Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,52
only to notice her swelling belly.
“What?” He swallowed hard before he could ask. “What is that?”
“I’d say that was obvious.”
“Who is the father?”
Her smile widened. “You are my only lover.”
He shook his head. “Impossible. I last saw you only four months ago.”
“Not impossible with the right kind of prenatal care and funds to pay for injections to speed up growth. An Earl in Emerald was most eager to help. I would advise if you want her born in your castle to hustle.” She put a hand on the hump. “She’s going to come any day now.”
“She?” He blinked at the big belly.
“You’re going to have a daughter.”
Stunned, he didn’t ask her the questions he should have, such as why she’d waited so long to return. Why she came back. But he was happy and stupid. All the symptoms of a man in love.
He drove as fast as he dared, watching nervously as Theona trailed behind. The nights provided no rest, as he insisted she have a full night’s sleep while he stood watch.
By the time he arrived at Eden, he was practically driving in his sleep. He only barely recalled parking the vehicles and stumbling to his house. When next he woke, it was because Theona was shaking him.
“Wake up. The baby is coming.”
The words took a moment to penetrate. When they did, he’d rolled out of bed and run for Jenny the midwife, who he only knew about because she’d helped them deliver a calf that had gotten turned around in the womb.
With much screaming, and plenty of cursing that they lived in a backwater with the most pathetic lack of pain remedies, Charlie was born, a red squalling bundle with a thatch of shocking white hair.
Roark fell in love. His perfect daughter. The most incredible thing he’d ever conceived, which was why he couldn’t understand why Theona had little interest.
After the midwife wiped her down and swaddled her, he’d cradled the baby, his big hand cupping her head. In that moment, any doubts he might have had were gone.
This was his child.
He’d brought her to Theona and crouched down to show off their daughter.
Theona took one look and said, “I’m tired.”
She was always too tired or busy. Unlike other mothers, Theona showed not a single maternal instinct, meaning he had to hire the services of another just to feed his daughter. The midwife told him that it happened in some cases. Claimed Theona would snap out of it.
He took heart the day Theona encouraged him to go on a hunting trip and offered to take care of the baby. A part of him knew it was out of character, which was why he initially said no.
Theona’s lips trembled, and her eyes filled with tears. “You don’t trust me with my own child.”
The shame inside him was because it was true. Hence why he left and returned within two days. But it was too late.
Theona had already gone. But oddly enough she’d left Charlotte behind with a tiny pinprick in her skin, as if something had taken some blood.
No note. Not a single word. Yet, he had no doubt Theona left of her own volition. The woman was not as weak or meek as she liked to portray. Had he ever known her at all? Did he even want to understand a woman who could leave her child?
It was probably a horrible thing to think, but he was glad she’d left. He had his daughter, the one person he’d lay his life down for.
A few months passed, and Charlie grew, developing her own personality, making him find joy anew in the world around him. During that time, Sachi adopted them to the delight of the baby. Charlie had just turned a year old when her mother returned.
The guards he’d finally placed around Eden never warned him; hence his surprise as he entered the square with Charlie, heading to the fountain, her little arm stretched to hold his hand. They might have moved into the castle at the insistence of the people, but he brought her back often to splash in the water.
A hand holding on to the back of Charlotte’s romper, he caught the motion of someone entering the square. Someone whose mind didn’t announce its presence. It immediately drew his attention. He gaped surely for a moment because, to his surprise, Theona appeared, shoulders back, features haughty.
The baby did her best to lean forward and dunk herself, pudgy hands flailing and spraying water. He set her away from