For the Girls' Sake - By Janice Kay Johnson Page 0,56

money, I mean, I could help out."

Her mouth actually dropped open. "You’re offering to send me child support?"

"Well, I don’t know about regular..." This awkwardness wasn’t like him. "But I can send you some money when I’ve got extra. If you need it."

Of course she’d needed it! Her anger crystallized, and yet through it she realized that, in his own way, he was being generous.

"I miss Shelly. How’s she doing?"

"She’s fine." When had she last mentioned her daddy? Lynn couldn’t remember. Before Adam, certainly.

"Mom and Dad were saying they’d like to see her, too."

Lynn closed her eyes. "I got married today."

"You got married?" he echoed incredulously.

"To Shelly’s father."

Silence. Then he said at last, bitterness there but muted, "So everything’s all wrapped up. You’ve got both kids and his money. You don’t need me." He made a sound. "You never did."

A spark of anger incinerated her usual guilt. "That’s a lucky thing, isn’t it?" she flared. "You haven’t exactly been here for your daughter lately, have you?"

"I said I missed her."

"Uh-huh. Well, she’s probably forgotten you in all the months it took you to come to realize that. She’s three-and-a-half years old, Brian. She needs parents who are here. Fortunately, she has them now."

She heard him breathing heavily. The old Brian would have had a comeback that would succeed in making her feel low. This one surprised her.

"Yeah. You’re right," he said humbly. "I’m sorry."

"Shelly loved you."

"She just never felt like she was mine," he explained in a tone of unwonted humility. "I guess that shouldn’t have made any difference, but for me it did. But she’s a great kid. And, um, I wouldn’t mind meeting this Rose."

Lynn sighed. "We haven’t told either of the girls what happened. That part scares me. I don’t want them to feel insecure. Someday we’ll have to. But in the meantime, it’s awkward."

"Yeah. I understand. Maybe I could, like, just drop by and see both the girls."

“You have a legal right," she said stiffly.

"You know I wouldn’t hold that over you. Just let me know when you think it might be a good time. Okay?"

"Yes, fine," Lynn said slowly.

She half expected there to be some catch, but apparently Brian had said what he intended to, and his goodbye was hasty. Bemused, she returned to the living room.

Adam hadn’t turned the TV back on. His head was bent over a book she’d left sitting on the coffee table. It was an anthology of short stories and poetry about mothers and daughters.

"What do you think?" she asked, nodding at it as she sank onto the couch again.

"Jenny had cut this poem out of a magazine, back when she was pregnant." His voice was strangled. "She was sure she was going to have a girl."

Lynn hesitated, not knowing what to say. What terrible luck, to have left something out that would remind him of his first wife!

At last she settled for, "I wish you’d show me more pictures of her."

"I have a photo album." Adam gently closed the book and set it on the coffee table. "Remind me. Sometime."

She sensed that the subject was closed with the same gentle finality as the book covers. Please don’t intrude, she heard in his tone.

"Was that your mom?" Adam asked.

"On the phone? No. It was Brian. He’s apparently been feeling guilty," she said dryly. "He says he misses Shelly. He was willing to send money if I needed it."

"You told him we were married?" Adam’s gaze homed in on her face, its intensity unnerving.

"Uh-huh." She paused. "He’d still like to see Shelly sometime. And meet Rose."

Adam shifted restlessly. "Life’s getting complicated. Maybe we should tell the girls. They won’t understand much of what happened anyway. I’ve read that adopted children are less likely to have problems later if they’ve always known, and the adoptive parents tell them as much as they can handle at any given age. I think we should do the same."

Lynn nodded slowly. "We almost have to. So your parents and in-laws can meet Shelly, and Brian and his parents Rose."

"I wouldn’t suggest it if that were the only reason."

Had she offended him? Meeting his gaze, Lynn said quietly, "I didn’t think you had. I know how much you love Rose. And Shelly."

"They’re what matters," he said with intensity she took as a message.

Not you. Not us. Even if it is our wedding day.

The very thought felt selfish. She should be totally focused on the well-being of Shelly and Rose, grateful that Adam was doing the same. Not