Kim Watters - And Father Makes Three

Blake,

I hope this letter finds you well. There are two things I want to tell you and I know I don’t have a lot of time left. My brain aneurysm is inoperable and my symptoms are getting worse, which is why I’m putting my affairs in order.

I actually find it kind of ironic that I would die first when you were the one who always took the risks, but such is life. I’ve found God and have been praying daily to find answers, and I’ve finally found peace. I hope you will someday, too. I love you. I always did, always will.

First, I’m sorry I ran out on our marriage, but I only wanted you to be happy. I couldn’t give you what you needed. I hope some day you find someone who can, if you haven’t already.

Second, you are a father. Your daughter is with Elizabeth Randall, who works at Kingfisher Memorial in Scottsdale. Since I cannot be a part of her life anymore, I’m passing on that responsibility to you.

I’m sorry I never told you, and am only doing so with a letter, but I was a coward then, and things still haven’t changed. I suppose I could have found you all those years ago, but I did what I thought best for both of you. I can only hope you’ll forgive me when you see what a beautiful daughter we created. A daughter who needs you. They both do. Please go to them now that you’ve read this letter and love your daughter like I did. Elizabeth can answer any other questions you might have.

With love,

Tessa

Nothing had changed since the day he’d received it. What he couldn’t figure out was why Tessa’s attorney had waited over two months to contact him, or why Elizabeth needed his help. He knew why he needed hers.

He was a father. No longer the last of the Crawfords in this line.

Blake folded the paper back up and tucked it into his pocket again. “What’s her name?”

“Tessa named her Jordan.”

“Jordan?” Somehow Blake managed to keep his voice low and even. Jordan had been his mother’s maiden name. Tessa truly had loved him in spite of his flaws. So why had she left him? And why had she kept the knowledge of their daughter’s existence from him?

This whole conversation was surreal. He’d come to meet the woman who had Jordan so he could make arrangements to see her. Take her home with him. Learn to be a good father, not like the one who’d raised him. And yet fear gripped his heart.

This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. With his schedule, how could he take care of a child? Who would watch her when he pulled his twenty-four-hour shifts? He’d have to buy a bigger condo, or maybe even a house. What did he even know about kids anyway, especially preteen girls?

None of that mattered. He’d figure it out. “When can I pick her up?”

“Pick her up?” Confusion filled Elizabeth’s voice, followed by compassion. “I’m sorry, Blake, but Jordan’s my daughter now. My late husband and I adopted her.”

“What? When?”

“At birth.”

“Wait a minute. At birth? So why— This doesn’t make any sense.” He jumped up and began to pace, leaving a trail in the dirt.

“I’m sorry you were sent here on a wild-goose chase, Blake. I have no idea why Tessa would be so cruel to either one of us.”

Sirens sounded in the distance and Elizabeth’s phone chirped. He knew she was wrestling with wanting to be in two places at once. Her patients depended on her, but this was an important conversation. Her gaze flipped between the hospital and him.

“This is far from over.”

“What do you want from me, Blake?”

Elizabeth rose to her full height, which almost matched his, and drilled him with her gaze. But he refused to be intimidated by the doctor.

“I want my daughter.”

* * *

“So who was the dude in the blue T-shirt?” Susie Tan stared at Elizabeth over the rim of her coffee cup in the hospital cafeteria a few hours later. The nurse’s lips formed a straight line. “You looked upset when you returned.”

“Jordan’s biological father.”

“Whoa. Wait a minute. He’s what?” Susie’s eyebrows rose and her mouth dropped open.

Elizabeth’s fingers tightened around the foam coffee cup. “Jordan’s father. Apparently the mother lied about not knowing his identity. They were married at the time of Jordan’s conception.”

“Oh, Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. What does he want?” Marcella Rodriguez from the Labor & Delivery department asked.

“Jordan.” Elizabeth barely contained the sob in her voice.

“Does he know?” Susie questioned.

“No.” Elizabeth took a sip of her coffee and scalded her tongue. She closed her eyes and shifted in the hard, plastic chair. How would Blake react to his daughter’s illness? Would it make him go away and leave them alone?

Wrong. That wasn’t fair of her.

“What I don’t get is why now? Why didn’t he come forward years ago?”

“He just found out.”

“Do you suppose he knows something you don’t?” Marcella flipped open the tab of her diet soda, worry creasing her brow. “I mean, I know you won’t want to hear this, but are you sure the adoption was legal? I’d think he would have had to sign off on it, which means he knew about his ex-wife’s pregnancy. The fact he didn’t…”

Elizabeth inhaled sharply and opened her eyes. Ice momentarily chilled her veins. As if she didn’t have enough to worry about. She dragged in a painful breath as his last words rang in her ears. “I want my daughter!”

“Hey, I’m sure the adoption was legal.” Susie interjected. “You know this might work in your favor. A father without all the complications, and it would be nice for you to have someone else to help you through this.”

“Knights in shining armor only appear in fairy tales. I’d still make sure about the adoption. My cousin knows an adoption attorney—he handled their adoption last year.” Concern now laced Marcella’s voice as she ripped open a candy bar and popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth. “I’ll get Arturo’s work number for you unless you can track down the original attorney.”

“It’s probably not necessary, but thanks. I’d appreciate that.” Elizabeth toyed with the salt and pepper shakers on the table to keep her fingers from trembling. Every once in a while—like today—memories of the day she adopted Jordan haunted her. Had she done the right thing all those years ago when she came up with a solution for Tessa’s pregnancy? What if the adoption wasn’t legal after all? What if Blake decided he wanted custody?

What if she lost Jordan in another way?

An uncomfortable silence lingered at the table as Marcella finished up her snack and Susie fingered the red-and-white stir stick in her coffee cup. “So who’s up to seeing a movie Friday night?”

“I am. Are you, Elizabeth? You could use a night out.”

Elizabeth unwound her fingers from the shakers and forced a smile to her lips. “Sure. After I get Jordan to sleep.”

Susie crushed Marcella’s candy wrapper and stuffed it inside her empty coffee cup. “Sounds like a plan.”

Elizabeth’s phone chirped, signaling a text. Pulling out her BlackBerry, she glanced at the message and sighed. “Gotta run. Jordan’s doctor wants to see me.”

* * *

“—I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Amen.”

“Amen.” As Elizabeth gently squeezed her nine-year-old daughter’s hand, anxiety twisted her muscles into a knot. Jordan had lost more weight and her bald spots were more prominent from her last round of chemo. Soon they’d have to shave off the rest of her shoulder-length, dark brown hair. Elizabeth contained the sob in her throat. Jordan had to get better.

Please, God, heal my daughter.

Still kneeling beside her hospital bed, Jordan lifted her head and gazed out the window. Elizabeth knew she looked into the twilight, pretending to see God’s face smiling down at her. While Elizabeth didn’t have her daughter’s imagination and would only see the darkening horizon, the outline of another building to the left of the hospital and the silhouette of Camelback Mountain in the distance, she still felt His love, and the emerging twinkling stars filled her with hope.