Page 75 of Come Back for Me
“Sorry?”
I have no idea what she has to be sorry about.
“Sorry that I never found you. I’m sorry I married that horrible man and let him raise her. I’m so sorry she didn’t know what life could’ve been like with you!” Ellie sobs, and I pull her to my chest. She cries, and I hold her. “I’m sorry I didn’t do more for her! I’m sorry!”
I can’t imagine how she feels because, if her emotions are anything like what I’m enduring, she’s overwhelmed.
I have a little girl who I missed getting to watch grow up, but I don’t blame Ellie. How the hell could she have found me? Walked around a town that I didn’t live in, asking for a guy whose name she didn’t know? Sure, if she knew I was an Arrowood, it would’ve been different, but she didn’t even have that much.
“You did the best you could. You didn’t know she was mine until just now. You protected her, Ellie.”
She lifts her head, and I wipe away the moisture under her eyes. “She should’ve never needed it.”
“We can’t change the mistakes we’ve made. Lord knows I’ve tried to atone for mine.”
If she knew the things I’ve done to erase the things I want to forget, she might run. The day I left this town was the day I shed who I once was. All of my brothers did the same. When we were here, we were forced into a life we didn’t want. My father broke us, and I’ve done everything I could to rebuild. I served my country and tried to do good. I’ve never allowed the shit that happened to affect who I am now.
“I feel like I can never make this right for her or you. She should’ve known you. Look how much she loves you already.”
“And I’ll be there for her the rest of my life.”
“You know this means . . . everything I was worried about with the divorce won’t matter. Kevin will never be able to touch her. He isn’t her father, and he has no rights to her,” she says as her eyes fill with relief.
No, her ex will never be around Hadley or Ellie ever again.
“In order for that to happen, we’re going to have to tell her.”
She takes a step back and then turns. “I know.”
“Do you not want to?”
Ellie spins around. “No, I do. But we can’t just spring this on her. She doesn’t know we met before. She’s only ever known Kevin as her father. While I don’t think she’ll react badly, I think she’ll be confused.”
I nod. The last thing I want to do is make this harder on either of them. And even when you have an abusive parent, you still love them and want them to love you—maybe even more so than if you had a loving parent. I would beg God to let my father see that we were good kids. I wanted him to be proud of us and would often do things to earn his approval.
It never came, and I was only left more disappointed until I finally stopped caring.
“And we’ll both be there to help her through.”
Ellie gives me a soft smile. “We have a daughter.”
I take the step toward her, closing the distance. “We do. And soon, I hope to have you.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ellie
“Mom, watch this!” Hadley yells as she spins on the tire swing that Connor hung for her off the edge of the tree house.
He’s been working on it at least an hour of each day, making it more special than she could ever imagine. This last week, she’s been here until one of us comes to drag her home.
“Hadley, it’s getting cold, and you have homework.”
“But I like it here!”
“I know you do, but you have to get your schoolwork done. And we have to go home to get some things.”
She mutters under her breath as she slogs her feet toward me. “Can’t you go?”
