Page 75 of Never Date A Player
My mother rattles on, unaware of the depth of my internal turmoil. “He’s provided for us comfortably. You only just graduated. I was getting ready to tell you. I wish he had talked to me before he went to you.”
I used to believe my father abandoned me, but I also thought there was a chance he didn’t know I existed. That if he’d known, he would have wanted me.
He let me grow up believing I didn’t have a father. My mother’s to blame too—maybe more so—I don’t know… I can’t think above the pounding in my head. I click off the phone without saying goodbye.
Chapter Twenty-Five
My mother tried calling a half a dozen times before I finally turned off my phone. I need to see Lewis, to feel his arms around me. I drive to his office.
“Hiya, honey,” the receptionist at Sallee Construction says. “Want to hear your horoscope? Was just pulling up?—”
“Is Lewis around?”
Her smile drops, her eyes taking in my tense shoulders—elbows pressed to my ribs. “No, sweetie, he’s not. Is there someone else I can get for you?”
I shake my head and walk out the glass door, the bell chiming behind me. When I return to my car, I turn on my phone for the first time since this morning. There are thirty-four missed calls from my mother. I call Lewis, but he doesn’t answer. I leave a message, then text him.
Gen: Please call. I spoke to my mother about Jeb. Need to see you.
I shouldn’t rely on Lewis—he has so much responsibility already—but I can’t help it. Amidst the crazy, I want to be near him.
I keep my head down at the casino that night and focus on serving and staying out of Amber’s way in the lounge. I just need to get through my shift.
It’s nearly over and Lewis hasn’t returned my call, which isn’t like him, not even before we became something more.
“Snow.” Amber’s voice is curt, agitated. “You’ve got ten minutes to have your little chat. I’m clocking. And I’m only doing this because the lady gave me a Benjamin. She’s waiting at table nineteen.”
I glance up, confused, until I see Simone, Jeb’s wife, sitting at the rear of the bar.
Simone is in an elegant sleeveless top and black pants, and she’s smiling kindly, her blond hair smoothed to the side and tucked behind her ear.
I finish delivering my order and tentatively cross the room to her.
“You’re wondering why I’m here,” She says as I sit, her voice gentle. “I came—well—because I’m a mother. Jeb and I have a daughter who’s three.” Simone drops her eyes to her folded hands, as if nervous.
Where is she going with this? The news that my biological father moved on to produce more children without being a part of my life is not what I want to hear.
She returns her gaze to me. “Your mom called Jeb. She explained the conversation she had with you. She’s very worried, and so is Jeb.”
The fury from this morning rekindles in my chest. “My mother betrayed me and treated me without respect, withholding information I had a right to know.”
Simone nods. “I understand. But I also see your mother’s point of view. Jeb was years younger than you are now when you were born. He made terrible choices back then. He was in no condition to raise a child, and he knew it. I’m married to him and I love him with all of my heart, but even I believe your mother made the right choice to keep you from him when you were young.”
“Why would he show up now, after all these years?”
“He’s slowly turned things around, but he hurt your mother deeply and he let you both down. He’s had a difficult time forgiving himself for that. Out of respect for your mother’s wishes, he stayed away until you finished school, but even before we married, your father expressed his desire to be a part of your life.”
Simone reaches across the table and touches my hand gently. “Genevieve, I know this is a lot to take in, but please give your father a chance. He wants to be in your life. He’d like to tell you this himself, but I convinced him to let me give it a try. I thought you should hear it from someone who came into the situation late and who is able to see things from the outside—two parents who care deeply for their child, struggling to do what is best. They made mistakes. We made mistakes. Please try to forgive us.”
I shake my head, not understanding any of this. “How do you leave your kid behind? How could he care and still do that?”
“He should have found a way to be a part of your life. At the time, he didn’t believe himself worthy. He thought keeping a distance while providing for your care was for the best. It’s a decision he regrets every day and has made a great effort to change.”
Now? Now he decides he wants in? “I’m a full-grown woman. What’s the point?”
Her shoulders loosen, her hand slipping back into her lap. She smiles. “To know you, to love you, to be there for you. We both want that. Jeb has always wanted it in his heart, even when he didn’t feel he deserved it.”
A tear escapes and I swipe it away. “I don’t trust him.”
