Page 136 of Winter Vows

He took a deep breath and dived in. “I’ve been thinking a lot about Shane lately.” He looked into her eyes. “Wondering if I made a mistake.”

“He’s happy, Dylan.”

“I know that,” he said, fighting against an unreasonable tide of misery. Was he wrong to be asking this of Kit? Of Shane? Was it too late to stake a claim he never should have given up in the first place?

“But you miss him, anyway,” she guessed. “Yes. Does that make me totally selfish?”

“No. Sorry. It just makes you human. You’re his dad, Dylan. He’s the best thing you ever gave me. I’m not surprised you want to know him. I would, if our roles were reversed.”

He began to feel hopeful. “Can we work this out? Or is it too late?”

She regarded him with surprising sympathy. “As long as we’re still alive, it’s never too late to change things. Another lesson learned through our mistakes.”

“I don’t want to turn his life upside down, or yours and Steve’s.”

“Oh, Dylan, knowing his real dad loves him isn’t going to turn his world upside down. It’s just going to bring more love into his life. Steve and his boys taught me that when they accepted Shane and me right from the beginning. You’re the one who was so certain Shane would be better off without you. I never thought it. Not really. Neither did Steve, though he was grateful to you for wanting him to be a real dad to Shane. I always hoped you’d realize one day what you’d given up.”

He stared at her in amazement. He could tell that she honestly meant what she’d said, that whatever ill will had been between them was in the past. “You’re a remarkable woman, Kit. Why didn’t I know that?”

“Maybe I did my best to see that you never saw it,” she said wryly. She glanced at the clock. “Shane will be home soon. Want to stick around?”

“More than anything,” Dylan admitted, then felt panic clawing at his insides. What if he’d waited too long? What if Shane didn’t even know who he was? Would he be able to bear it? “Maybe we should do this another day. Shouldn’t you talk to Steve first? Maybe a lawyer?”

“This is between you and me and Shane,” she said. “The legalities can be worked out later. As for Steve, we agreed from the beginning that if you ever changed your mind, we’d amend the agreement. Frankly, what surprised us both—especially after those surreptitious little visits of yours—was that it took you so long.”

He shook his head at her ability to read him so well. “Why didn’t you just knock me upside the head back then and tell me what a mistake I was making?”

“Would you have listened?”

“Probably not,” he admitted.

“Which is exactly why it seemed like such a waste of time. Besides, I’ll admit to being selfish enough back then to want Shane all to myself. I figured you didn’t deserve him.”

Just then Dylan heard the rumble of what was most likely a school bus outside. His pulse accelerated.

“Is that him?”

Kit nodded. “Prepare to be caught up in a tornado.”

Less than a minute later, the front door opened, then slammed shut.

“Mommy!” The excited shout just about raised the rafters. “I’m home!”

“In the kitchen, Shane.”

“Baking cookies?” he asked hopefully as he ran into the room, then skidded to a stop at the sight of Dylan. He inched closer to his mother, eyeing Dylan warily. Kit kept a light hand resting on his shoulder, but said nothing. Dylan was at a loss for words.

“I know you,” Shane said after what seemed like an eternity. He looked up at Kit. “Don’t I?”

She nodded.

“You’re the man in the picture.”

Dylan felt as if his heart had stopped. “What picture is that?”

“In my room. Mommy told me it was my dad, my real dad. She said Steve adopted me, so he’s a real dad, too. She said I’m really lucky to have two dads.”

Dylan felt the sharp sting of tears in his eyes and blinked them away. If he and Kit had been alone at that moment, he might have bawled like a baby, he was so grateful to her for keeping him alive in Shane’s mind. He glanced up at her and mouthed silently, “Thank you.”

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