Long-Lost Mom

fiber of her being.

All this time she’d been busy trying to prove her worth to him, yet that hadn’t been the answer at all. He already knew her, and he’d told her how he felt without hesitation.

In return all he’d wanted from her was two things. One, for her to be happy in her own skin, and two, he’d asked for trust. It was terrifying.

She glanced upward at the mirror over the passenger seat. She’d already fulfilled his first request-in spite of the flaws, she’d accepted herself.

And she didn’t need to look at Stone again to feel that warm fuzzy burst of emotion she knew had to be love. She felt it just sitting next to him. Hell, she got it from just thinking about him.

It was almost too much, knowing Stone and Sara were within her grasp, knowing she could have everything her heart had secretly desired, if she just believed in herself enough to take it.

The school loomed in front of them. No panic this time, Jenna thought, not even a little bit. She and Stone got out of the truck and he reached for her hand.

With an ease that no longer startled her, Jenna took it, squeezing his big hand with hers.

They waited outside Sara’s classroom for the recess bell. When Jenna pressed her fingers to her nervous stomach, Stone reached for her. “It’ll work out,” he promised. “Just believe in yourself.”

“I do.” Surprised, she looked at him. “I really do.”

“I know.” He shot her an approving smile. “It’s nice to see.”

But still, when the bell rang for recess and the kids poured out of classrooms, surrounding them with laughter and shouts, Jenna had to remind herself to breathe.

With the practiced ease of a dad used to such things, Stone nabbed Sara as she ran by. Snatching her close in a quick hug, he grinned at her squeal of delight. “Thought I’d come in person to buy you a snack today,” he told her.

Sara beamed-until she saw Jenna. But she went along willingly enough while they bought doughnuts. The three of them sat on a relatively secluded curved concrete bench beneath a cluster of trees. Stone sat in the middle, but because of the arch of the bench, Jenna and Sara faced each other, their feet practically touching. With the sun shining in her eyes, Jenna watched Sara wolf down two doughnuts and two chocolate milks down with practiced ease, and her heart swelled with love.

“Sara,” Stone said gently, sending Jenna a quick glance of silent support, “we need to talk to you.”

“You and Cindy?” Sara gulped down her last bite and dusted her hands off on her jeans, making Jenna smile when Stone rolled his eyes. “Why?” she demanded. “You guys getting married?”

Jenna held her breath, meeting Stone’s gaze.

“Or are you gonna live together?”

Stone let out a short laugh at Sara’s words. “Well, that’s not quite it. Honey-”

“I thought you were going to tell me about Mommy today.”

“I am,” he said patiently. “At least I’m trying. Sara, Cindy’s name isn’t really Cindy.”

Sara stared at Jenna. “Why not?”

“Well, it’s complicated.”

“Why?”

Stone looked at Jenna. “When she was young, a bunch of bad stuff happened to her.”

“Like what? Someone stole her report, too?”

Stone’s smile was sad, but his gaze never left Jenna’s face. “Worse,” he said, holding the connection with such easy warmth Jenna was overcome with emotion. “Lots worse,” he added quietly. “And she went away because of it, although a part of her, the very best part, stayed here.”

“What part?”

“Her heart and soul.”

Jenna swallowed hard, her love for him so strong she thought she might die of it. “Stone,” she whispered, “tell her the rest.”

Stone reached for Sara’s hand. “Cindy’s name is Jenna, sweetheart. And Jenna is-”

“My birth mother.”

Both Stone and Jenna blinked at the flat grown-up term.

“I knew it,” Sara whispered, her eyes huge and focused on Jenna. “I didn’t want to know it, but I did.”

Jenna couldn’t keep silent. She reached for Sara’s free hand. “I’m so sorry for keeping it from you, Sara. I just didn’t know how to tell you. I think a part of me wanted to make sure you liked me first.”

“Or maybe you wanted to make sure you liked me,” Sara responded in a tiny little voice.

God, she looked so young, all bravado gone. Jenna shook her head. “That was never it. I knew I would love you on sight. And I did. Oh, God, I did…” Her voice hitched, caught on a sob she couldn’t contain. “I’ll never forget that first time I saw you.”

Sara’s head whipped up. “Really?” The word was torn from her in a sudden burst, as if she didn’t want to show interest but couldn’t help herself. “I mean, I bet it was no big deal,” she said with a shrug.

“Oh, it was a big deal all right.” Jenna smiled even as a few tears fell. She looked at Stone, who was smiling, too, with both acceptance and assurance, giving her courage. “You were this tiny little thing-” she lifted her hand from Stone’s to show Sara how big “-and you were the most precious baby I’d ever seen.”

“And red. You were really red,” Stone added with a wide grin. “And ugly.”

“Stone!” Jenna gasped, but Sara laughed.

“And you squalled,” he went on, unconcerned with Jenna’s growing horror. “Holy moly, could you yell. You practically brought the hospital walls down.”

“Stop it,” Jenna interrupted him with a laugh that helped dissolve some of her tension. She tore through her purse and pulled out the picture she’d treasured for so long. “Here. I look at this every day.”

Stone drew in a surprised breath. “You kept it.” A wealth of emotion weighed down the words.

“Yes,” Jenna said, meeting his gaze. “It’s my most prized possession.”

Sara stared down at herself as an infant. “You…really looked at this every day?”

“Yes.”

After a moment she handed it back. “You left me.”

The bell rang and Sara leaped up, but Stone stopped her with a gentle hand. “Honey, you wanted to know, and I felt you deserved that. I felt you were grown up enough to understand.”

“I am grown up enough.”

“I know it hurts,” he said with a tenderness that tore at Jenna. “It’s hard, it’s unfair, but everything we’re going to tell you is the truth. Don’t you want to hear all of it?”

Around them the school bustled with life as students wound their way back to class. Sara stared at Jenna.

“Do you love my dad?” she demanded.

Jenna was startled at the unexpected question. Both Sara and Stone’s gazes fell on her. Silent and waiting. So easy, but she’d never ever said those words out loud to anyone, not even to Kristen.

And yet she felt them. Oh, how she felt them.

She glanced at Stone, saw his heart and soul open to her, vulnerable, just there for the taking, and she suddenly understood what made him hold back.

As far as he knew, she was still unable to completely trust him, unable to allow herself to love him the way he needed to be loved.

Taking the biggest plunge of her life, she reached out for Stone’s hand and felt him grab on without hesitation. “Yes,” she told Sara proudly through a haze of tears. “I love your dad. With all my heart.”

Stone’s smile was dazzling, and the best reward she could have hoped for. “And you, Sara,” she said, turning to her daughter. “I love you, too, so very much.”

“You probably have to say that,” Sara said, shrugging.

“No.” Jenna grasped the girl’s shoulders, bending down a bit and holding on until their gazes met. “I’ve never said those words before.” She felt the resistance in the thin shoulders. “Never, Sara. I’ve saved them for you and your dad, and I’m sorry it took me so long. But I promise I’ll never stop telling you. Will you try to believe that?”