Better Late Than Never (3 page)

Randy paused. “Two months into the relationship she became pregnant. Both of us wanted to get married or so I thought. We made it through the pregnancy, Wade was born, and two months later, the wedding was off and Lila was never heard from again.”

Randy stopped walking. “A few months later, she signed over her parental rights.”

Kristen shook her head and tried not to pass judgment, but it was difficult. She didn’t know Lila, but the little she knew about her wasn’t pleasant. How could a woman just walk away from her child? A child so precious she could never contemplate doing something so irrational.

“Do you know where she is?”

Randy shook his head. “Not right now. She moves around a lot, but I could find her if I needed to.”

“Does it affect Wade?”

He nodded, and it was the first time she saw a look of sadness cross his face. “He wants to know why he isn’t special enough to have a mom.”

A sharp pain went through Kristen’s chest. It was an awful thing for a child to feel the way Wade did. She was certain Randy handled the situation the best he could. It was still an awful situation to be put in.

“So what has been going on in your life for the last six years?”

Kristen chuckled. “Well, let’s just say Keirra and Kayla
have
made it interesting. I earned my degree in elementary education and master’s in child care management. This is where I ended up.”

Randy chuckled. “I have heard there is more to the story.”

She gave him an amused look. “So have I.”

His eyebrows rose. “You asked about me?”

She smiled at his surprised expression. “Did you ask about me?”

He chuckled. “Good point, but let’s head back to the house. It is getting late.”

Kristen inclined her head in agreement and turned around and headed back to his parents’ house. When they stepped inside, Ophelia looked up from the quilt she was working on. “Did the two of you enjoy your walk?”

Randy grinned at his mom. “Yes, we did, but it is time we get going.”

Ophelia and placed her quilt aside. “Wade is upstairs asleep.”

“Don’t get up. I will get him.”

His mother nodded and picked up her quilt, but Ophelia’s eyes never left Kristen. “I never imagined I would see you in this house again after Randy told me what happened.”

Kristen sat down on the couch beside Ophelia and smiled. She realized she didn’t know what happened. Randy had called her and told her he wasn’t interested in seeing her any longer. Still, she should have known that he would tell his mother. The only question was what had Randy told his mother? She planned to find out. Stifling a sigh of frustration, she took in her surroundings. This house held a lot of fond memories for her. Ophelia had always treated her and sisters like they were her own children.

“I sensed a change in him ever since he found out you had feelings for him. A change that went away after the two of you stopped seeing each other. A change emerged in him, and I couldn’t figure out what part it was until he ran into you while enrolling Wade into your day care.”

Kristen grinned, always interested in the older woman’s knowledge. “What did you realize?”

“You complete him.”

Kristen chuckled with disbelief, but Ophelia continued. “A part of Randy vanished when you left, and he thought he found it in Lila, but he didn’t. Randy could never have with anyone else what he had with you, and I think he knows that now.”

She was too shocked to respond to Ophelia’s statement, and a second later, it was too late to. They both looked up when they heard Randy’s footsteps on the stairs. He held a sleeping Wade in his arms. Kristen stood up. “I had a wonderful
time,
and thanks for dinner.”

“Anytime, dear.”

Randy kissed his mother on the cheek. “I will give you a call tomorrow.”

“Okay. The two of you drive safe.”

“We will,” they replied in unison.

They walked outside of the house, and he headed to his truck and placed Wade inside of the car seat. She stood back and watched him. She always suspected Randy would make a good father. She smiled when he brushed his hand across his sleeping son’s forehead.

“I had a good time tonight, Randy.”

He grinned as he straightened. “Good. We can do it again sometime.”

“I would like that.”

He pulled her close and placed a kiss on her lips. “Good night. Drive safe.”

“I will.”

She turned and got into her own vehicle. She started the engine and then backed out of the driveway. When she looked in the rearview mirror, she saw Randy was close behind her. He turned off several streets prior to hers. A little while later, she turned off onto her street. She pulled up into the driveway and saw her sisters were home and, from the looks of it,
were
awake, although it wasn’t surprising.

Since they had been back in Baxley it had been spent unpacking, fixing up their grandparent’s house, and working on their own ventures. She had started her day care, and Keirra and Kayla were going to start teaching school tomorrow. It had been a busy time trying to prepare for the new steps they were taking. Kristen shut off the engine and got out of the car. She headed into the house and saw her sisters were sitting in front of the television watching Mel Gibson in
The Patriot
. After setting her purse down on the hall table, she walked over to the couch. Her sisters scooted over to make room for her, and she sat down between them.

