Page 77 of Burned

She groaned. “Rhys—”

“Sadie, this is getting ridiculous. We have a child together and we love each other. Why shouldn’t we be together?”

“Because it just won’t work, okay.” She sighed. “I knew it was a mistake to come out here with you.” When she turned to leave, he grabbed her by the arm forcing her to face him.

“What is it? Is it Carys? She’s working really hard on her issues. She’s going to counseling doing well in school. She’s like a brand new kid. She wants us to be a family as well.”

“It’s not Carys.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s you! Okay? It’s you. When I needed you, you let me down. Look, I—”

He didn’t let her finish before he pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. It seemed like forever since he’d last held her soft, warm body against his. Instantly, Rhys was as hard as arock as he ground against the juncture of her thighs. He cupped the back of her head. “Open your mouth,” he demanded.

When she didn’t immediately comply, he bit her bottom lip with enough pressure to make her gasp. Taking advantage of her slightly parted lips, he shoved his tongue into the inviting cavern of her mouth. She tasted of pure heaven. He missed this, missed her.

She moaned beneath his forceful kiss, matching his enthusiasm until finally, she pulled away, breathing heavily. Sadie touched her lips, a look of surprise entering her eyes. With a shake of her head, she took a step back. “This can’t happen again.

“Why not?” he demanded. “I love you. You love me.”

Her eyes glistened with the suspicious sheen of tears. “Sometimes, love isn’t enough.” And with that she went back into the building, taking his heart with her.

Rhys was so deep in thought that he didn’t realize Elizabeth had finished her bottle. Though she was still sucking on the nipple her eyes were closed and she’d clearly fallen asleep. Removing the bottle and placing it on the table he transferred his daughter to his shoulder and rubbed her back to get out a burp. When that was accomplished, he placed her back in the crib on her back. She was a tiny angel looking so peaceful. He loved her with all of his heart.

He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “Elizabeth, how am I supposed to live without your mother?”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Today was the big day! Elizabeth was coming home! After four months of back and forth trips to the hospital, sleepless nights and prayers, her angel was finally being discharged. Since the weather was getting cold, Sadie had dressed Elizabeth in a sweater and hat one of her co-workers had knitted. Though she wouldn’t be returning to her job, it was nice to know that the people she worked with were thinking about her.

Lily picked her up from the hospital to take her home. Sadie had spent the previous night in the hospital with her daughter in preparation for taking her home. The hospital usually set aside a room for the parents to stay with their kids who’d had extensive stays in the NICU before their discharge to make sure thing went smoothly. Rhys had declined the hospital’s offer because he claimed he had something to do.

Sadie wasn’t sure how she felt about that, after all, he was her father. He didn’t even show up for the discharge. Sadie was slightly annoyed but she wasn’t sure if she had any right to be.

Once Sadie had Elizabeth buckled up, she sat in the backseat with her daughter.

“I feel like your chauffeur, with you sitting back there.” Lily laughed.

“I just want to make sure she’s breathing.”

“Girl, she’s going to be just fine.”

“I’m a new mom. I’m allowed to be a little worried. She may be four months old, but she was under the care of a highly competent medical team. Now she’s my responsibility.” Elizabeth appeared to be sleeping soundly but Sadie didn’t want to take the chance of sitting up front in case something went wrong.

“Well, it’s not like you’ll have to do it all alone. You have me and you know Daisy and Rose will pop in from time to time and of course, you have Rhys.”

Sadie snorted at the mention of her child’s father. “Oh yeah? If he’s so interested in being there for his daughter, then why did he turn down the overnight stay at the hospital? He didn’t even show up for her discharge. I would have thought he’d at least be here for that.”

“You actually sound like you care.”

“Of course I do. Regardless of our relationship status, that doesn’t negate his duties as a father.”

“I’m sure he’ll be a great father to Elizabeth. He probably had something important to do.”

“More important than his child getting out of the hospital after four months?” The more Sadie talked about it, the more annoyed she became. Rhys had made regular visits to the hospital to see Elizabeth the duration of her stay. After that uncomfortable conversation when he confessed his feelings, he came later in the evening according to the nurses. Sadie figured it was to avoid her.

Sadie would have been lying if she said she no longer had feelings for him but she’d been let down too many time before. After he’d made it abundantly clear that he couldn’t trust her and had basically called her a liar, Sadie had been crushed. She understood that Carys was a priority to him but to make her feel that she didn’t matter at all had hurt. She’d been shoved aside before, burned by love too many times to trust that he wouldn’t do it again if she gave him another chance. And already he was letting his daughter down by not being there on such an important day. She was so confused when it came to her feelings for him but if she focused on Elizabeth, eventually she’d be able to set her feelings aside and they could co-parent like a couple of mature adults.

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