It still pained her now that she couldn’t live up to his expectations. However, he’d been the most attentive and loving grandfather anyone could ever ask for, and for that, she’d always be grateful.
“Sorry, to cut this short,” she said as she took Evan from him. “I’m a bit behind, and now we both have to change.” She glanced at Evan’s stained shirt. “John’s waiting for us. I think Kier and Alessandro are with him already.”
“I know, I was just there to see the pups, and when John said you were running late, I thought I’d come and check if you needed some help,” Grant explained.
“I’m good, Papa,” she said. “But why don’t you come with me while I change Evan, and then you can watch him while I get ready for work?”
“Sure, I can do that.”
They went to the nursery, and Isabelle placed Evan on the changing table. “Can you hand me a fresh shirt from his closet, Papa?” She pulled off the soiled shirt from his little body and checked on his diaper. “At least that’s clean, you little stinker,” she joked.
Grant returned immediately with a new shirt. “Here you go, sweetheart.”
“Thanks.” She turned to her father and paused when she caught a strange look on his face. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head and smiled sheepishly. “Nothing. I mean … I was just looking at you and wondering to myself, ‘who is this person in front of me?’”
She chuckled. “What do you mean? I’ve always just been me, Papa.”
“My Isabelle …” He touched her cheek, then cradled her jaw. “We weren’t expecting you, you know. Your mama thought we were done having pups, and then you came along. But you were such a ray of sunshine, my beautiful baby girl.”
A lump formed in her throat, and she closed her eyes as she rubbed her cheek against his palm. “I never told you how sorry I was, Papa.” Her voice was barely a whisper, because she was afraid it would break if it was any louder. “I’m so sorry I disappointed you.”
“Is that … Oh, Isabelle.” He stepped forward and pulled her to his side, planting a kiss on top of her head. She buried her face in his shirt as tears formed in her eyes. “When you were a teenager, everyone said I treated you like a child. And that I spoiled you too much by giving you everything you wanted. Maybe that’s because I didn’t want you to grow up—the way I watched Lucas, Adrianna, and Julianna grow up so fast and realized they didn’t need me anymore. You were my baby girl, but I knew you would slip away from me eventually. I just wanted to hold onto you for a little longer.”
“Oh, Papa,” she sobbed. “I’ll always be your girl.”
“I know.” He soothed a hand down her back. “I wasn’t disappointed in you. You could never disappoint me. I was just shocked when you told me that you were pregnant. I’m your father, and I’ll always think of you as my baby. And then when you told us it was your True Mate’s baby and that he wasn’t around … I didn’t want you to feel the same pain I did when your mom rejected me.”
She looked up at him in surprise. “Mom rejected you?”
“She didn’t want me initially, didn’t think we fit together,” he smiled sadly. “We didn’t even know we were True Mates, even though both our wolves did. And then … then there was a misunderstanding, and I thought I’d lost her forever. It was only for a few days, but the pain that put me through, I could barely take it. And I didn’t want you going through the same thing.”
“I thought I let you down,” she confessed, “because I was irresponsible. A disappointment and shame to our name.”
“Isabelle, look at him.” He gestured to Evan with his head. “Is Evan something to be ashamed about? A disappointment?”
“I … no.”
“See? There’s no reason you should feel that way. I’ve always been proud of you, and I have to say, I’m even prouder now of the woman you’ve become.”
“Thank you, Papa.” She sniffed and wiped at her cheeks. Even through her tears, she could see he was misty-eyed too. “Look at me, I’m a mess. I should get going or I’ll be late.”
“I’ll watch over Evan, you go ahead, sweetheart.”
As she got ready for work, she couldn’t help but reflect on her father’s words. Most everyone assumed that Evan’s father was dead, but her parents and siblings knew that he was out there, and things just didn’t work out between them. None of them understood—after all, everyone in their family was with their True Mate, so how could he not want to be with her? But she refused to say more, and they never pressed her. Yes, she was pretty depressed when Ransom left. She wouldn’t get out of bed, wouldn’t answer her phone. She stopped posting on her social media accounts and even drifted away from Maxine. But then, when she found out about the pregnancy, she picked herself up, because she knew she had to take responsibility.
Obviously, Ransom didn’t feel the same pull she did. If it wasn’t for the instant pregnancy and invulnerability, she would have doubted they were True Mates. He wouldn’t have left like that. He knew exactly where she was and who she was, so he could have easily found her. But no, he didn’t even try to contact her after all this time. God knows what—or who—he’d been doing all this time. The thought of Ransom with other woman sent a twinge of uneasiness in her chest.
“Sweetheart?” Papa called. “Are you ready?”
“I’ll be out in a sec!” Grabbing her purse, she bounded out to the living room. “Thanks so much, Papa.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Let’s go drop him off at John’s.”
Since it was
