Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
M itch stared at his son and the baby in his arms, the two of them now settled on the sofa in the living room. Joyce hovered nearby in the kitchen, making tea.
Mitch sat in the recliner and cleared his throat softly. “Start at the beginning.”
Kyle nodded. “That’s easy. Addison didn’t want us anymore.”
“How does a mother not want her child?” It was a valid question, and one Mitch desperately needed to understand.
“She didn’t want the baby in the first place. She was going to get rid of her, but I begged her not to. Promised her I would take full responsibility, do all the work, change all the diapers, everything.” Kyle exhaled and rubbed at his eyes. “She didn’t even want her followers to know she was pregnant. Said it would ruin her image.”
“Carefree party girl?” Joyce offered. “With no attachments to hold her down?”
Kyle nodded as he looked over. “Something like that.”
Mitch’s stomach churned with anger. That explained why she hadn’t posted any full-body pictures in the last six months. And why Kyle hadn’t been in them recently. “She didn’t want the baby.”
“No,” Kyle said. The exhaustion in his voice was plain, as was the pain in his eyes.
Joyce brought over a plate of muffins and a big mug of tea and set them in front of Kyle. “There you go.” She held her hands out. “Give the lamb to me. I can hold her.”
“Okay,” Kyle said softly. He handed the baby over.
“What’s her name?” Mitch asked. He didn’t even know it and he already couldn’t imagine her not being here.
“Ruthie,” Kyle answered. “Ruth Jeanine Ripley. She’s fifteen weeks old.”
Mitch sucked in a breath. Ruth had been Jeanie’s mother’s name. Kyle had been very close to his grandmother. Emotion clogged Mitch’s throat. He cleared it again. “You named her after your mother and grandmother.”
“Yeah,” Kyle said quietly. “Addison didn’t know the significance of the names. Not that she would have cared.” He sighed and picked up the mug, drinking deeply before setting it down again.
Joyce smiled down at the child in her arms. “Hello, Ruthie, love. What a little angel you are.”
“She’s a good baby,” Kyle said, almost defensively. “She fusses, but it’s only when she needs something. Addison didn’t get that. Said she cried all the time. But Addison never bothered to learn what her cries meant. I can tell you when she’s hungry, when she needs to be changed, when she just needs to be held.”
Mitch’s heart clenched. “I’m proud of you.”
Kyle looked up, surprise in his gaze. “You are?”
Mitch nodded. “You’re already a better dad than I was. I never knew any of those things. Your mother did.”
“Listen, about Mom—”
“I’m sorry.” Mitch took a breath. “I wasn’t there for her or you when I should have been. I recognize that. I made a mistake. I should have ignored my work and focused on her. And you. If I had it to do over, things would be different. I don’t blame you for hating me.”
Kyle frowned. “I don’t hate you. I think becoming a parent has helped me understand things better. I know you were just coping in your own way. I didn’t like your way, but I was wrong to judge you. I’m sorry about that.” He looked up at Joyce, who was completely enraptured with Ruthie. “Joyce helped me see that. I owe you for that, Joyce.”
Mitch narrowed his eyes. “How did she help?”
“She wrote to me,” Kyle answered. “Told me what’s been going on. That you were going to a therapist.”
“I never said therapist,” Joyce corrected. “I just said your dad was talking to someone. Someone who was helping him.”
“Same thing,” Kyle said. He looked at Mitch. “The fact that you could do that, you of all people, that seemed like a pretty big step on your part. It made me feel like you were serious about changing things.”
“I was. Am.” Mitch shook his head. “I’m a work in progress. With no real completion date in sight.”
Ruthie let out a little coo and raised her hand toward Joyce’s face. Mitch inhaled. His granddaughter. His whole body ached with something he hadn’t felt since Kyle was a baby. It was like love and pride and a fierce protectiveness all mixed with an overwhelming sense of joy.
Joyce caught his gaze and smiled. She came over to him and placed Ruthie in his arms. “There you go. I have to clean up in the kitchen. You remember how to hold a baby, don’t you?”
