“Sorry,” she whispered. “But oh my gosh! You write comic books?”
He smiled and nodded. “If you ever read it it’s about Clear Creek in the old days. Remember the stories we heard growing up?”
“Do I ever. Some of them are scary. Especially the ones about the time travelers. Yikes.”
“Well, you know how I always liked to draw…”
She paced in front of him, unable to help it. “You make a good living at that?”
“Yeah. And the beauty of it is, I can work anywhere.”
She smiled and sat again. “So that’s why you came home. You want to raise Sophie here.”
He looked into her eyes. “Yes, I do.”
Holly looked at the floor and nodded to herself. “This explains a lot.” She returned his gaze and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll help you. What do you need?”
Chapter Five
Zane closed the door to his motel room and watched Holly walk across the parking lot through the window. It was good seeing her. Real good. She was so different from when he knew her before. He could hardly believe his eyes. Too bad he didn’t have time to appreciate the beautiful woman she’d become.
She was still so innocent, happy, and full of joy. He knew he could trust her. He’d always trusted her.
Zane turned, watched his sleeping daughter for a moment, then sat on the other bed. What had he gotten himself into? More importantly, what did he just drag Holly into?
Not that he’d asked for this mess, mind, it all just landed in his lap. But he was determined to make it work and do the right thing. Jillian should have told her parents despite the huge rift between them. Of course, he didn’t realize how big the rift was until Tricia showed up on the doorstep of his New York apartment with a baby in her arms. She and Jillian were roommates and left New York for New Rochelle right after she broke it off with him. Did her parents even know where they lived?
Speaking of parents… he’d have to set up a meeting with his, tell them about Sophie, then pray they didn’t come unglued. He was, after all, the preacher’s son. He was supposed to be a model of the community, set a good example; well so much for that.
He looked at little Sophie and smiled. She looked just like him, anyone could see it. He was surprised Holly hadn’t. But then, she hadn’t seen him in years. She was probably in as much shock at seeing him as he was seeing her.
He went to the window, crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the parking lot. Holly had always been a little pudgy in high school, but he liked it. It went with her personality. Now she reminded him of a mischievous pixie or fairy. The only thing missing was the pointed ears. Oh, and wings. Didn’t fairies have wings?
On the one hand he was surprised she agreed to help. On the other, he expected her to dive in with both feet. She always did have a big heart and wouldn’t be doing it for him but for Sophie. The poor little thing was the innocent one in all of this, and he’d do what was necessary to protect her.
“Oh, Jillie, is that why you never told anyone? What’s your father going to do when he finds out?” He’d been asking himself that for weeks. Charles Parker was a powerful man. He’d take one look at Zane, find out he made comics for a living and laugh in his face. Then he’d probably tell him he was unfit for fatherhood. And what about Mrs. Parker? The way Jillie described her, she was worse than her father. Would they even have any interest in their own grandchild?
But Tricia was the one that feared if the Parkers saw the baby, they’d try to take her. She told him that Sophie would be nothing more than an asset, a possession in their eyes. And worse, that Sophie would grow up to be just like them. It was why Jillie stayed away and kept the baby hidden from her parents. At least according to Tricia.
Tricia did the right thing in bringing Sophie to him. As the child’s father, he’d taken responsibility and would just have to handle things. But he still wanted to do what he thought was right, despite Tricia’s warnings.
He sat on the bed and gently touched Sophie’s hair. “For a little thing you sure are causing a lot