Champion At Heart (Sequel of Breaking Ice)

Chapter Nine

The ladies opened their eyes wide in shock, but only one of them seemed amused by the little girl's confession. Brooklyn started to feel faint, and if that was the way she reacted at Dolly finding out about Abilene, she couldn't imagine how it would be with Marshall.

"Oh, yes?" Dolly asked, curiously. "And who is your Dad?"

Abilene giggled. "He is the strong bull rider I see on videos..."

"Abilene," Brooklyn tried to stop her, but her daughter was too excited.

"He is brave, and my hero," she frowned. "But Mama told me he was hurt, so I want to see him and maybe give him kisses and hugs so his pain goes away!"

Dolly straightened herself, sighed and looked at Brooklyn with raised eyebrows, not wanting to imagine who the little girl was talking about, although she had a pretty good idea.

They all stood in awkward silence, Brooklyn not daring to say another word as Abilene swayed back and forth, waiting for either woman to talk. "Did I say something wrong, Mama?" she asked, concerned, looking at her mother who was on the verge of tears.

"No, sweetheart. You're fine," she replied, running her hand through one of her pigtails. She knew this moment was coming, but the longer she put it off, the harder it was to actually deal with it. And now, standing in front of Marshall's aunt, she felt as if her entire world was collapsing.

She didn't want Dolly to hate her just as much as she knew the man she loved would.

"So, Marshall was right."

"Excuse me?" Brooklyn asked, confused.

"He felt like there was a piece of him somewhere out there. A child." Dolly's eyes softened as she stared at the young woman in front of her, holding the little girl's hand. "Why didn't you want to talk to him, or tell him he has a daughter."

"It's a long story..."

"Well, I have plenty of time. So, both of you come in, and I have some sweet tea and banana cream pie." Urging them both inside–Abilene not containing her excitement at having some dessert as she ran inside the house–they all made their way to the kitchen, where the delicious smell of coffee permeated the room.

As she looked at her daughter hop on one chair, impatiently waiting for a piece of pie, she brought to her mind the many scenarios where Marshall could be sitting there with her, talking about horses and ranch work while she made them both breakfast.

It was not something she dared hope, but that moment there was all she needed to make her smile. If for just a little while.

Hugging herself, feeling guilty and ashamed, she made her way to the table, where she joined Abilene as Dolly served them a piece of her pie, sitting with them, looking at Brooklyn with patient eyes as she waited for her to explain everything.

"Mama said I would see Daddy soon," Abilene interrupted her train of thoughts. "Is he here?"

"No, darling. Marshall doesn't live here anymore. He bought a ranch a mile up the road, and he and Sophia moved there," Dolly looked at Brooklyn. "Now, tell me what happened between you two that made you avoid his calls and hide your daughter from him."

The room seemed a bit smaller with each breath she caught, and she felt like suffocating. On one side, she was relieved Marshall wasn't there, but on the other, she wanted to rip the band-aid off and get it out of the way.

As she tried to take a bite of her pie, she had suddenly lost her appetite, but Dolly held her hand on the table, making her feel better. She had that tender heart, and reminded her of her own mother.

"Brooklyn, if you're facing Marshall, I have to warn you, that he is not the man you left behind. He fell into a depression after the accident, and now he's building his life back together. So if you're determined to see him today, you need to prepare yourself for whatever he might say to you."

Oh, she was very well aware of it. She wasn't expecting him to welcome her back with open arms, but hoped it wasn't as bad as she was thinking. Hiding a daughter was a big deal, especially when now, she has found out Marshall had that feeling of fathering a child.

Something she dreaded. "I know."

"What happened between you two?"

Brooklyn gave her daughter another look, but she wasn't paying attention to their conversation as she fully enjoyed the pie.

"After we..." she cleared her throat. "After we conceived Abilene, we had a few not-so-kind words towards each other."

Dolly squeezed her hand, waiting for her to continue.

"He offered me to stay forever, and I could finish my degree here as you all had good colleges. I stupidly laughed it off, and told him that as beautiful as this place was, it was not my kind of thing. I couldn't stay here in the middle of nowhere where I could get bored and smell all day. I had the thought that my nails and hair would get ruined just doing ranch work." She chuckled at such thought, realizing how stupid she had sounded. She didn't mind dirty and hard work, but didn't know why those words had come out of her mouth.

Taking another deep breath, she hoped Dolly didn't take offense to the way she had referred to her home.

"I told him that being with him on our vacation was just a fling. When Jeremiah talked about him, I was eager to meet him, and I told Marshall it was just a way to calm my curiosity with a cowboy."

Tears had started to roll by the time she finished, and didn't dare look up for fear Dolly could be staring at her; judging her. "Then, he got upset, and told me that it was fine by him, because he could never fall in love with a stuck up northern girl, who only thinks about money and pride. And even if he did, he couldn't give me what I needed or wanted. I swear, Dolly, I didn't mean those words. I hurt his feelings, I know, and I felt horrible." Brooklyn wiped her tears and took a deep breath. "When I found out I was pregnant, I freaked out. Bexley and Jeremiah warned me to tell him, but..."

"Wait, my son knew about it, and he couldn't even tell me?"

"I made them promise not to. I said I would deal with it, but it got harder with each year that went by. Please, don't be mad at them. It was all my fault."

Disappointed, but somewhat understanding, Dolly left her chair and walked towards the window, the midday sun was burning hot, and she knew it would burn even hotter between the couple when they met each other again. Not wanting to delay it any further, she grabbed a pad and a pen from her kitchen drawer and started writing on it. Heading back to the chair, she handed Brooklyn the note.

"Here," she said. "This is Marshall's ranch address. He was out in town, but he must be back by now. You better go there now and talk to him. And this little girl needs to meet her father. You waited too long, Brooklyn, so it's time you pull your pants up and be a woman. You need to tell him everything, and you need to tell him now."

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