Ruby stood, pushing the chair where she’d been sitting back. “I hope when Mom gets here, we can go home.” She looked to Araneae. “No offense. Your place is nice and all. I just miss the way it’s supposed to be.”
Taking a deep breath, I stood. “We’ll talk again once Maddie is here.”
Ruby’s blue gaze narrowed as she turned back to me. “What did you call her?”
“Maddie, short for Madeline.”
“She doesn’t go by that name.”
“Not anymore,” I replied. “At one time she did.”
“How did you lose touch?” When I didn’t respond, Ruby continued. “Yesterday you said you and Mom lost touch. Did you leave her? Did you find out she was pregnant and take the next bus out of town?”
My head shook as her natural assumptions tore away pieces of my heart. “No.”
The room filled with awkward silence as Ruby scanned from person to person.
It was finally Sparrow who spoke. “She left him.”
Ruby turned toward his deep voice.
“Your mother left Patrick,” Sparrow repeated.
“For Andros?”
Sparrow shrugged. “We don’t know, Ruby. Give Patrick a break and wait for your mom. He’s dealing with a lot right now.”
“He is?” she asked. “Yeah, it must be a real bummer to learn you have a daughter.”
I did what I’d wanted to do since I first laid eyes on Ruby: I reached out and seized her hands. Peering down at our union, I was struck by how similar her hands were to her mother’s. They were petite with slender fingers, yet the hands in mine were not those of a child.
As Ruby stood stoically, not backing away, and her hands began to tremble, the rest of the room, my friends and chosen family, disappeared.
It was only Ruby and I.
“It is the greatest honor of my life to learn I have a daughter,” I said, still holding her now-shaking hands. “An honor to see you, to touch you, to know you’re real. I don’t know what happened before you were born other than that I didn’t leave Maddie. As far as what did happen, I don’t care. None of it matters now. Yes, you were right. The cheek swab was a paternity test, and this morning we learned the truth. I’m your father. I didn’t need the damn test. Once Maddie told me you existed, I believed. And then when I saw you yesterday, I knew without a doubt in my heart that you were part of me. The test wasn’t for me to believe. I’m sorry for the years I’ve missed—we’ve missed. But I refuse to concentrate on that. Finding you gives me—gives all of us—a future I never dreamt was possible.
“I’m thrilled to finally learn about you and have you in my life. I don’t blame you for being leery.” I looked around the room. “We’re a strange bunch of misfits. We’re also loyal to a fault. I pledged my love to your mom long before we married, but on that day, we made it official. After all this time, I still love her. I also love you with an overpowering feeling I can’t describe. I hope one day you can see to, at the very least, accept me.” I let go of her hands. “I would never force you.”
She took a deep breath. “You and Mom were married?”
“Technically, we still are.”
“This doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I agreed. “I wanted to wait until Maddie arrived, but…” A smile came to my lips. “…I should have known better. She told me that you’re smart and inquisitive.”
“What else did she tell you?”
The room around us came back as people began moving about.
“How about the two of us go in the living room and talk a little?” I asked.
“But aren’t you going to get my mom?”
I looked at Reid and Mason, who both nodded my way. “I am, and I have help getting a plane ready. Maybe I can answer some of your questions and you can answer mine?”
Ruby looked across the table at Araneae. “Will I be staying with you?”
Araneae nodded. “I’d like that. I usually leave for work, but as luck would have it, we ladies are all staying home. I’ll be here with you.”
“I’m usually here,” Lorna volunteered. “Every day. You won’t be alone.”
“Can we leave?” Ruby asked. “This apartment? Can we get out of here?”
It was Araneae who answered. “I’ll tell you something that took me a long time to realize.” She lowered her voice. “And something I still won’t admit to my husband, so don’t tell him.”
Ruby peered sideways toward Sparrow whose stern expression had cracked to a smirk.
“This place isn’t so bad. It’s like we’re invisible to others. No one can get to us. Yes, it can be irritating to feel trapped, but having friends with you makes it a lot better.” She looked at Lorna and Laurel who were standing near the kitchen’s island. “And we always know that it won’t be forever.” She lifted her chin toward me. “Patrick and the others will make sure your mom is safe and bring her here. Then the future is up to the two of you. Right now, if you were my daughter, I’d want to know that you were as safe as possible. Don’t you think that your mom wants the same thing?”
Ruby turned to me. “Okay, we can talk for a little while. I really want my mom.”
The smile returned to my face. “I do too.” I reached for my coffee mug. “Do you drink coffee?”
She shook her head and scrunched her nose. “No, it smells disgusting. I like hot chocolate.”
“Coming right up,” Lorna called as Ruby and I moved toward the archway.
My daughter walked ahead toward Araneae and Sparrow’s living room.
“Thank you,” I whispered to Araneae.
“Give her time. She has a lot to process.”
“So do I.”
Ruby and I settled on a sofa that faced the tall windows looking out onto Lake Michigan. Wisps of snow spun near the windows as large chunks of ice gathered in the distance near the lake’s shore. The blue sky above was dotted with gray clouds as if threatening a new accumulation of snow.
“Here you go,” Lorna said as she sat a mug of steaming hot chocolate on the table before us. “Be careful. It’s hot.”
“Thanks, Lorna,” I said.
“Thank you,” Ruby added. “Misfits?”
Lorna gave her a bright smile, her vibrant red hair swinging in a ponytail as she turned to go back to the kitchen.
“These are my friends, Ruby. We support one another. I’m sure it’s how it’s been where you have been living.”
Ruby shrugged as she looked out the windows. “I’ve known most of my classmates for a long time.”
“Your school.” I was thinking of the bratva. “I’m sorry if you miss it. Right now, it’s better for you to stay here.”
“How could you be married to my mom without me ever knowing?”
“After we lost track of one another, we both made assumptions. I was led to believe your mom was deceased, and no, I was never made aware that she was pregnant.”
“So you knew Cindy?”
I tried to think back. “Cindy?”
“My middle name. It’s the only friend my mother ever mentioned. They were friends before I was born.”