Ali didn’t say anything until they were alone. “It might be better if you wait to see her.”
“For whom, Ali? Not me. You’ve kept my child from me all these months. It’s been too long as it is. I want to see her now.”
Before Ali could answer, the door opened and Jake’s doctor came into the room. “I hate to break this up,” he said, smiling, “but we need to run some more tests on our patient here.”
Jake didn’t want any tests. “Doc, can’t they wait?”
“I’m afraid not,” Dr. Walters said sternly. “I have you scheduled for an MRI in fifteen minutes.” He smiled again. “Count yourself lucky, Jake. It’s a miracle you came out of the coma. You must have a guardian angel looking after you.”
Jake met Ali’s gaze, and awareness surged through his battered body. “Yeah, she had a heavenly voice that kept calling me back. I’ll always be thankful.” He pulled his attention back to the doctor. “Just tell me that my daughter can visit me.”
The older man hesitated, then nodded. “There shouldn’t be any problem as long as she doesn’t have a cold or anything contagious. You need all your strength to heal. As much as your case has been the talk of the hospital, we like to see our patients get well enough to leave. You, Jake, still have a long recovery ahead of you.”
Jake shifted in bed, feeling every ache and pain. He knew it was going to be a long time before he was back to normal. The apparatus that held his leg motionless above the bed indicated he was going to take quite a while to heal. He’d use the time to think about his future. And his daughter’s.
“I really better leave now,” Ali said as she backed toward the door. “I have to go to work.”
“Ali.” Jake had to struggle to call her name.
She stopped.
“I mean it. I want you to bring our daughter as soon as possible.”
Ali regarded Jake for a long time. “I’ll be back with Joanie tomorrow.”
Ali hadn’t realized her hands were shaking until she stepped outside the hospital room. She leaned against the wall and drew a deep breath as the scene with Jake replayed in her head. He’d had an angry look that was unfamiliar to her. His eyes had been cold, distant, and deep lines etched his ridged jaw. He was so unlike the Jake she’d remembered. This Jake would never forgive her for not telling him about Joanie’s existence.
She walked to the elevators, stepped inside and pushed the button for the ground floor. A sudden tautness banded her chest as the car began its descent. Joanie wasn’t going to be just her little girl anymore. From this day forward, she’d be sharing her with Jake…and her grandfather.
Once on the first floor, Ali walked to the cafeteria where Margo had been waiting for her at a table in the corner.
“Well, how’d it go?” Just off her morning shift, Margo was still in her nurse’s uniform.
Ali sank into a chair with a tired sigh. “He’s awake and talking.”
Margo squeezed Ali’s hand. “That’s wonderful. Everyone is talking about the miracle in room 408.” Her friend waved her hand in the air. “What did Jake say?”
Ali shrugged. “He asked to see Joanie. He seems happy about having a daughter….”
“I hear a ‘but’ in there,” her friend said.
“Oh, Margo, the looks he gave me…” Ali ran her hand through her hair. “What if he tries to get back at me for keeping her a secret?”
“What can he do?”
Ali shook her head and drew a calming breath. “I’m not sure. But he told me before I left that he wanted to talk with me about Joanie.”
“Of course he wants to talk to you. You’re his child’s mother.”
“I’m also the one who kept her from him the past nine months. What if Jake tries to take her away? Oh, God, Margo. I couldn’t stand it if—”
“Stop it!” her friend insisted. “Jake’s just woke up from a coma, and to top it off he just discovered he’s a father. That’s a lot to take in. I’d say the man is in a lot of pain, both physical and emotional, and he’s going to need time to sort everything out.”
Ali studied the brunette sitting across from her. They’d been friends since junior high school. When Ali had discovered she was pregnant as a result of her night with Jake, Margo was the friend who had stood by Ali’s decision not to reveal the identity of Joanie’s father. She had even been Ali’s labor coach, and after her daughter’s arrival, Margo had moved in with Ali and helped her through the first two weeks of her child’s life.
Being godmother didn’t cover all that her friend had done. Ali knew that if anything happened to her, Margo would love Joanie as if she were her own child. But now things had changed. Jake was home.
“Am I going to lose Joanie?”
Margo smiled. “Of course not. But you are going to have to allow Jake to get to know his daughter.”
Guilt plagued Ali, as it had since the day she’d discovered she was pregnant. This was her fault. She was the one who had kept father and daughter apart. She wouldn’t be surprised if Jake did hate her. Sometimes she hated herself.
The next morning, Ali awoke to gray snow clouds threatening overhead. She hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Gran June was fixing breakfast. Since her grandmother’s stroke, Ali had tried to take over most of the household chores. Her grandmother had relented on all but the cooking.
Thank goodness, because Ali couldn’t quite get it together in the mornings. She sat down next to her daughter, who was seated in a high chair, and took a long sip of orange juice.
“Morning, sweetie.” She leaned over and kissed the baby’s cheek.
“What time are you taking Joanie to the hospital?”
“About ten. Why? How many times has Jake called?”
Gran June put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Ali and smiled. “He hasn’t. Cliff phoned while you were in the shower. Jake was pretty upset you couldn’t make it last night.”
“With the snowstorm warnings, I thought it best not to take Joanie out.”
“Jake understands. He’s just anxious to see his daughter.” Gran June turned to her granddaughter. “There’s another person who should know about Joanie. Darcie needs to be told.”
Ali lifted her fork to her mouth, but changed her mind. Her grandmother’s words caused her appetite to disappear. She didn’t want to think about her sister now. She glanced at her daughter, who was busy stuffing her mouth with scrambled eggs. “Nothing wrong with your stomach, huh?”
Joanie let out a happy cry and kicked her feet.
“We’re going to see your daddy today. I want you to be on your best behavior.”
Joanie smiled sweetly, as if she’d understood her mother’s words.
“That’ll do it,” Ali said. “Your daddy won’t stand a chance.”
“Stop worrying,” Gran June soothed. “Jake is going to love her. And all girls are crazy about their daddies. I know your father disappeared from your life when you and Darcie were young, but at least you had your grandfather. You used to follow him around all the time, dog his steps. You would even go fishing with him.”
The older woman took another swallow of her coffee. “The relationship between a father and daughter is special, Ali. Don’t deny either Jake or Joanie the chance to form one.”
Ali thought back to how wonderful her grandparents had been to her and Darcie. Ali still remembered the years