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I fought back the tears as I struggled to say something, but it took me a minute. “Richard, Addison, and I got along so well today. She’s not the problem, and I can deal with Heather. I’ll just lay low while this whole thing blows over.”

But Richard just shook his head. “It’s not that easy, Annie. Heather is more vindictive than you realize. I’m pushing for joint custody, which means that she’ll always be in my life. Heather and Addison will always be a problem, and it’s just too much for me to handle right now.”

Somehow I kept myself from crying. I simply nodded, stood up, and went upstairs to my loft. It wasn’t until I locked my front door that I broke down crying, chastising myself for letting my guard down yet again. I had proven myself to be a good mother figure, and Addison’s mother had to ruin it for me. I understood where Richard was coming from, but as I crawled into a ball on my sofa, I didn’t know how I was going to recover.

18

Richard

Iwas in no mood to go into the office that morning. Luckily everything that I needed to do was at my home office, so I made some breakfast and sat down to work in my pajamas. I tried to focus on a purchase agreement for a piece of property, but my mind kept going back to Annie. When it came to working, I had no problems making a decision.

Yet, I kept wondering if I’d made the right decision by ending our relationship.

My phone went off with a text message, and I jumped up, hoping that it was from her. But it was from my father, and he wanted to see me that morning.

I let out a sigh, finished my breakfast, and headed into the office. I didn’t even bother to change out of my sweats and a t-shirt. Screw it. I was the boss' son and had earned the right to an occasional off day.

My father was sitting behind his large desk when I walked into his office. He made a face at my choice of clothing.

“Is everything alright, son?” He looked genuinely worried about my wellbeing, as though it weren’t just my choice of clothing.

“I’m sorry, Dad. Just not feeling well this morning, but I should have put on something more appropriate.” I rested my hand on my chin, then stared down at the floor.

“No, I’m not talking about your clothing. Although it is a different work look for you. I feel like you’ve been distracted by something lately.”

“I suppose that I have been a bit out of my element lately,” I said, “although everything is moving forward with that farmland deal. I’m in touch with some prospective buyers, all of them local, and they’re all experienced farmers. I remembered what you said about keeping it local whenever possible.”

“That’s great, Richard, but you’ve seemed out of it in every meeting we’ve had lately. I asked Gavin if he knew of anything that could be bothering you, and I got the sense that he was keeping a secret.”

Thank God Gavin kept his mouth shut.

I wanted my father to find out about Addison from me. “Maybe it’s just the extra workload, but please don’t let that stop you from giving me more. I’ll get used to it eventually.”

My father shook his head and took off his glasses. He wasn’t buying my lies.“You’ve been carrying the same workload for years. It’s just a higher level of responsibility now, Richard.”

I let out a sigh, ran my hands through my beard, and found the courage to face my father. If I could tell Annie about my love child, then I could say it to him.

“There is something that I’ve been keeping from you,” I said. “First of all, Heather is back in town. Second of all, she informed me that I have a daughter. Third, she’s demanding back child support even though she didn’t tell me until a few days ago. She’s also, demanding a large, lump-sum payment. Which will probably pay for her wedding to some guy named Michael.”

I waited for him to chastise me. To tell me that I should never have had sex before marriage. To give me the story, yet again, about how he and my mother waited for their wedding night. My nerves were a complete mess, and I realized it might be harder than telling Annie.

“Wow, Richard. I’m both surprised and happy. What’s her name?”

My mouth fell open, blown away by his reaction. “You’re not mad, Dad?”

He laughed. “Why would I be mad about having a granddaughter? And look, you’re a grown man. What you do in your romantic relationships is your business, son. I’m aware that the times have changed.”

“Thank you, Dad! You have no idea how worried I was to tell you about her. Especially, since I think Heather is trying to blackmail me. To make it look as though I’m some careless father who’d rather fool around with strippers than see his daughter.”

My father held up his hands and shook his head. “I don’t need the specifics, son.”

I laughed a little bit. “Those days are behind me, Dad. Besides, they were more of a reaction to our breakup than who I am as a person.”

He looked relieved.

I told him all about Addison, then went into the legal issues surrounding custody and back child support payments.

“So why are you just now finding out that she was pregnant?”