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It only took Shelby a few minutes to wrap up her paperwork, grab her stuff, and walk out of the clinic into the bright late afternoon. Temporarily blinded by the sunlight, she gave her eyes a second to adjust before she headed across the parking lot. The second she could see clearly, she hoped she was hallucinating the tall man standing by her car.
But no. He didn’t disappear. He simply shifted his weight, folded his arms across his chest, and waited for her to come to him.
She mustered her courage for the upcoming confrontation, walked across the lot, stood right in front of Mr. Wilde, and matched his stance with her arms crossed. “Let me save you your breath. You want me to stay away from Chase. You want me to admit I lied about him being Eliza’s father. You want me to disappear from the face of the earth and never go near your family ever again.” She shook her head. “No. To all of it. Now I’ve got to pick up my daughter from the babysitter. Excuse me.”
He repeated what she’d said. “No. To all of it. I didn’t come here to issue warnings or demand anything.”
She sighed, because whatever he wanted couldn’t be good. “Then we have nothing to say to each other. You’ve made it plain how you feel about me and what you think of me. I don’t need to hear it again.”
“But you deserve to hear this.” He waited for her to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry.”
She actually dropped her arms and took a step back, shockedheof all people would apologize toher.
“I spoke to Chase early this morning. We talked about the past, my wife, andyou.” Mr. Wilde rubbed his hand over the back of his neck in a familiar gesture she’d seen Chase do countless times. “I really couldn’t believe you outmaneuvered me on that deal and bought the house and property for Chase. I thought you wanted it for yourself and used his money to take it.”
“Chase is a generous man, but he gives away everything he has because he feels like he doesn’t deserve it. I want him to support his daughter, but I don’t expect him to pay more than his fair share, and he sent far more than that. I know he feels like he lost everything important to him, and no matter how hard he tries or how much he wants it, he can’t get it back. He returned after he got out of the army, but he didn’t have a home or his family. Eliza helped to anchor him, but he knows she belongs with me, so he felt like she wasn’t really his family either. And then I took her away from him.”
“He wasn’t in a good place and couldn’t take care of her. You did the right thing.”
She appreciated that he agreed with her on that point. “Still, it broke something inside him. I never wanted to, then or now, hurt him.”
Sorrow filled Mr. Wilde’s eyes. “He’s been hurt enough.”
“And now, just when he’s finished rehab and was ready to come home and start over—again—he lost someone he knew. Again.”
“What happened to that girl was tragic. Chase did what he could to save her.”
“For Chase, that’s not enough. She’s gone. He blames himself.” She glanced at the ground, then at Mr. Wilde again. “How was he this morning?”
Mr. Wilde didn’t hide his concern. “Exhausted. I arrived before he woke up. Sounded like he got a night full of nightmares instead of sleep.”
She nodded, wishing she could help Chase, but knowing nothing she said or did would take away his pain. “I bought that property for him so he’d have a home to come back to, a place that was his, that no one could take from him, or make him leave. I wanted him to have a place where he could make memories with Eliza. A place close to you and his brothers, because even though you kicked him out, you all love him and want him back.”
Mr. Wilde nodded. “Believe it or not, that’s exactly why I wanted that place.”
“Not for the land and water on it?” She raised a skeptical brow.
“Smart girl. But it really was for him.” Mr. Wilde rubbed at his neck again. “Everything you said is true. I want him back at Split Tree Ranch and in my life.” He held her gaze. “I want to get to know my granddaughter.”
“But let me guess. First you want a DNA test to prove it.” It stung that he, Hunt, and Max believed her a liar.
He shook his head. “Whether or not she’s Chase’s doesn’t seem to matter to him. He believes she’s his, and he loves her. He says she’s his, so that makes her family.”
She wanted to believe him, but the bad blood between them couldn’t be erased so easily. “But will you treat her like she’s a Wilde, or like she’s the unwanted stepchild of a woman you find lacking?”
Mr. Wilde pressed his lips tight. “It’s come to my attention that sometimes I judge people too harshly and push them away because I believe I’m right, even when I’m not.”
She couldn’t believe he’d made the admission. “You either get to be right or keep your friends and family.”
“So I’ve learned. And I’m trying to wise up. I already lost my wife. I can’t fathom the number of times I nearly lost my son.”
“Those scars on him really hit home.” Even now, just thinking about them, her gut went tight, and her heart ached for Chase.
Mr. Wilde rubbed at his neck again. “You hear something happened to him, but it just doesn’t compute. He downplayed everything, and I never thought it was that bad.” He got lost in thoughts and probably regrets. “I have a chance to make things right with him. I started this morning, but I know it’s going to take some time before he believes I’m sorry and I want things between us to be better.”
“I’m sure he’ll be open to that because it’s what he wants, too. He needs his family.”
“Like everything else in Chase’s life, he’s been stingy with the details about your relationship.”
