Page 136 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

I kiss her lips once with a small smile on my face before opening the envelop carefully and pulling out two pieces of paper. Taking a deep breath, I hold the paper out so we can both see it. Verity leans against my chest.

Dearest Verity,

I wish there were a chance I would be present to witness you turning eighteen, but the Doctors say I won’t see you next month. I would give anything for them to find a cure so I could watch you grow into the beautiful, kind-hearted woman I know you will become. Never stop being you, Jellybean. You bring light to the darkest days, and I hope you realise how loved you are.

That being said, I have to tell you something that may come as a shock to you. But I feel that at the age of eighteen, you will finally be old enough to accept what I’m about to say.

Henry Stevenson is not your birth father. I fell pregnant a couple of months before me and Henry met. Before that I was in a relationship with someone else, well a couple of someone else’s. I was in a polygamous relationship with two guys. I loved both of them very much, and I had never dreamt I would find myself in that situation, but I did.

We all lived in the house we live in now and they showered me in love and affection. They worshipped the ground I walked on, and I loved them with all my heart. People asked why I didn’t just choose one of them, but, well, I couldn’t. They were my world, and I was theirs, I could have never chosen one over the other. But in the month before your conception, things started to go wrong for us. One by one, the guys left in the space of two weeks, which is why I’m not sure which is your father. Both disappeared with no warning.

I was sure they would come back to me; we had been so happy. But they never did. They stopped calling, and they never got back in touch. One day Henry came around, claiming to be there for one of the guys things that he had left. We started talking and I told him I was pregnant, and that I needed him to tell his friend he might be the father. Henry was so convinced that he wouldn’t want to know, that I became upset which made me ill, and I collapsed in his arms.

Henry rushed me to the hospital and looked after me. He held my hand and was so supportive, promising to help me in any way he could. He showed up time and time again to check in on me and even took me to the hospital a few times for checkups. He was the perfect gentleman.

When you were born, he showered you with gifts and thought the world of you. I fell in love with him because of his love for you. Eventually, he became your father and asked me to marry him to make us a real family. I agreed, I wanted you to have two parents, everyone told me it was what you needed. But I never stopped thinking about the guys who could have been your real dad.

I wanted to be honest with you, but Henry begged me not to be; he didn’t want there ever to be any doubt that he wasn’t your father. He said he couldn’t cope with people pointing it out. As far as he was concerned, he was your father, which was the end. I believed it all and honestly believed that he would give you the best life because he loved you more than anything.

But recently, things haven’t been so great, and I know things are coming to light thanks to my illness. Your Auntie Trish will tell you all about it.

Honey, I need you to know I wanted to tell you everything from the beginning, that I had a plan to tell you when you were eighteen, and I wanted to help you find your real dad. But I can’t. I’m leaving instructions for your Auntie to help you find them when the time comes. She knows them, and they will trust her. I have also asked her to keep an eye on you and told her to take you if she thinks you are in danger. Henry has told me over and over again that he loves you as his own, but something feels different.

I hope and pray I’m wrong and you and your father have a loving relationship he has always shown you when he’s home. If not, know it’s not what I wanted for you, and I’m sorry.

My one piece of advice for you is if you find love, grab it with both hands and never let it go. Whether that is with one person or twenty. Do what makes you happy and know I love you with all my heart and wish I could be there the day you get married and have kids.

Only you can live your life, make it the best possible, because you made mine complete.

All my love always,

Mama

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

70

Verity

I lean back against Travis as he puts the letter down and wraps me in his arms. Leaning his cheek against mine, I look down at the doll in my arms as the tears slowly stop flowing.

“Sweetheart? Are you okay?” he whispers. I nod as I turn my head to smile at him.

“She wouldn’t have been disappointed in me.”

Loosening his arms, Travis moves slightly, and I can see the confusion on his face.

“Why would she have been disappointed in you?”

Looking back down at my doll I run my fingers through her thick strands of yellow wool she has for hair. I’ve started doing this whenever I’ve needed something to focus on.

“I’ve been worried she would be disappointed in me for being with all three of you.” When I lift my head, I not only look at Travis but at Ryan and Ethan as well. “She would have understood why I could never pick one of you. Why, I love you all equally.”

Ryan squats down in front of me and cups my cheek.

“She would have understood why we could never ask you to choose between us. Like her men, we worship the ground you walk on, and there is nothing we wouldn’t do for you.”

“Like I’ve said before. You are ours as much as we are yours, Baby.”

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