Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,92
from her lungs as she fell into his arms. “Ben, I’m so scared.”
“I know, baby. I am too.”
“There’s no right answer. She’s Bea’s mother and you’re Bea’s father. She’s not mine, but I feel like she is, and that’s not supposed to be what this is about.”
He drew back, taking her face between his hands. Anger and sadness warred in his stormy eyes as he said, “She’s ours, Aurelia. Not just mine. Ours.”
She nodded, but more tears fell. “She’s hers, too. We can’t ignore that.”
His jaw clenched, and when he opened his mouth to speak, no words came. His forehead fell to her shoulder as his arms circled her. They clung to each other, shedding tears, swimming against a raging tide as the weight of the morning swamped them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Ben and Aurelia sat with his family in Willow and Zane’s living room, which should have been brimming with smiles and laughter in celebration of Mother’s Day. Instead, he held tightly to Aurelia’s hand, meeting his family’s distraught faces. He’d just told them about Caroline showing up. Thankfully, Derek, Flossie, and Alisha had taken Jonah into another room, and Bodhi and Zane were playing outside with Louie, giving them privacy.
“Oh my God, Ben,” Willow said wistfully. “You can’t let her take Bea away.”
“Did you ask if she wanted to take her?” Bridgette asked.
“She abandoned her,” Piper snapped. “That woman’s not taking her. I’ve got your back, Ben. You tell me when, and we’ll go tell her how it’s going to be.”
“But you wouldn’t even know she existed if not for her,” Talia, always the most levelheaded, reminded him. “I think you should hear her out. She’s not demanding money, is she?”
Piper glared angrily at Talia. “Hear her out? She left the baby on the doorstep. The only thing Ben should hear out is his foot kicking her ass out of Sweetwater for good.”
“Piper, you’re not a mother!” Bridgette snapped. “You can’t know why she did it or how she’s feeling. I can’t imagine how hard it was for her to leave that sweet baby in the first place.”
Piper pushed to her feet and seethed, “So you think he should just hand her over?”
“No! I’m not saying—”
“Girls!” Roxie snapped, clutching Bea to her chest. “Stop, please. This isn’t a matter that can be settled by accusations and assumptions.” She turned concerned eyes to Ben and Aurelia and said, “I know you’re both hurting, and you’re scared, but I’m with Flossie on this one. You said she suggested you talk with Caroline and get the answers before making any rash decisions. Ben, you have more money than you know what to do with, and you’re her father. Caroline can’t take her away without a legal battle. And that’s not something I am condoning. I’m just pointing it out. But this isn’t about you, Aurelia, or even Caroline.”
His mother smiled down at Bea, lovingly stroking her cheek, and said, “This is about this innocent baby girl, where she came from, what her future will hold.” Her eyes found Ben’s again, and he felt her pain the way he now understood only a parent could feel the pain of their child. “Benny, this is one of the most important decisions you will ever make, and you must remember that it’s not about the hurt you feel for your daughter, or how much you want to protect her, or your own heart, or Aurelia’s heart. It’s about the hurt your daughter will feel if she finds out you kept her from seeing her birth mother.”
Guilt strangled Ben, making it hard to breathe, even harder to think clearly. He shifted his attention to his father, the only one who hadn’t given his two cents, and said, “Dad? What should I do?”
His father looked around the room at each of his children, who were all sitting on the edge of their seats, except Piper, who was pacing, arms crossed, jaw clenched. Willow sat beside their mother, looking like she was going to cry as she gazed at Bea. Talia was watching Ben, her serious eyes peering out from behind her glasses, imploring him to talk to Caroline. When his father’s eyes met Aurelia’s, her grip on Ben’s hand tightened, and he felt her trembling. Then his father’s serious eyes found his, and he saw so many conflicting emotions, it was like looking in a mirror.
“Son,” his father said, “do you remember what I said about giving people space to make their own mistakes?”