“What are you guys still doing up?”

“We were waiting for you to get in.”

She laughed knowing she had been used as an excuse for them to stay up and watch a movie. When they awoke tired, they would blame it on her.

“Thanks, I think.”

“So how did it go?”

“It went very well.”

Keirra frowned. “You aren’t thinking about getting serious with him after all you have been through? Besides, he is a cop.”

Kayla sighed. “We know that already, but you know he is a good guy.”

“You are right, Kayla. Randy is a good guy. That is the only reason why I will consider giving him a second chance. He never cheated on me, never degraded me. The worst I can say about him is he broke up with me, and I have no idea why.” Kristen closed her eyes. “However, I do plan on finding out why.”

Her heart had been broken, and rational reasoning hadn’t been a part of her thinking process at the time.

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

Randy had been too good to her for it not to be the reason. Their relationship had been one of pure commitment. Neither one of them had ever sought to date other people when they were together. They had never taken their relationship lighthearted enough to disrespect each other.

“I don’t know,” Keirra stated with cynicism. “He made it seem final by not contacting you for six years, and let’s not forget, he even moved on to another woman, got engaged, and had a baby.”

Keirra had a point, and Kristen couldn’t refute it. Kristen looked at both of her sisters. “Keirra is right. He told me tonight the relationship between him and Lila had been going very well and marriage was something they had both been looking forward to. They were both for the marriage.”

“Yes, but was it for love or for the baby?”

Keirra snorted and rolled her eyes. “Geez, Kayla, it isn’t the nineteen fifties. Men don’t marry women just because they are pregnant and being chased with a shotgun.”

Kristen had to fight back laughter even though it wasn’t a funny statement because she knew people married for less and without a shotgun. It also made her question whether she should be giving Randy another chance. What was she going to get out of it? It was a question she didn’t have an answer to right now, but she hoped that he could provide her with one. If she was going to do this she had to do it with an open mind. It was something her mother instilled in her at a young age.

“Well, I think the things that have happened in the past are neither here nor there. If I do decide to go back to Randy, it will be by my choice. Now if you two don’t mind, I am going to head to bed. See you in the morning.”

Her sisters told her good night, and Kristen picked up her purse and headed upstairs. Kayla and Keirra had brought up some very interesting points. Randy was a good guy, but he had moved on. She and Randy had a lot to talk about. She thought tonight was going help her figure things out. Instead she ended up with more questions.

Seeing Randy again made her realize all the feelings she had for him ten years ago still existed. They seemed to be stronger now than they had been back then. She made her way to her room undressed and put her discarded clothes in the hamper.

Her cell phone rang, and she jumped in surprise. Goodness, she was distracted but with good reason. Picking it up, she smiled when she saw Randy’s number.

“Hello.”

“Hey, beautiful.”

She sat down on the bed. “Are you at home?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I had a good time tonight.”

He sighed. “So did
I
.”

She sat there in silence before she cleared her throat. “This may sound like a strange question, but is there a particular reason you called?”

She heard the amusement in his voice when he responded. “Yes.”

When he didn’t continue, she laughed. It was the small things like this she had missed with Randy.

“Do you mind telling me what it is?”

“I just wanted to hear your voice,” he replied softly.

She fell back onto the bed with a smile on her face. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well that is very flattering.”

They made small talk until Kristen cleared her throat. “Can I ask you a question, Randy?”

“Sure.”

She paused, wondering if she should ask the question and how. Figuring she had nothing to lose, she went ahead and asked, “Why did you push me away like you did?”

Randy sighed with disappointment. “I was hoping we could talk about this in person, but now is a good time.” He was silent for several heartbeats. “I ended our relationship because in some ways I thought you were using me for a security blanket.”

She frowned, upset at the statement, and wondered how he could have thought something so wrong. “Why would you think that?”

“Well, I wanted to surprise you for graduation so I drove to Athens. When I got there, I happened to see you kissing some guy so I turned around and drove home. When you came back to Baxley for the summer, I felt like you were hanging with me because I was a sure thing. Figuring you liked the guy you were kissing, I pushed you away so that you could go back to him.”

Kristen laughed when she wanted to cry. “Why didn’t you ask me? Better yet, why didn’t you stick around for another twenty seconds?”

It was Randy’s turn to laugh. “A man does have a fragile ego, and I didn’t want to see how much further it was going to go.”

“Well, you would have liked the ending because it ended with me slapping him in the face. That guy you saw kissing me was a jerk and took it upon himself to make me his graduation present. I should add he didn’t ask me what I thought. He just forced himself upon me.”