“That’s good, because you’re going to be seeing him more often,” Aurora murmured. And someday soon, she was going to have to tell her daughter that Nick was her father.
Aurora filled the cup and poured the water over Leah’s soapy hair, careful to keep one hand on her forehead, blocking the soap from getting in her eyes. Aurora repeated the action a couple of times before adding conditioner to the ends of Leah’s hair, then rinsed that out, too. “Okay, you’re good. Head up, eyes open.”
Leah blinked hard a few times and rubbed her eyes. “Is Mr. Nick coming to my birthday party?” she asked, not deterred from the subject on her mind.
“We’ll see.” Although Nick told her he’d be there, she didn’t know him well enough to set her daughter up for disappointment in case he didn’t show up.
Aurora pulled the plug, letting the bathtub drain, then rose to her feet and picked up the towel, holding it up. “Careful getting out.” She helped Leah with one hand and then wrapped her up in the big towel.
“Brr. It’s cold!”
“Mommy’s got you.” Aurora rubbed the towel over Leah’s arms and legs and wrung out her hair with another towel.
“Mommy, Grandma Melly asked me what I wanted for my birthday!”
Aurora smiled at the mention of the grandmother Aurora never thought her child would have. “Oh yeah? What did you tell her?”
“I want a pony!”
Aurora briefly closed her eyes and prayed for the strength to raise this child. “No pony.”
Aurora would have to make sure Melly knew that. With the money the Kingston family had, a pony just might seem like a reasonable request.
“Come on, honey. I forgot your pajamas. Let’s go into your room and get dressed. I’ll get the hair dryer ready.”
As Leah ran out, Aurora’s thoughts turned to Melly Kingston. What an amazing woman she’d turned out to be. When Aurora had first arrived in New York with Linc, pregnant and feeling very alone, Melly had given her a place to stay. She’d treated Aurora like a daughter and had become Leah’s grandmother. Not once had she treated them badly because Aurora was her deceased husband’s illegitimate child.
Aurora had gone from rags to riches, much like the Cinderella story Leah so loved. But her life hadn’t been anything like a fairytale. It had left her emotionally battered and scarred. Her real mother, Tiffany Michaels, had gotten pregnant accidentally. Like mother, like daughter, Aurora thought, shaking her head. The difference was, Tiffany had hated being a parent and had turned over custody of her child to her mother, Aurora’s grandmother, when Aurora was five. One year later, her grandma suddenly passed away and Aurora had been sent to foster care.
Once Linc found her, she’d discovered there was more to her story, and it was even worse than anything she’d ever conjured up in her imagination. She hated to think about her early life—the abandonment, the neglect—because it only served to remind her of how unwanted she’d actually been. By both parents.
Shaking, as she always did whenever she thought about what her so-called parents had done to her, she pushed them out of her mind. She forced herself to remember that her new siblings and their mother were different. They’d welcomed her. Accepted her. They weren’t anything like Kenneth Kingston or Tiffany Michaels. And that was why Aurora had legally changed her last name to Kingston. She was part of a family now. Blowing out a deep breath, she willed the shaking to stop just in time for Leah’s return.
Dressed in her pajamas, Leah walked into the bathroom and dropped her damp towels on the floor. All Aurora had to do was look at her daughter, and love welled up inside her. She’d do anything for her little girl, to make sure she had the most amazing life possible. She’d always know she was loved—something Aurora herself had so desperately needed.
Just because she now had money, Aurora had no intention of spoiling Leah. She’d teach her values and help her understand the need to give back.
“If I can’t have a pony, I want a puppy!” Leah exclaimed.
Aurora sighed and bit back a grin because there was no way she could handle adding a dog to the chaos that was their lives. Still, she knew she was kidding herself if she thought Leah wouldn’t be over-indulged by her aunts, uncles, and now her father.
Oh, God. Nick. He really was a part of her life now. She alternated between thinking she could handle it…then she’d break out in a full-blown panic attack.
She picked up the towels and hung them on the hooks behind the door. “Nothing that’s alive for your birthday present. We don’t have time for a puppy right now. You’re in kindergarten and Mommy’s busy with her charity.”
“Fine,” Leah said with an exaggerated sigh and drop of her shoulders.