SECRET AGENT DAWSON
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chloe sat there, eating her
dinner, after she had made her phone call. She pondered the thought of him
seeing Emma. How was he going to react to seeing his daughter? Emma was her
world. Every day she would talk to Emma about Jack. So Emma knew everything. She
knew that her father hadn't abandoned her. She would ask her mother if she
could visit her father, but Chloe would close the subject and wouldn't hear
another word about it. Out of frustration, Chloe began to cry. She buried her
tears in her napkin, but Jack noticed.
"Chloe, what's wrong?"
Jack looked at her.
"It's nothing. These old
feelings are coming back too strong." She pulled back out of her chair.
"I know, sweetheart. Believe
me, I know. Remember what I told you when we first dated?" He got up and
held her.
"Yeah. You said don't let
anything hold you back." She remembered that night--the first time they
had made love.
"Well, don't let it."
He wiped her tears.
"How can I not, Jack? For
God’s sake, you don't know anything of what I had to deal with when I
left." She knew she shouldn't blame him, because it wasn’t his fault. It
was hers.
"Well, why don't you tell
me?" He lifted her chin.
"I can't, because if I do, I
don't know how you will react." She looked away.
"There is nothing that you
can say that will make me think the worst of you." He turned her face back
to him.
She tried to run away, not
letting him know anymore of what she was trying to say. But he held her
tightly. He started to kiss her. She melted into his arms, feeling the love he
had always given her. He pulled her to his bedroom, kissing her all the way
there. When he laid her on the bed, he picked up her shirt, only to notice a
scar. "Chloe, what's this?"
"You might as well know. I
ain't gonna lie to you. This scar is from when they cut out the baby out of
me." She pulled her shirt back down.
"Baby?" He was
clueless.
"Yes, Jack. I am a mother
now." She stood up straight.
"Who's the father?" He
was curious to know.
She couldn't look him in the eye.
But he put it all together. "It's mine, isn't it?" He brushed his
hair back and got off the bed.
"Yes, she's yours. I named
her Emma. She's seven years old. I've told her all about you and what you were
like. She's always wanted to see you, but I told her we couldn't." Chloe
stood at the window, looking out toward the city.
"Why didn't you let me
know?" He stood in front of her.
"What was I gonna say? Hi,
I'm back from the dead. Uh…you have a daughter?" She looked at him. She
felt like she had betrayed him for keeping this secret.
"You could have gotten a
message to me somehow." Jack hated not knowing this all this time.
"Not back then. It was too
risky. I didn't want those men to know I was alive. And I didn't want them to
get to you either." She touched his shoulders.
"Chloe, I appreciate the
protection. But I am a grown man." He took off her hands, sitting down on
the bed.
"Jack, do you understand how
much I love you and how much it hurt to see Emma without a father for all these
years?" She needed him to know she cared.
"Chloe, do you really love
me?" he asked.
"More than life itself,
Jack." Chloe took his hand.
"Good, because I still love
you, too. I have all these years." He took her hand and kissed it.
"We can't be together,"
Chloe said.
"I know." He frowned.
He so much wanted to be with her tonight.
"I gotta get ready for the
party. I will see you tonight." Chloe got up.
"Yeah. Will she be
there?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. I'll make sure to
tell her you’re coming." Chloe turned her face to his.
"Thank you, Chloe."
Jack smiled.
"No problem." She
nodded.
Chloe walked out the door, crying
like she hadn't cried before. She walked down the street and hailed a cab. When
she got inside, her tears flooded her eyes. She wasn’t able too see well.
When she got home, Emma ran to
her and hugged her. "Where have you been, Mommy? Why are you so sad?"
"Emma, I ran into your
father." Chloe wiped her eyes again. They were red now.
"My daddy? You saw my daddy?
Where is he?" Emma was excited. She looked around for her father.
"He will be coming to the
party tonight," Chloe said.
"Can I show him the
scrapbook I made for him?" Emma asked.
"You sure can." Chloe
smiled.
"Yay! Daddy's coming home!"
Emma ran upstairs. She was happy that, after all these years, she would finally
be able to see her father.
*****
Rose slept on the plane,
wondering if she could trust Jack not to sleep with Chloe. She knew how much he
had loved her. What if he had slept with her? Would she divorce him and leave
him? She didn't want to think about it. She only hoped she wasn't too late.
*****
Jack cleaned up the dinner plates
and walked into Tobey's bedroom. He shook him.
"Tobey! Wake up, man,"
Jack said urgently.
"Is it time already?"
Tobey asked.
"Nah. I need to tell you
something." Jack had to tell someone about his situation.
"What is it?" Tobey
yawned.
"I found Chloe." Jack
sat on the bed.
"That's good. Did you talk
to her?" Tobey was still half-asleep.
"Yeah. She told me I have a
daughter," Jack said.
"What? You knocked her
up?" Tobey was surprised. He had never told him he had slept with Chloe.
"I had no idea." Jack
put his hands in the air.
"Wow, man. Things just keep
getting worse for you, huh?" Tobey asked.
"Not worse. Having a
daughter is wonderful. But I wasn't there." Jack began to feel sad again.
"If I wasn't there for
Holli, I would know exactly how you feel." Tobey patted him on the back.
He began to feel hungry.
"What am I gonna do, Tobey?
I'm married to a woman I love, but I have a child with another woman I am still
in love with." Jack looked at him.
"I don't know, but when you
figure it out, let me know." Tobey didn't know what to tell him.
Jack left Tobey alone. It was
still a few hours until the party. He needed to look good for his daughter, and
he had to do something to make sure she remembered him.