can’t go around making up stories like that. We’re close enough that you can tell me anything. No lies, okay?”

  Sara stared at her shoes.

  He tipped up her chin. “’Kay?”

  “’Kay,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. She’s really...sort of nice, I guess. Even when I’m not.”

  “So if she’s nice, what’s the problem?”

  “It’s Mommy.”

  His heart stopped. “What about her?”

  “When she comes back, she won’t want you if you’re married to someone else.”

  Oh, boy.

  Before he could figure out how to deal with this unexpected turn of events, the bus pulled up and honked.

  “Sara, wait,” he said when she leaped to her feet. “After