Page 45 of Quiet Beautiful Things

She shakes her head, waves, then exits the car. She looks back before she enters her building, hesitating, as if she wants to say something. She could, she’s fully under the lights. She could sign to me if she wanted to. But she doesn’t. She just stares. I’m sure she can’t see my eyes through the windshield in the dark,but I swear they connect with hers anyway. And that feeling—that warmth—floods throughout me like a rogue wave.

This woman has no idea what she’s doing to me.

And for that matter—neither do I.

Chapter Fifteen

Blake

At home, after getting the third degree from Allie and sending her on her way, I stand in Maisy’s doorway and watch her sleep. As always, her stuffed cat is tucked tightly against her chest as if it will somehow protect her.

I think of calling Dallas, and I swallow hard. Maisy has only been in my life for a few short weeks, and I already know I’d be devastated if she died. Before she came into my life, I was just Blake, Chris Montana’s son and heir to the winery. Now… now I’m Maisy’s father—a far better title if you ask me.

I’m a fucking dad. My eyes get misty just thinking about trying to go back to how life was before my daughter came into it. Yes, it was simpler. But far less rewarding. She’s my reason for…everythingnow.

Back out in the kitchen, I pop the top off a bottle of beer and sit at the bar. I go through the pictures in my phone and stop when I find one of Dallas, Phoebe, and DJ. DJ would be two-and-a-half now. He’d be walking and talking. He’d be coming over for playdates with Maisy. And I just know Phoebe and Ellie would have been fast friends.

It’s been two years since they died, but honestly, how much time is enough time to get over losing someone you love? Losingtwosomeones. I can’t even imagine. And now I’m going to break his fucking heart by telling him I have a child. How could he ever be happy for me? Will he be able to be an uncle to her? Will he even want to meet her?

I drain my beer, open one more, and realize I’ve procrastinated long enough. I open my contacts and tap on his name.

He answers immediately. “So youhaven’tfallen off the face of the earth.”

I get it. He’s the CFO and I’m the COO. Even though he works remotely from his cabin upstate, we usually hop on a business call several times a week. But I haven’t sent him any weekly stats recently. Haven’t returned his texts. Of course he’s wondering what’s going on.

“Sorry. Just got super busy with life, brother.”

“You decide the job’s not for you? How come the reports are coming from Dad again?”

“So, about that. I want the job. But I’ve had to cut back on my hours for a while because… well, because something’s happened, and well… I’m not sure, uh—”

“Spit it the fuck out, Blake. What’s going on? You’ve never been one to be at a loss for words.”

“Alright. Here it goes.” I blow out a breath, hoping I’m not going to drive a stake into his heart. “A few weeks ago I found out I have a kid.”

Silence. And breathing. I don’t say anything else. I let him absorb the news.

“No shit?” he finally says. “You have a baby?” I don’t miss the way his voice cracks at the last word.

“No. I have a four-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Her name is Maisy.”

“What the hell? And you’re saying you knew nothing about her until a few weeks ago?” He scoffs. “Wait, why the fuck did you wait so long to tell me? This is kind of huge news.” I don’t answer. “Right, you thought I’d freak out.”

“Are you?”

“I… I mean it’s a shock, and yeah, maybe it’s going to keep me up tonight, but what’s new. I barely sleep anyway. So how exactly did this happen?”

I hate to hear that he’s still not sleeping. He told me once that when he sleeps, he dreams of them. So he hates to sleep. I have no idea what he does all night instead. He never talks to me about anything but business anymore. In fact, we haven’t had such a personal conversation in a long time.

I tell him about the private investigator, the paternity test, the social worker, and Lucinda’s neglect. “Dallas, Maisy is profoundly deaf. Lucinda didn’t teach her any sign language. She basically hasn’t had any way to communicate.”

“Jesus, seriously? How are you dealing with it?”

“Luckily, the Deaf school is here, and they assigned a mentor to work with us. Maisy has already made so much progress. We’re both learning ASL, and at least she can communicate her basic needs. But it’s a challenge. Dallas, I’m not even sure she knows I’m her father.”

“Wow. That’s… messed up.”

“And the worst part is that after Lucinda does her stint in rehab, she could petition for custody.”

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