And Father Makes Three

“It wouldn’t have mattered. Tessa lived by her own rules. When she made up her mind about something, no one could change it.” He tapped his thumb against his jean-clad knee. Something didn’t add up. Dr. Randall didn’t know him, or anything about him, and yet his child was with her. Tessa had always had a secretive side to her and liked to play games. Apparently nothing had changed.

Blake reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter from his ex-wife. It weighed only an ounce, but felt like a ton. The cryptic knowledge it contained had changed his life completely last week, as it would the woman’s sitting next to him. Tessa’s words on the crisp linen stationery days before her death bound them together.

He handed her the envelope. “Here. This will explain things.”

He’d learned of Tessa’s death through her attorney a week ago. Sadness burned the blood in his veins. The grief he’d seen on countless faces as an EMT and fireman for the Phoenix Fire Department clouded his vision. Gone. Dead. He’d loved her, or thought he’d had, but in the end, they were just another statistic.

Unsure if his legs could carry his weight, Blake sat back down next to Elizabeth, making sure to keep as much distance between them as the bench allowed. As she pulled out the paper, he wedged his elbows against his knees, and stared down at an ant carrying a huge crumb, reminding him that struggle was everywhere in life.

He attempted to fill his lungs with much-needed air. As he squeezed his eyes shut, an image of Tessa appeared behind his lids as it had every day since he’d learned of her death. Her long, mocha-colored hair contrasted with her milky-white skin. Her warm, generous smile and chocolate-brown eyes along with her positive outlook on life had shone a ray of hope into the darkness consuming him.

His inability to allow anyone to get really close to him had caused him to blow the best thing that had ever happened in his life.

Now all that remained was a child that he had no idea how to be a father to. He’d better learn quickly. And Tessa had made sure the woman sitting beside him would help. That must be why she’d left his daughter with her.

“I don’t understand this.” Elizabeth stared at him, shock registering in her light blue eyes as she inhaled sharply. Her fingers strangled the stethoscope around her neck until her knuckles gleamed in the bright April sunshine. The moisture gathering in her eyes added another layer of depth to her character, and it rocked him.

“My ex-wife was obviously pregnant when we split up. She had a child and decided not to tell me until after her death.”

“She said she didn’t know who the father was. She never told me she’d been married.”

“We never told anyone. It didn’t last long enough.” Remorse filled him.

Blake took the letter back, scanning the contents again to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. His fingers shook as he took in her slanted, curvy handwriting, which she obviously struggled to create.

Blake,

I hope this letter finds you well. There are two things I want to tell you and I know I don’t have a lot of time left. My brain aneurysm is inoperable and my symptoms are getting worse, which is why I’m putting my affairs in order.

I actually find it kind of ironic that I would die first when you were the one who always took the risks, but such is life. I’ve found God and have been praying daily to find answers, and I’ve finally found peace. I hope you will someday, too. I love you. I always did, always will.

First, I’m sorry I ran out on our marriage, but I only wanted you to be happy. I couldn’t give you what you needed. I hope some day you find someone who can, if you haven’t already.

Second, you are a father. Your daughter is with Elizabeth Randall, who works at Kingfisher Memorial in Scottsdale. Since I cannot be a part of her life anymore, I’m passing on that responsibility to you.

I’m sorry I never told you, and am only doing so with a letter, but I was a coward then, and things still haven’t changed. I suppose I could have found you all those years ago, but I did what I thought best for both of you. I can only hope you’ll forgive me when you see what a beautiful daughter we created. A daughter who needs you. They both do. Please go to them now that you’ve read this letter and love your daughter like I did. Elizabeth can answer any other questions you might have.

With love,

Tessa

Nothing had changed since the day he’d received it. What he couldn’t figure out was why Tessa’s attorney had waited over two months to contact him, or why Elizabeth needed his help. He knew why he needed hers.

He was a father. No longer the last of the Crawfords in this line.

Blake folded the paper back up and tucked it into his pocket again. “What’s her name?”

“Tessa named her Jordan.”

“Jordan?” Somehow Blake managed to keep his voice low and even. Jordan had been his mother’s maiden name. Tessa truly had loved him in spite of his flaws. So why had she left him? And why had she kept the knowledge of their daughter’s existence from him?

This whole conversation was surreal. He’d come to meet the woman who had Jordan so he could make arrangements to see her. Take her home with him. Learn to be a good father, not like the one who’d raised him. And yet fear gripped his heart.

This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. With his schedule, how could he take care of a child? Who would watch her when he pulled his twenty-four-hour shifts? He’d have to buy a bigger condo, or maybe even a house. What did he even know about kids anyway, especially preteen girls?

None of that mattered. He’d figure it out. “When can I pick her up?”

“Pick her up?” Confusion filled Elizabeth’s voice, followed by compassion. “I’m sorry, Blake, but Jordan’s my daughter now. My late husband and I adopted her.”

“What? When?”

“At birth.”

“Wait a minute. At birth? So why— This doesn’t make any sense.” He jumped up and began to pace, leaving a trail in the dirt.

“I’m sorry you were sent here on a wild-goose chase, Blake. I have no idea why Tessa would be so cruel to either one of us.”

Sirens sounded in the distance and Elizabeth’s phone chirped. He knew she was wrestling with wanting to be in two places at once. Her patients depended on her, but this was an important conversation. Her gaze flipped between the hospital and him.

“This is far from over.”

“What do you want from me, Blake?”

Elizabeth rose to her full height, which almost matched his, and drilled him with her gaze. But he refused to be intimidated by the doctor.

“I want my daughter.”

* * *

“So who was the dude in the blue T-shirt?” Susie Tan stared at Elizabeth over the rim of her coffee cup in the hospital cafeteria a few hours later. The nurse’s lips formed a straight line. “You looked upset when you returned.”

“Jordan’s biological father.”

“Whoa. Wait a minute. He’s what?” Susie’s eyebrows rose and her mouth dropped open.

Elizabeth’s fingers tightened around the foam coffee cup. “Jordan’s father. Apparently the mother lied about not knowing his identity. They were married at the time of Jordan’s conception.”

“Oh, Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. What does he want?” Marcella Rodriguez from the Labor & Delivery department asked.

“Jordan.” Elizabeth barely contained the sob in her voice.

“Does he know?” Susie questioned.

“No.” Elizabeth took a sip of her coffee and scalded her tongue. She closed her eyes and shifted in the hard, plastic chair. How would Blake react to his daughter’s illness? Would it make him go away and leave them alone?

Wrong. That wasn’t fair of her.

“What I don’t get is why now? Why didn’t he come forward years ago?”