My Father's Boss

Chapter 21 Truths

Driving away, leaving her mother behind hadn't been as hard as Jasmine expected it to be. For so long, she craved having her back, but now there was nothing to want. She got all the answers she needed. She got the closer she so desperately craved.

She new she had to go back and face Killian sooner or later, but it was all too weird. It was weird to be in love with a man who shared the same mother. Granted, they weren't blood related, nor were they doing anything wrong, yet she couldn't shake the odd feeling she had inside. They shared a mother and a brother. They shared a past only Jasmine seemed to remember.

There were parts missing...holes in her memory that needed to be filled. Maybe if she and Killian got together and tried to put two and two together, they would be able to recall the lives of the two children. That of the little boy with blue gray eyes and curly brown hair and the little girl with long brown locks and missing two front teeth.

For now what she needed most, what she desired more than anything, was the comfort that only her father could give her. The comfort that he new she would need by only looking at her. Driving home took longer than normal. She also needed time to think. She couldn't go back and not tell him about her mother being back, nor could she keep from him why it was more upsetting than the obvious reason. To tell one, she had to tell the other.

She would have to tell him everything. Even the parts he might not approve of.

Killian. He might not approve of Killian.

Parking outside, she realized that her father was home. She hadn't come up with a decision. Jasmine couldn't lie. Not to her dad. She could deceive all the world, but not her dad. Not really.

Taking a deep breath she took the keys out of the ignition. Walking up to her house, she walked in, recognizing the familiar smell of home. A smell that she only remembered after her mother was gone. Music played in the background, the sound of her dad's soothing hum came from the kitchen. As she turned the corner, she saw her father standing with his back to her. He was standing in front of the stove, softly swaying from side to side.

She recognized the smooth voice of Andrea Bocelli. She watched as he hummed, softly singing the words he use to sing to her as a child.

"Nel cuore resterà" he sang

"And hold it in our hearts" Jasmine followed, smiling when he continued to sing

"A ricordarci che"

"When stars go out each night"

The sound of his daughter's voice brought tears to his eyes, tears that he forced back. It had been so long since they had sang that song. They were no Andrea Bocelli or Celine Dion, but it was special. The Prayer was a song that meant more than a few pretty words. It was their hope. Hope of a better day, hope for what was to come.

As the song came to an end, Renaldo pushed himself from the stove and made his way towards his daughter. He wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her tight against him.

"Something's wrong...what is it?" he spoke as soon as he felt her tense body against his.

Jasmine didn't speak right away, she just held him for as long as she could, before he started to truly worry.

"Neonata, what's wrong?" he asked

Baby girl..a name she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Mama's back?" she said, still pressed against her dad.

She felt him physically stiffen. He tried to swallow back the lump that formed in her throat. His voice was hoarse when he spoke.

"You saw her?" he asked