“He was devastated. He thought I’d leave him. I told him that was the stupidest thing he’d ever said.” I almost smiled. “We looked into a sperm bank. But your dad hated the idea of a stranger. A number in a catalog. He wanted to know the person was decent.”
“So you picked Mr. Cole.”
“Dale offered. Renata was the one who suggested it. She was already pregnant with Ezra, and she said, ‘Wouldn’t it be something if they were family?’ We did it properly, through the Larkmoor clinic. Lawyers. Papers. Dale signed away every right. He agreed he’d never claim you, and never tell you.”
“And Dad agreed to that?”
“Your dad held you the night you were born and cried harder than I did.” My voice cracked. “He never once thought of you as anybody’s but his. He made me promise that you’d never find out. He was so afraid you’d look at him differently. That you’d go looking for the other man.”
