19
Sean sat at his kitchen table and continued to stare at the photographs he’d received in a packet from his private investigator. Bergman had definitely earned his pay. Even if Sean hadn’t seen the similarities to him in the photos, Bergman had managed to get a hold of copies of the girls’ birth certificates. And right there, under the word Father, was his name. Liz had at least done that much.
He released a deep breath. Once again, the truth struck him and this time it struck him hard. He was the father of Haylee and Kaylee, two little girls he hadn’t known existed. Girls he’d felt an immediate affinity to, the moment he’d seen their photos, before even seeing his name on their birth certificates. Haylee was the oldest by a little more than three minutes.
Something else Bergman had discovered was that they weren’t quite two yet. Their birthdays were tomorrow, and a party was planned at Liz’s home. How the PI had learned such a thing, Sean wasn’t sure. But the one thing he did know was that he’d missed the first two years of his daughters’ lives. He wasn’t going to miss any more.
The sad thing was, he couldn’t place the blame at Liz’s feet. He knew how badly he’d treated her. He just couldn’t seem to get past the thought that he’d used her that night. And it killed him. Rather than face her, he’d rejected her.
He had no excuses for his attitude. She’d been his best friend. He should have handled the situation better.
And he should have suspected something when she suddenly disappeared and no one would tell him of her whereabouts. But he’d assumed she hated him so much, she hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with him. It was only when he’d realized his true feelings for her that he’d done something about it and hired Bergman.
He had gotten another doctor to cover for him for a few days while he traveled to Belfort, Minnesota. He’d already called the airlines. Early tomorrow morning, he would take a direct flight into St. Paul. There, he would get a rental car for the drive to Belfort.
He intended to crash his daughters’ party, but hopefully, it would be in a good way.
Liz glanced around the backyard that was swarming with kids. The bouncy castle she’d ordered was a definite hit, and the people dressed as Disney characters, walking around in full costume, were never without a crowd. Her girls would be pleased.
Phillip, who couldn’t imagine any kind of party without spare ribs, was manning the grill with Ruth’s help. Ruth, who was a doctor in Memphis at the same hospital Liz’s father managed, had arrived yesterday. She wondered when the two of them would marry. They’d been dating since Liz had been in her second year of college.
She glanced over at her twins. They were having fun poking their heads out the window of the bouncy castle. When the day’s activities were over, there was no doubt in Liz’s mind they would sleep well tonight. Everyone, kids and adults, seemed to be having a good time.
Most of the adults were the parents of the kids from the twin’s daycare facility. Several of the mothers worked for her at the clinic and she considered them friends. One of the college interns at the clinic had volunteered to do face painting and another had offered to entertain the kids with a few magic tricks.
She had made a number of friends since moving to Belfort and she would miss them. Her decision to move back to Boston hadn’t been easy, but it was made. She’d be turning in her resignation on Monday. Once that was done, she would start making plans for her move.
One of the first things she needed to do was to contact Sean. Although she had blocked him from calling her, she should be able to reach him, unless he’d changed his number. Then again, if he’d gotten married, he’d likely have a different number. Still, his marital status was no concern of hers. All she wanted was to tell him the truth about the twins. How he chose to deal with that was his business.
From the back porch, she heard the sound of her doorbell. A late comer, she thought. Asking her dad and Ruth to please keep watch on the kids, she went back inside the house and headed for the front door.
She glanced out the peephole, but only saw what appeared to be a huge bouquet of colorful balloons that pretty much covered the person’s face and body. She figured her late arrival was another parent whose hands were apparently full. Still, she appreciated that they’d brought more balloons. You could never get enough of those at a kid’s party.
Liz quickly opened the door. “Hi. You came for the party, I see?” she asked, glancing down and around for a child she didn’t see with this parent.
“Yes, I came for the party.”
She recognized the voice even before he lowered the dozen or so balloons. Her heart suddenly began pounding when she stared into a pair of dark eyes. “Sean! What are you doing here?” Now she saw more than just the balloons. She saw the prettily wrapped gifts under his arms.
“I’d think my appearance here is obvious, Liz. I want to see my daughters on their birthday. Daughters you never told me about.”
She drew in a deep breath, trying to recover from seeing him standing there. She wouldn’t let him make her feel guilty about anything. She might not have told him about the girls, but she was certain his brother had. But then, her father had reminded her that even if David had told him, he would not have been able to contact her.
“How did you find me?” she asked.
“I hired a private investigator. I learned from his report where you were and that today is my daughters’ birthday. So, are you going to let me in?”
She stepped aside for him to enter her home. She’d known Sean for a long time. Once, he’d been her best friend. She knew when he was angry about something, and when he was just agitated. Right now, he was really agitated. And she knew it wouldn’t take much for that agitation to become anger. But still… “We need to talk, Sean.”
“Yes, we do, but not now. It’s Haylee and Kaylee’s birthday and they are having a party. It’s about them today. Not us. But don’t think there won’t be a conversation between us, Liz. Because there will be. Later. After the party is over. You owe me that much.”
She stared at him, not surprised he knew the girls’ names. He probably got the information from David. “Fine. Follow me. The party is out back.”
He nodded. “Here. You can take these,” he said, handing her the balloons. Because she knew Sean so well, she could tell he was nervous about seeing the girls for the first time. So, she offered, “The girls are friendly.”
There was no need to tell him that because she kept a picture of him on her bedroom dresser, as well as the same picture of him on theirs, they would probably recognize him. The photo had been taken when he’d posed for one of those charity celebrity calendars. Although they’d never met him in the flesh, Haylee and Kaylee knew what their daddy looked like. Lucky for her, they were too young to ask any questions about him. To them, she was mommy and the picture of him was daddy.
