“Want to talk about them?”
“You’ll think I’m a royal bitch if I tell you.”
He chuckled. “Try me.”
Taking in a deep breath, I slowly let it out. “For starters, I’m extremely jealous that Steed and Mitchell are parents and soon-to-be parents. How wrong is that?”
His blue eyes met mine. “Why is that wrong?”
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“I heard you. Do you love your brothers?”
My eyes widened. “Of course I do, Daddy!”
“And Chloe and Gage?”
“Yes! And I’ll love Mitchell and Corina’s baby the same!”
Squeezing my hand, he bent over to meet me eye to eye. “It’s okay to want a family, Waylynn. It’s okay to be a little jealous when you see your younger siblings getting what you thought you’d already have by now.”
My heart nearly burst when my father said that. “Yes! That’s exactly it. I thought by now I’d be in a little house with a fence around the yard and a few kids running about. Instead, I’m divorced, living back at home, and about to start dating a younger man! What are people going to think?”
“And there is your other issue. The age difference.”
I stared down at the ground. “I want to start a family, and before you tell me I’m still young enough, I need to tell you I’ve already been to a sperm bank in San Antonio. To see if I want to become a parent all on my own.”
The look on my father’s face was one I would never forget.
Shock.
Pure shock.
Chapter Ten
Waylynn
“What?” My father sat on the rock, his face devoid of all color.
“I only went to ask some questions, to see if it might be the best option for me.”
“Waylynn, bringing a child into this world is hard when there are two parents. I can’t imagine going at it alone, but your mother and I would help you if this is what you want.”
Sighing, I gazed over the river. “I guess it felt like it was never going to happen otherwise. But now, this thing with Jonathon has me rethinking my entire plan. The last thing I would want to do is make him feel like I only wanted him as a baby maker. He knows I want to start a family. It was one of my excuses when I initially pushed him away.”
“And how does he feel about kids?”
I grinned. “He wants to have kids someday.”
“Well, that’s a step in the right direction, and darling, you are still young. So, is the main concern the age difference?”
I shrugged. “I guess, and the idea of starting all over again with someone is terrifying. Jack also told me he wanted kids and look where that got me!”
My father scoffed. “Jack is an asshole. I don’t see Jonathon playing around with your emotions like that.”
Tears filled my eyes because I knew he was right.
“Daddy, we’ve only been on one real date, not counting the countless hours of flirting we’ve done. Is it to soon to feel something…different?”
He gently smiled. “By different, do you mean different from Jack?”
“Not just that. I’ve never felt this way with any man before. I was honestly head over heels in love with Jack. At least, I thought I was. Maybe he just swept me off my feet with all the trips to Paris and London, and I was blinded by the gifts and attention he showered me with. That makes me feel shallow.”
“Nonsense. You were young. He promised you the moon and stars and didn’t follow through.”
I dragged in a deep breath and exhaled. “This feeling I have for Jonathon…it’s so different that it’s confusing. It’s almost like I don’t remember life before he was in it. How can that be? We only just started dating! Not to mention I should be focused on the dance studio and opening up my own business. Throwing a relationship into the mix with the potential of not achieving my dreams…again…has me scared.”
“I understand those concerns. They are valid. But does the intensity of your feelings for him spook you?”
Chewing on my lip, I nodded.
“Yes, more than it should.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that. You’ve been hurt, Waylynn. To open your heart up to be hurt again is a risk. But I believe it is a risk worth taking.”
“Even if my brothers don’t see it that way?”
Tossing his head back to laugh, my father cried out, “Even if! I say go for it, sweet pea. Live your life, Waylynn, and don’t worry about what the people of this town think. I mean, if I worried about what everyone in this town said about Aunt Vi, I’d never show my face.”
Hitting him on the arm, I scolded him. “Daddy! That is your sister!”
He stood. “The stories about my sister… I could fill your head with hundreds of them and each one would make you blush. Let’s save those toe curlers for another time.”