That right there was what made him different from the overbearing men in her life. Jameson offered endless encouragement, never bullying. He’d only ever built her up. Even when he’d been angry with her back at Delaney’s warehouse, he’d stayed at her side instead of letting her face Alex alone.
She huffed through her nose. Her poor heart fluttered like a sparrow had gotten trapped in her ribs. It hurt. The risk of this letdown was suddenly too great. Better to hold onto that little girl’s dream of a queenly mother, who’d merely stepped out of her daughter’s life because she had to rule an entire nation. That fairytale version seemed so much safer than taking another step forward and proving just how little anyone wanted an unlovable—
“Maddie?”
Good grief. There she is. At her door. Krystyna Bannister. My mother. She’s blonde. Light blue eyes. Just like me.
“Is that…? Good grief. It is! It is you! I recognize my baby anywhere!” The mother Maddie had been dreaming of all her motherless years ran off that porch and down her walk, and then Maddie was…
Found…
Wanted…
Wrapped up tight in a hug that stole her breath in all the best ways.
“I… I…” There were no words for the wealth of feelings and emotions bubbling up from her poor battered heart. Filling it up. Flooding its darkest fears with something she’d long forgotten. Being treasured by the mother who had only ever loved her. Krystyna’s blonde hair was wrapped in a thick braid that hung down her back. But that voice, that sweet caring lullaby of notes from a language of somewhere far away, was why Maddie had dreamed her mother was a queen.
They cried and cried, clinging to each other, their hands warm and possessive.
“My baby girl. My dziecko anioła. I hate your father with every feather of my soul,” Krystyna cried as she enfolded Maddie in a vaguely familiar feminine scent of powder and… Chantilly perfume. That’s what it was. It came in a pink box, and it smelled like cloves and orange blossoms, and it was… My Mom.
“He’s not on my Christmas list, either,” Maddie replied, feeling rather lighthearted and pleased now that she knew her mother wanted her.
“But I really hate Rick. The day he kicked me out of our house, I swore I’d come back for you. He said if I ever showed my face, he’d cut your throat and throw your dead body into the street at me. And I believed him. He said he’d call Immigration. I couldn’t take the chance of losing you forever.” Krystyna’s chin quivered as she cupped Maddie’s cheeks and peppered her face with soft kisses. “I missed you every day, my sweet lost dziecko anioła. Every single second. He stole everything from me the day he made me leave you behind.”
“He kicked me out, too. I wanted to join the Marines. He wanted a cook, a maid, and a slave.”
Krystyna’s elegant fingers knotted into fists against Maddie’s head. “That black-hearted bastard.”
“But I went to college, and I graduated, and I have a really good job now, and I like what I do, and… and… Mom…” And she was doing it again. Talking too fast and saying too much. But that word… That one word broke her heart and healed it, all in one breath. “Mom,” she cried, the poor heart opened wide. “Mom. My Mom…”
They stood locked in each other’s arms, breathing each other in, remembering and loving and soaking in all they’d reclaimed. Maddie had never hurt so much, nor felt so loved. This was what she’d missed, and she’d never lose it again.
Krystyna pressed a soft kiss to her tear-soaked cheek. “I am so proud of you.”
“Why didn’t you go to the authorities when he kicked you out?” Jameson asked quietly.
“Good grief!” Maddie came to her senses. “M-m-mom. This is Jameson Tenney. He’s the reason I’m here today. This was his idea, to come meet you. I’m so glad I did.”
With Maddie safe inside one arm, Krystyna’s gaze raked over Jameson, his black hair, the spectacles he hadn’t taken off, and the way he’d cocked his head the tiniest bit when he’d been introduced. The way he stood there tall and proud, always listening. Her chin dipped when she noticed the straight white cane he held erect at his centerline.
“Because I was in the country illegally, Mr. Tenney. My student visa expired after I met Maddie’s father.” Her voice had turned stern, but not once had she remarked about his cane.
“You’re Polish,” he stated with a genuine smile, and Maddie was so proud of Jameson. He always knew what to say and do.
“Yes, I’m from Poland, but I’m an American citizen now.” She looked to Maddie. “By the time I swore my allegiance to America, I’d lost track of you. It took me a while to find you again, but by then, you were in college. I’m sorry, dziewczynka. I didn’t know what he’d told you about me, and I didn’t want you to have to decide between the two of us. I chose to wait for you to find me, instead of me causing you more pain.”
Jameson cleared his throat. “Dziecko anioła is…?”
“Polish for angel baby,” Krystyna replied, her head up and a good strong arm still around Maddie. “And dziewczynka means baby girl. What are your intentions for my daughter?”
Maddie couldn’t hold back the cheek-cracking smile that stretched from one ear to the other at being named the daughter of this strong woman. “Relax, Mom. Jameson is my hero. He’s a former Navy SEAL, and we work together in Alexandria, and we’re going to marry in a month or two, and I want you to walk me down the aisle.”
“Marry?” Krystyna’s voice quavered.
Maddie looked into the sweet faded-blue eyes of the first person she had ever loved. “Yes, Mom. It’ll be a small wedding, maybe by a justice of the peace is all. I don’t have a
