Dex’s words stirred Caitlin from a sound sleep. A smile touched her lips as she straightened in her seat. “Hi, Jordan.”
“Mommy!” The little girl squealed in delight, eagerly scampering from Dex’s lap into her mother’s outstretched arms. Her chubby arms fastened themselves around Caitlin’s neck.
Caitlin laughed. “Whoa. Not so tight, baby. Don’t choke Mommy.” She was not at all surprised at Jordan’s lack of acceptance of the man she’d never seen before. Except for Caitlin’s father and the fathers of her playmates, Jordan wasn’t used to much male company.
Jordan loosened her hold on her mother slightly. Turning, she looked at Dex from beneath dark lashes. “What’s your name?” she asked him in a voice matching the suspicious glint in her gaze.
Dex held his breath, taking in the beautiful darkness of his daughter’s eyes, so like his own.
Jordan folded her arms over her chest and stuck out her lower lip when she mistook Dex’s silence as a refusal to answer her question. “I’m Jordan,” she lifted her chin and unceremoniously announced.
A smile tugged at the corners of Dex’s mouth. She was definitely a Madaris. The females in his family were notorious for pouting, which could usually be soothed by kind words or actions. “That’s a pretty name.”
Dex’s comment awarded him a softening of his daughter’s features.
Caitlin, who had been watching the exchange, decided to use this time to prove something to Dex. “Jordan?” She spoke softly to her daughter. “Who’s your daddy?”
Jordan turned her head and looked at her mother. The expression on her small face indicated she didn’t know what to make of her mother asking such a ridiculous question. Nevertheless, she answered anyway, in a clear voice. “My daddy is Dexter Jordan Madaris.”
Jordan then turned her full attention back to Dex. “My daddy’s named Jordan, too.”
A heartfelt emotion welled in Dex’s chest and threatened to burst. Caitlin hadn’t lied to him. Even when she had believed he had rejected his daughter, she had told their child about him. His daughter knew his name and seemed awfully proud she shared part of it. He couldn’t help the smile that stole over his lips, or the joy he felt inside.
“What’s your name?” Jordan asked Dex again.
Dex met Caitlin’s gaze over the head of their daughter, and she nodded briefly. The time had come for him to answer her question. “My name is Dexter Jordan Madaris.”
Jordan’s cherub face became confused. She looked at him then shook her head vigorously. “No. That’s my daddy’s name.”
Dex extended both arms out to her. “I’m your daddy, sweetheart.”
“No!” Jordan said, glaring at him defiantly. “My daddy’s in Azalea.”
Dex couldn’t hide the smile touching his lips with his daughter’s mispronounciation of Australia. Understanding the depth of what was taking place between them, he didn’t want to confuse Jordan, but he felt it was important that she knew who he was. And the sooner, the better. “I am your daddy, Jordan.”
Jordan turned to her mother for support. She was not ready to accept this stranger’s claim. “My daddy’s in Azalea, isn’t he, Mommy?”
Caitlin swallowed. She was prepared to say the words she often wondered if she would ever get the chance to say. Not knowing what Dex’s future plans were regarding their marriage, she wanted Jordan to know Dex was her father, but didn’t want to give the impression he would be a permanent fixture in their lives.
“He is your daddy, Jordan. And he’s come to see you.”
A small frown appeared on Jordan’s face. She turned back to Dex and sized him up once more.
Dex held his breath, hoping and praying that his child would accept him as her father. He could tell that her young mind was trying to absorb the words her mother had just told her. He watched as the expression in her eyes changed from confusion to comprehension and then acceptance. A smile spread over her features and she moved from her mother’s lap and into his outstretched arms.
Dex kissed his daughter lightly on the forehead, snuggling her closer to him, to his heart. His voice was choked when he spoke. “Your daddy loves you, Jordan.”
Caitlin shivered at the deep emotions Dex’s words of love to his daughter caused. It took every ounce of restraint she could muster not to let those emotions rip her in two. She was more than a little surprised when Dex suddenly released one of his arms from around Jordan to pull Caitlin closer to him. She accepted his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder.
Jordan lifted her head from her father’s chest. Looking into her mother’s misty eyes, she let out a happy chant. “Daddy’s home, Mommy! My daddy’s home from Azalea!”
Caitlin awoke the next morning as the sound of her daughter’s laughter filtered through her sleepy mind. Shifting her head on the pillow, she remembered how hard it had been for her to go to sleep, knowing Dex was sleeping in the guest bedroom across the hall.
Getting out of bed, she headed for the bathroom. As she began to dress after taking a shower and blow-drying her hair, she remembered Jordan’s excitement that her daddy was home. To celebrate, Caitlin had ordered Jordan’s favorite food, pizza.
It was a little past nine by the time Jordan had gotten bathed and in her pajamas. After her bath she’d grabbed her favorite doll and had gone looking for her daddy. She had found him sitting quietly on the sofa. Dashing across the room to him, as though it was the most natural thing, she crawled into his lap. Dex had wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her with fierce tenderness and open affection. The touching scene had nearly brought tears to Caitlin’s eyes.
She had found it difficult to tear her gaze away from them. Somehow she had forced her attention to things she needed to do like preparing the guest room for Dex.
It was only when she had come back into the living room that she noticed a confused expression on Jordan’s face.
“Jordan, what’s the matter?”
Jordan looked up at her mother. “Where’s Grampa?”
Jordan’s question made Caitlin go still as pain tore through her. She had wondered how long it would take for her daughter to notice her grandfather’s absence. The two of them had been very close. From the time she had brought Jordan home from the hospital, they had lived in this house with her father. Moving to Fort Worth six months ago had been hard on all three of them.
“Grampa’s gone away, honey,” she finally whispered to her daughter.
Jordan seemed to ponder Caitlin’s words. “To Azalea Mommy?”
A lump formed in Caitlin’s throat. She had been unable to reply. She was grateful to Dex for coming to her rescue by answering for her. “No, Jordan. Your grampa hasn’t gone to Australia. He’s in heaven.”
Jordan turned wide dark eyes on her father. “He’s up there with the angels?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” Dex replied, smiling tenderly, pulling his daughter closer to him. “He’s up there with the angels.”
A pleased smile spread over Jordan’s face. “They’ll give him some wings.”
It wasn’t long afterward that Jordan began getting sleepy. Together, Caitlin and Dex had taken her upstairs to tuck her in. They had listened as she said her prayers, saying a special prayer for her grampa in heaven, and thanking God for sending her daddy home to her and her mommy.
Listening to Jordan’s prayer had made Caitlin’s throat constrict. It had taken all the strength she could muster not to fall apart right then and there. After letting Dex know the guest room had been prepared for him, she had quickly said good-night and escaped to her own bedroom.
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