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"No," he said. "I don't need a paternity test. I believe you."
Sudden tears filled Gabby's eyes, and she flung herself at him.
He caught her as she threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, enfolding her against him as he met gazes with Bella.
Tears were trickling down Bella's cheeks, and her hand was over her mouth. Seeing his sister so emotional made his own throat tighten. Swearing, he shook his head once at his sister, and she grinned through her tears.
Right now, this moment, wasn't about figuring out how he was going to feel about this. It was about being the man that Gabby and Sascha needed him to be.
Sascha. Alive.
His gut tightened. "Gabby, we need to get you warm, and we need to call your mom. Where is she?"
Gabby pulled back, wiping the back of her hand across her cheeks. "I think she's probably following me in Jocie's car. She was tracking me on my phone until I shut it off."
He raised his brows. "You said your battery died."
She lifted her chin. "Well, it would have died if I hadn't shut it off."
He grinned. He'd spent a fair amount of time around the Stocktons, and they had enough kids to field a couple football teams, so he was used to the teenage sass, but it was still stunning how they lived by a logic that wasn't accessible to adults. "Get in the truck before you freeze, and then we're going to turn your phone on and call her."
"Will you talk to her? She won't yell at you."
"Me?" Hell. "I haven't talked to her in almost seventeen years."
"So, it's time, then."
"I agree," said Bella. "It's the least you can do, Keegan, after failing to be a proper dad all these years."
"What?" He scowled at their giggling. "I didn't know I was a dad."
"That's a weak excuse," Bella said. "A dad should just know."
Keegan ground his jaw. "Bella—"
"You guys go ahead. I'm going to stay outside in the freezing weather and make some calls for a moment. Let the others know. You're the first of the next generation, Gabby. Everyone's going to be thrilled. Congrats, Keegan. You're the first of us to have kids, but to be honest, you didn't make it a fair contest, starting when you were eighteen."
"Life isn't fair," he said as he opened the door to his truck for Gabby. "Get used to it, sis."
"Oh, trust me, I am." She waved cheerfully, and jogged down the side of the road, leaving Keegan and Gabby alone.
He waited for the teenager to hop in, then shut the door behind her.
The moment the door was closed, he let out his breath. A daughter? He had a sixteen-year-old daughter? And Sascha was on her way to them?
Anticipation rushed through him.
He was about to see the woman he'd never forgotten.
And he was a dad?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sofia's phone rang, startling her. The freezing rain was coming down hard, and the temperature was hovering around thirty-two degrees, making the driving start to get dangerous.
She glanced at the dash, and relief rushed through her when she saw Gabby's name on the screen. She hit the answer button. "Gabby! Are you all right?"
"Hi, Mom. I totaled the car. I just need to get that out of the way first."
