Delta's Baby Surprise (Special Forces Elite 1)

“You better get up and go after her right now, son!” Dad shouted.

“No,” I said standing. “I don’t care how much you try to bully me. You don’t get to pick where I live, what job I have, or who the hell I want to spend my life with.”

“Please don’t shout at your father,” Mom said in an attempt to calm the situation. “We just don’t understand is all. “We always knew you had a wild hair. You had your fun and now we just thought you would come back home, and back to the commitments you made.”

“I never committed anything to Sophia. Maybe you did, but not me.”

“I’m just so upset right now,” Mom said dabbing at her eyes. I was fairly certain in all my life I had never actually seen her cry. I looked closely now. No, she still wasn’t crying just making a show of it.

“Bill, I think we should go. Coming to visit was a bad idea,” she said coming to a stand.

“You can give us a call when you come to your senses,” Dad spat before ushering Mom out.

I waited till the doors were fully closed on them before saying, “Don’t count on it.”

As soon as they were gone the first thing I did was call Lilly. She didn’t pick up. I told myself it was just Aria’s dance thing. She probably had her phone on silent. When I called again that night and she still didn’t pick up I had a feeling it was much more than just a dance recital keeping her from talking to me.

Twenty-Four

Lilly

Barrett called me every day for the next week. In complete polar opposite, Aria was barely speaking more than two words to me every day. Try as I might to get her to understand that I was doing my best to protect her, she didn’t believe me.

She insisted I tell her the truth of her day and let her meet him. How could I explain that I didn’t want her to see the lying bastard who had broken my heart. I wasn’t willing to let him do the same to her.

Along with the calls I didn’t pick up, Barrett had also sent a steady stream of text messages. I couldn't say what they were about since I refused to open them. I wasn’t going to let him make excuses.

The week was utter dread. I didn’t know if it was because a complete come down after the euphoria I had the week before, or the fact I had tricked myself in believing that things would have ended up so perfectly for my little family.

Either way it was stupid of me to get so involved with Barrett. I should have known better. I should have realized that I knew nothing about him and never let him in our lives. We were doing just fine without him.

Of course I really didn’t believe my own words. I mean we were getting by. I guess I could say perfectly. Even without Barrett entering the picture things were already getting hard keeping up my false paternity story.

I would have found a way though, and it would have turned out a whole lot better then things between Aria and I right now.

“Aria, dinner’s in five,” I called down the hall.

She rarely left her room now aside from going to school and coming back home. I kind of feared she might actually hate me for the rest of her life. I deserved it.

I had given her false hope of a father who loved and cared for her from heaven. In her mind her Daddy would have been here with her if he could. Now she was coming to the realization that her father was a presence in this world and someone who she would never see, and who would never even know to care about her.

A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts. I wasn’t planning on Emma coming over, but she was the only one that did, so I just sampled hollered out for her to come in.

I leaned over the kitchen bar and froze in place when instead of Emma’s usual frame it was one of a tall dark and handsome man.

“Barrett,” I said surprised.

“You said come in,” he said motioning to the door.

“I thought you were Emma,” I explained coming around the kitchen bar to stand before him with my arms crossed.

“You wouldn’t pick up your phone, or return my calls so I thought if I came by I might get a chance to explain.”

“I don’t want to hear your explanation.”

“Is he my dad?” Aria blurted out from the hall.

I couldn’t fault her for being there, I had called her out for dinner after all. I was at a loss for words. Barrett still had no idea who Aria was to him. I didn’t want to lie to Aria but I also didn’t think Barrett deserved to know.