Page 41 of Twisted Fate

“Vance, you didn’t tell me you were bringing Charlie to the fair.” I froze at the sound of Vivian’s voice behind me.Shit. I didn’t expect to run into anyone I knew here. I hadn’t considered Vance’s mother might show up.

“Mamaw,” Charlie cooed and brushed past me.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Vance asked, moving around me. To any onlooker, it would’ve sounded casual, but I’d grown accustomed to Vance’s cues and the cadence of his voice. He was nervous. I couldn't blame him. It probably looked suspicious to be out and about with the nanny when it was my day off. Or maybe that was my guilty conscious talking.

“My quilt won first place in the needlework competition. I came to collect my prize. Did you see it in the exhibit?”

“Not yet. We haven’t made it that far. Charlie’s been enjoying the rides,” Vance offered in explanation.

When I could no longer avoid it, I turned and faced the music—or rather, Vivian. She was bent forward, oohing and aahing over the new bows in Charlie’s hair, so she didn’t notice me right away. When she straightened, she did a double take.

“Delilah,” she barked in surprise. “I didn’t realize you were here.” Her gaze shifted from me to Vance and back to me again. She forced a smile.

“Delilah came wif us,” Charlie chimed in, skipping to my side and grabbing my hand.

“Oh. Well, that’s nice,” Vivian said in a tone that indicated she felt anything but.

“Do you want to stay and ride some rides with us?” Vance asked, drawing her attention away. I was relieved to have her assessing gaze off me. Her expression softened as she looked at her son. I wasn’t sure what her issue was with me. At first, she’d been friendly, but the last couple times I’d run into her, she hadn’t been quite so warm and welcoming. I feared she suspected there was something going on between Vance and me.

“I’d love to, but I’ve got to find your father. It’s time for his medicine, and I have his pills.” She held up her oversized bag to indicate her husband’s medication was contained inside and hugged Vance and Charlie. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she promised as she patted Vance’s back.

“It was nice seeing you again, Vivian,” I said, trying to sound polite. I didn’t want to do anything else to raise her suspicions.

“You too,” she said, giving me another tight smile before she left. My gaze skirted to Vance’s at the same time he turned to face me. Worry flitted across his features, and I read the question in his eyes: “Do you think she knows?” I didn’t have an answer for him. I couldn’t say whether her suspicion had been legitimate or simply a figment of my guilty conscience.

Charlie yanked on my arm, breaking the hold Vance’s piercing blue stare had on me. “I want to get my face painted!” she pleaded, pointing to the booth where a young woman applied black and orange tiger stripes to the face of a little boy about Charlie’s age. I glanced up at Vance to see if it was okay with him, and he nodded.

Charlie practically ran to the booth, dragging me along as she went. She bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited her turn. When she finally plopped down in the chair, she asked to be painted as a mermaid. When she was finished, I snapped about a dozen pictures on my phone as she posed exuberantly.

“Will you get your face painted too? Just like mine?” she asked, looking up at me hopefully. I hesitated, unsure if I was willing to walk around with children’s face paint on, but when she added a drawn out, “please,” I made up my mind.

“Of course,” I assured her and took the seat she’d just vacated.

The artist gave me a reassuring smile. “I have a tamer version I can do for adults if you’d like,” she offered, and I accepted.

Charlie squealed with delight when I was done and insisted on taking several more pictures of us together. While Vance paid the artist, I set my favorite shot as the background on my phone, my heart filling with joy at the sight of us together, smiling deliriously as I held her close.

37

Vance

Delilah was a beautiful woman,but she was breathtaking when her eyes softened, and a contented smile curved over her mouth as she stared down at the picture on her phone. She allowed the artist to paint her face with bright colors and mermaid scales simply because Charlie had asked her to. My chest squeezed in appreciation. She was willing to do whatever it took to make Charlie happy.

It struck me then that it had always been that way. From the very beginning, Delilah did what was necessary to ensure Charlie’s happiness and well-being even when that meant giving her up. She’d been a broke college student when she got pregnant and knew her mom couldn’t afford another mouth to feed. It just so happened that Sarah and I had decided to explore adoption after another round of IVF failed. Charlie was our miracle when modern medicine couldn’t deliver. Now Delilah was mine and Charlie’s miracle since fate had decided to rip Sarah away from us.

A heaviness settled in my chest as sadness clogged my throat. I swallowed back the emotion and forced a smile as Charlie ran to me, excitedly showing off her makeup.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Daddy,” she crooned.

My eyes lifted and found Delilah’s. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her she looked beautiful too, but I couldn’t. Not in front of Charlie. I told her with my gaze as it drifted over her features, and the corner of my lip tugged up.

“I know I look silly,” she mumbled, “but I couldn’t tell her no.”

“You don’t look silly at all,” I assured her, hoping she’d catch my meaning. Her eyes searched mine, and I held her stare. So much passed between us in those few seconds: words we couldn’t speak out loud, feelings we could no longer fight. I wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss her, but that would have to wait.

Charlie dragged us from ride to ride, only stopping long enough to share a funnel cake with Delilah. By the time we left, it was nearly dark, and I was beat. Charlie bounced and skipped her way out of the gate, rambling about her favorite rides and asking if we could come back. I wasn’t sure how she had so much energy left, but I was certain she’d crash long before we made it home. I still needed to take Delilah home since she didn’t have a vehicle, and as badly as I wanted to ask her to stay tonight, I didn’t think it was a good idea.

---