Ellie stops the swing and grabs Maisy’s hand to help her down. They both start walking toward Trouble’s office.
“Are you sure she’s yours?” Trouble asks from behind me.
I turn away from the window. He’s standing at his desk a few feet away. “Yes. I have no doubt she’s mine. Once you meet her, you won’t either.”
“She give you a reason why she never told you?”
The vein in my neck pulses as my anger renews. “No. She only said it was because of how I treated her the night I broke things off, but I know there’s more she isn’t telling me.”
My brothers know of my decision for cutting ties with Ellie twelve years ago. Back then, we were together more than we weren’t, meaning they had been around her enough to know how I felt about her. I loved Ellie with a passion that bordered on obsession. Last night when she said I lied when I told her I loved her, she couldn’t have been further from the truth. I just couldn’t take the chance I would be taking if we stayed together. Too much was at stake.
“What are you going to do? I never agreed with your decision regarding Ellie, but I understood it. If you want a relationship with Maisy, then Ellie will be in your life too. Are you prepared for that?”
I loosen the tie around my throat, suddenly feeling like I’m suffocating.
“I’ve got no choice. There’s no way I’m giving up Maisy now that I know about her.” I blow out a frustrated breath. “I told her that once Maisy’s well enough, I want the both of them here. You can oversee her health care. I want a chance to get to know my daughter.”
His brows raise. “I assume she didn’t take it well.”
“No.” That’s an understatement. From the looks she was shooting me, I imagine she was drilling screws through my skull. “But she’s got no choice. She made the choice to not tell me about Maisy. She brought this on herself.”
“You going to tell her about our ways here? She’s bound to find out eventually. It’ll be better coming from you.”
I grit my teeth and lean against the window seal. “When the time is right.”
He nods. “What about Jamie, Layla, and Gillian?”
“What about them?” I ask tersely.
“I can’t see Ellie being okay with you having three mistresses,” he answers blandly.
I shrug. “They’ve got nothing to do with her. It’s not like Ellie and I will get back together. I’ll never be able to trust the bitch again after what she did.”
Trouble looks at me doubtfully. “You really going to be able to be around her and not want her back? I saw the way you were with her before, Judge, and the way you were once it was over. You weren’t in a good place for a long time.”
“I’m over it.” The lie slides easily from my lips. I may never want Ellie back after what she did, but once you love someone like we loved each other, you don’t ever get over it. You simply learn to live with it.
He still looks doubtful but doesn’t say anything else.
“I’m donating one of my kidneys to her,” I tell him quietly. “She has the same rare blood type as me. It wouldn’t matter if it was the most common though.”
“That’s a big sacrifice.”
I whip my head around and glare at him. “It’s not a sacrifice. It’s a privilege. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same for Elijah. Or Remi.”
“I’d give my life for either of them. It’s what you do for the people you love.”
Hearing voices out in the hallway, I walk to the closed door and open it. Susan is standing just outside the doorway, her hand poised to knock, with Ellie, Maisy, and Declan.
My heart spasms when I look at Maisy and see the tiredness in her eyes. The need to make her well again, to give her back her childhood, is overwhelming.
“I was just getting ready to knock,” Susan says unnecessarily. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes dart to Declan beside her.
Trouble comes to stand beside me.
“Trouble, you remember Ellie,” I say, jerking my chin her way. “This is…” I almost say “our daughter” but stop myself just in time. I don’t know if Maisy knows who I am, so I don’t want to shock her if she doesn’t. “…her daughter, Maisy, and her uncle, Declan.”
“Ellie, it’s nice to see you again. It’s been a long time.”