Page 19

It takes what feels like an eternity for Rosie to answer. Meanwhile, my body is on overdrive. My legs and arms fill with lead. A whirling sensation crams my thoughts, causing my head to pound.

She swipes a knuckle under her nose and sniffs. “Six. She’s six,” she whispers.

“Rosie—” Her name comes out broken. I throw my hands up and run them across the top of my head and down the nape of my neck.She can’t be. It’s not possible. Can she?“Charlie…is she…?”

But somehow, I already know before Rosie speaks and confirms it. The undeniable truth is visible on her face. In her body language. Because I know her.

And maybe because I could spot the Stone family resemblance on the little girl. Spotmylikeness.

Rosie meets my eye, and her gaze sends an ache deep in my gut. With a small, pitiful smile, she wipes her cheeks and finally whispers, “She is.”

And now I’m crying.

“Charlotte is your daughter.”

“Shit. Rosie. Are you kidding me?” I blurt.

She dips her chin and tucks her hair behind her ear. “I know, I know.”

“No,” I mutter, “you don’t know.” I bend to meet her eyes with mine and draw her face upward. “What the hell?”

“I’m sorry,” she says on a sob.

“You’re sorry? You’resorry? Rosie.” I clench my hands into fists and whip around, stalking away several feet before spinning back and pacing toward her again. “We had a baby, and you didn’t tell me? I thought…I thought we lost her.”

“I know. But?—”

My vision blurs and I scratch at my stubbled chin. “This doesn’t make sense. You…the bleeding…and cramping…you miscarried?”

She shakes her head. “That’s what we thought. What we assumed. But about a month after I left, I missed my period, so I made an appointment. And they did an ultrasound and…there she was.”

“How could you do this? How could you not tell me?”

She reaches for my arm, but I wrench it out of her grasp. “I meant to. I planned to. I was going to call. Then I thought it would be better if I came to tell you in person. But then one month turned into two, and two into three, and so on. And you knew I was in Seattle. Dottie told me she told you. And you never came after me. You never even called.”

I stab a finger at her. “No. Don’t blame me for this.”

“I know, I’m sorry, but please calm down,” she hisses like a warning.

I pinch the bridge of my nose as I pace back and forth again. “And now, you show up here, six years later. What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Please,” she pleads.

I stop in front of her, my eyes hardening as a sharp pain shoots through my chest. “No. You don’t get to tell me to calm down.”

“Please don’t cause a scene like you always do.”

“Excuse me?Me? I think you’ve got that backward, honey.” I glare. “But at least I’ve got a good excuse. I just found out I have a kid. That I’m a father.”

“I know. And I know you probably have a lot of questions, but this isn’t the place or the time for this conversation.”

I exhale a long, low breath. I gaze into Rosie’s eyes. The pain and regret I see in them doesn’t compare to what I’m feeling.

“Did Dottie know?”

She nods and I shut my eyes tight, pushing out a traitorous tear.

“It wasn’t her place to tell you. And I asked her not to.”