Mitch nodded, the wonder of tiny fingers and miniscule dimples leaving him speechless. Ruthie was perfect. She looked up at him, her sweet hazel eyes framed by the pale fringe of her lashes. Her rosebud lips pursed and opened, letting out another soft coo.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was captivating in the same way that Kyle had been as a baby, and yet, there was something else about Ruthie that made his entire life feel worthwhile in a way it never had before.
He saw Jeanie in her.
“Dad, are you…crying?”
Mitch looked up, feeling the tears on his face as Kyle spoke to him. “She’s just so perfect.”
Kyle sniffed and nodded. “Yeah, she is. This feels like the right time to ask. Can we stay? Because we have nowhere else to go. Addison kicked us out.”
Mitch laughed. He’d never been happier to hear such awful news. “Of course you can stay. This is your home.”
“I’ll get a job, I swear. I’ll contribute. I’ll help with the—”
“Kyle, why don’t you just concentrate on taking care of Ruthie for a while? That’s all the job you need to worry about. We’ll help with her, of course. Happily. But you look like you could use some sleep.”
“And a good meal,” Joyce called from the kitchen.
Kyle nodded, his chin crumpling. “It’s been really hard. I’m sorry about my attitude. I miss Mom so much.”
“So do I,” Mitch said. “All the time. But I know she’d be as proud of you as I am. And she’d want you to take care of yourself and this sweet girl. As far as you and I go, it’s all forgotten. We’ll just move forward from here. What do you say? You good with that?”
He sniffed and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, Dad. Some sleep would be great. I haven’t been getting a whole lot of that lately. But I have to get her stuff out of the car. I don’t have a crib for her, either. But I have a Pack ’n Play. She can sleep in that for now.”
“Give me your keys,” Mitch said. “I’ll bring your stuff in.”
“You’re sure?”
Mitch looked down at Ruthie’s sweet face again. “We’ve got this.” He glanced up. “Don’t we, Joyce?”
“Of course we do.” Joyce lifted her chin. “You need a hot shower and a long nap, Kyle. When you get up, there’ll be a good meal waiting for you. Mind, my sister will be here this evening, but Beryl will be happy to pitch in with our Ruthie.”
Kyle looked over. “Your sister is coming?”
Joyce nodded, all smiles. “She is. Your father bought her ticket.”
Disbelief bracketed Kyle’s eyes. “You paid for the ticket, Dad?”
“I did.” And if Kyle thought that was impressive, wait until he saw how Mitch spoiled his first grandchild.
“And you’re really good with all of this? With us being here.”
“I am,” Mitch assured him. “Now, you’d better do as Joyce says. You know how she can get.”
Kyle laughed. “Yeah, I do.” He stood. “It’s good to be home.”
“It’s good to have you home.” Mitch got to his feet as well. He had a lot of questions that remained unanswered, but those could wait until later. Kyle clearly needed some rest.
“I should at least get my bag out of the car if I’m going to shower. Which I want to. I probably need it. I drove straight here. I only stopped for gas and when Ruthie needed something. I’m beat.”
He looked it, but Mitch didn’t say that. “You’ll be all right in a few days.”
“We’ll fix you up,” Joyce said.
Mitch carried Ruthie over to her. “Will you take her while we get their stuff?”
Joyce slipped the baby into her arms. “It would be my pleasure. She looks ready to sleep herself, the little angel.”
Kyle yawned. “I’ll set up the Pack ’n Play before I shower. Then you can put her down in that.”
Mitch went out to Kyle’s car with him. As Kyle opened the trunk, he turned to his dad. “I really wasn’t sure what to expect coming here. Joyce said it would be all right, but…” He shrugged. “Thanks for being so decent about it all.”
“I love you,” Mitch said, knowing full well it wasn’t something he’d said to his son in many years. “I’m sorry you ever thought otherwise. I’m sorry for all of it. You and Ruthie are welcome here for as long as you want.”
Kyle looked like he was struggling not to break down. “Thanks,” he managed.
Mitch pulled him into a hug. “Everything’s going to be all right, son.”
Kyle leaned into him and nodded. “I hope so.”