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She sniffed and pulled herself together. “That’s okay. It’s after midnight.”
“If you need me, I’ll be there. I don’t care what time it is.”
Admiration glowed in her chest for this wonderful man. “I don’t want you out driving this late.”
“I’m wide awake and ready to come over.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive, Darcy. I’ll be there soon.”
She ended the call and hugged a blanket to her chest while her tears continued to flow.
***
Carter knocked on Darcy’s front door forty-five minutes later. As soon as they had hung up the phone, he had dropped his overnight essentials into a backpack and flown out the door. He glanced around her quiet neighborhood, taking in the warm yellow glow from the row of matching porch lights while the hum of car engines sounded on the main road behind her neighborhood.
He knocked again and then tried to peek through a sidelight window, but a privacy curtain blocked his vision. When he heard footfalls closing in, he stood up straight.
The lock flipped and the door opened, and Darcy stood before him dressed in light-green pajama pants and a matching shirt. Her hair was styled in a knot on the top of her head, and she looked adorable.
“Thank you for coming,” she said.
He entered the foyer and locked the door behind him. “You don’t have to thank me.” He dropped his backpack on the bench by the door. “Would you like some tea?”
“How’d you know?”
“Lucky guess.”
Carter located a tea bag and mug before adding water and then warming it in the microwave. Once it was ready, he brought it to her in the family room and set it on a coaster on the coffee table.
He sat down beside her on the large sectional. “When you’re ready, tell me everything.”
Darcy took a sip of tea and moved her fingers over the warm blue mug. “She was everything I hoped she’d be and more.” She set the mug down, and her lips trembled. “Carter, I have two half-brothers. I’m not an only child.”
When her tears began to flow, he gathered her into his arms, wishing he could soothe her. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Let it all out, babe.”
“She told me she loves me and never forgot me. Every January22 she thought about my birthday, and she tried to imagine what I looked like and what I was doing.” She snuggled against him, and he rubbed her back. “She lives in Concord, Carter. We’re going to meet tomorrow.”
“I’m glad she’s close.”
Darcy pulled her phone from her pocket. “Look at these photos she sent me.”
He scrolled through the photos of a young woman who was the spitting image of Darcy. “That’s her?”
“Yeah.” She beamed. “Her name is Robyn Decker.” She pointed to a photo of two young men. “Those are my brothers—Brayden and Keaton. They’re seventeen and fifteen.”
“Wow.” He shook his head. “I see a resemblance.”
“Me too.”
“What did she tell you about your biological dad?”
“We didn’t get into that yet,” Darcy said. “I’m going to ask about him tomorrow. She wanted to keep me, but her parents said no. They arranged for her to come to Charlotte and stay with friends until she had me. She couldn’t even hold me after I was born. All she knew was that an older couple who had tried to have a baby for years adopted me, and she prayed they would love me and give me a good life.” She paused. “Her parents live in Florida. She also has a couple of younger sisters, so that means I have aunts, uncles, and cousins too.”
When Darcy sniffed again, Carter closed his eyes. Listening to her cry was tearing his heart out, and he would do anything in his power to offer her comfort.
During the last month he had realized he was in love with Darcy, and his feelings for her were like nothing he’d ever felt for anyone before in his life. He needed her like he needed air to breathe.
