Page 41 of Fight for Me
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Devney grabs my other hand and squeezes it. “I hate to see you hurt like this. I could kill him for making you leave your home.”
“He’s not at fault—I am. I’ve spent my life waiting for a man to come back and fight for something that he never wanted to fight for. Declan made his intentions clear when he left me. He doesn’t love me the way I need him to. He doesn’t want a family. He wants the life he has, and I want more. It just took me a while to see that.”
I hate keeping the bigger reason from my friends, but I won’t tell anyone else before I tell Declan. He deserves to know about the baby before my friends do.
“I don’t like it, but I understand your choice. When will you leave?” Ellie asks.
I lift one shoulder. “It depends on when I can get the house sold.”
Chapter Twelve
Sydney
“Sydneybean, I think you’re fussing over nothing,” Jimmy says as I wipe the counter for the third time.
“I don’t know what they’re looking for.”
“Land, and you have it. A lot of it.”
Yes, but I have this house too, and it’s worth something. It’s where I came down the stairs and found Declan waiting to take me to prom. It’s filled with Christmas memories, and the small dent from when Sierra did a handstand and fell, putting a hole in the wall.
Even the bad memories have a voice.
“Still, I don’t want anyone to judge the house poorly.”
He grabs the coffee mug and takes a long sip, all the while staring at me.
I know he has something he wants to say. “Just spit it out, Jimmy.”
He sets his mug down before crossing his arms over his chest. “You think you’re fooling the world, Bean, but you’re not fooling this old man. You’ve got a secret.”
Oh, Lord. Not today, please.
“I have many secrets.”
“Not with me you don’t.”
Well, he’s wrong there, but I’m not going to argue. The thing is, he does know me. He was always good at seeing through the crap, and I could never get away with lying or telling him half-truths. That said, I’m not ready to tell him either.
“There’s something going on that I can’t talk about right now, but I promise, I’m fine and when I can tell you, I will.”
Jimmy leans back, watching me. “I appreciate the honesty, but that doesn’t explain why you’re leaving town. This is your home, darling.”
“People move.”
“Yes, but is that what you really want?”
Would I have stayed here if I weren’t pregnant? Yes. I would’ve, but I am pregnant and not stupid enough to think that raising a baby alone will be easy. I need a support system. So, I’m doing what I have to.
“All I want is for you to be happy, if that means you leave here, then so be it.”
I walk over to him and kiss his cheek. “You know, I always wished you could be my daddy.”
He pulls me into his arms, chin resting on my head. “I did too, Bean, but the Lord knew we needed each other, so he put us together. Your father didn’t deserve you. To leave a child like that is unthinkable. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and you’re not even mine.”
We don’t talk much about Hal Hastings. No one brings him up because there is not much to say other than he was an ass.