When she stepped onto the patio, her father glanced her way and she saw surprise on his face, followed by a grin. She sent him a scowl. Sure, he’d find this amusing. “Look who’s here with balloons,” she said.
Her father left his place by the grill to come over to greet Sean. “Good seeing you, son. Glad you took my advice.”
Liz raised a brow. His advice? She knew her father had not told Sean where she was, but had he suggested that Sean hire a PI to find her? Apparently seeing the questioning look on her face, Sean admitted, “Phillip suggested that if I really wanted to find you, I should hire someone who could.”
Liz narrowed her gaze at her father. “Funny, you never mentioned that to me, Dad.”
“Must have been one of those things I’d forgotten about.”
“Evidently.” She noticed several of the mothers looking at Sean. It didn’t take much to figure out who he was, since Haylee and Kaylee looked so much like him.
“I’m calling the kids out of the bouncy castle in a minute,” she said. “We’ll sing happy birthday, cut the cake, then eat. Afterward, we’ll have some magic tricks and face painting, then call it a day,” she told Sean.
“Come, let me fix you a plate,” her father said to him.
Of course, her neighbor, Nola Carrington, would feel it necessary to mosey over to talk to her when Sean walked off with her father. Nola was a divorcee with a three-year-old son. She liked Nola, who was one of the few attorneys in town. Because their kids were close in age, they often did things together and shared babysitting when needed. Nola was doing the long-distance dating thing with a guy she’d met living in Atlanta. Liz had met Johnnie and thought he and Nola made a nice couple.
“You’re keeping secrets, girlfriend. You never mentioned that you’d told the twins’ father where you were.”
Liz lifted a brow. One night over wine and pizza while the kids slept, she and Nola had shared their life stories. The good, the bad and the ugly. She knew Nola’s husband had left her for another woman while she’d been expecting their son. “I didn’t and before you ask, Dad didn’t either. Sean hired someone to find me.”
Nola nodded. “So, what’s his story? He and that other woman didn’t marry, so he decided to come after you instead?”
“I don’t know.” Liz wished she could also say she didn’t care, but she couldn’t. All it took was one look at Sean for her to know she still loved him. But she wasn’t about to let him hurt her again.
At that moment, the girls and their playmates came running out of the bouncy castle. “Hungry, Mommy,” Kaylee said running up to her with Haylee right on her heels.
Nola laughed. “See, what did I tell you? They wouldn’t last in that bouncy castle for an hour before their stomachs started complaining.”
Liz laughed. “So you did.”
She then looked down at her girls. “Mommy will cut the cake right after we sing happy birthday to you two. But first, there is someone I want you girls to see.”
“Who, Mommy?” Haylee asked, and both girls glanced around.
It was Kaylee, forever on alert, who recognized Sean first. She jumped up and down and clapped her hands before taking off toward Sean screaming, “Daddy!” Haylee took off behind her sister, hollering just as loud.
A shocked Sean saw his daughters running over to him with huge smiles on their faces, calling out ‘Daddy’ at the top of their lungs. Instinctively, he got on his knees to receive them and they ran straight into his arms. And all he could do was wrap his arms around them and hold them tight.
He glanced over at Liz and watched her wipe her eyes before turning to say something to the woman standing beside her. It was an emotional moment for both of them, though for different reasons. When she had opened the door, he’d had to pull himself together. How could he not have known how much she meant to him, when at that moment, he was overwhelmed with love for her.
She’d always been beautiful, but now, she was stunning. She still wore her hair short and the style was perfect for her oval face. And he’d noticed she was wearing the necklace he’d given her. It had been his last Christmas gift to her.
When he’d seen his daughters for the first time, he hadn’t been prepared for the onslaught of emotions that hit him. And now, holding the two human beings that he and Liz had made together, he was filled with love and pride.
He glanced over at Phillip. “You knew, didn’t you?” he asked, not letting go of his daughters for a second.
“Knew what? That they would recognize you as their father? Not really, but knowing my daughter, I figured as much.”
Sean was about to ask what he meant, when one of the twins--and since he couldn’t tell them apart, he didn’t have a clue which one--said, “I’m hungry.”
Sean couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re always hungry, Kaylee,” Phillip said.
Sean wondered how their grandfather could tell them apart. Seeing his questioning look, Phillip said, grinning, “Kaylee is the perpetually hungry one.” He chuckled and then added, “And she also likes bows in her hair. Haylee hates them.”
When Kaylee said she was hungry again, this time with a serious tone in her voice, Sean stood. “Come on, I think your mom is ready to feed you.”
He walked the girls over to Liz and she introduced him to her neighbor. Afterwards, Liz called for all the kids to come over to the table she had set up that had a bright yellow tablecloth. The other kids gathered around and sang happy birthday to the twins. Liz promised cake and ice cream later, but told the kids they needed to eat the mini-burger bites and chips first.
“Bye, Daddy,” both girls said, simultaneously. Sean was soon forgotten as they raced off toward the table to sit in their designated seats, where birthday crowns were placed on their heads by someone dressed as Minnie Mouse.
Liz came to stand beside him. When everyone began singing, he joined in, not quite believing how quickly his life had just changed.
When Liz made to walk off, he grabbed hold of her hand. She turned to look up at him. “Yes?”
“Thank you.” He had a feeling that she understood what he was saying, but just in case, he followed with, “Thank you for them. They are beautiful.”
“You’re welcome. I want to thank you for them, too.”
He shook his head in wonder. “I can’t believe they knew who I was. I want to thank you for that as well.”
She didn’t say anything. She just nodded before walking off.