Read Online A Hickory Ridge Christmas by Dana Corbit - Free Book Online Page B

that he sat as straight as she did, his hands gripping the chair’s arms.
    â€œBut that’s not why the three of us are together tonight, is it?” He paused, crossing his arms over his chest. “We’re here because of your daughter, and Rebecca deserves better than this.”
    Hannah opened her mouth to say something, anything, but the words wouldn’t come. The thoughts wouldn’t even come. She hated it that Todd found his voice first.
    â€œI know you’re right, but—”
    â€œTodd.” Reverend Bob’s voice held the warning of a man—even a man of God—whose patience had worn thin. “Both of you have had plenty of chances to talk. Now it’s time for you to listen.”
    With a curt nod, Todd sat back in the chair and rested his hands in his lap. Hannah settled back, as well, trying her best to relax when her thoughts and pulse were racing at competing speeds.
    â€œYou two are behaving like children, especially you, Hannah.” He paused to focus pointedly on his daughter, making her squirm. “You are children no longer.”
    She straightened in her seat again, glancing sidelong at Todd. He sat stiffly, but he nodded, his Adam’s apple shifting. Was this the uncomfortable way he would have looked if he and Hannah hadfaced her father together when she first learned of her pregnancy? She suspected the discomfort would have been the same, but she would never know how that confrontation might have gone or where the four of them might have been today.
    â€œSelfishness is a privilege of youth,” Bob began again, as if he was gearing up for one of his best sermons. But a small smile appeared where his tight expression had rested. “You two lost that privilege when you made a child together. God has entrusted Rebecca into your care, and your daughter’s needs must always come first.”
    Hannah couldn’t help shaking her head. “But Dad, I do put Rebecca first. She’s everything to me.”
    â€œI know you love your daughter. I see that every day. But in this instance, you’ve been very selfish. This child needs a father. You know how she longs for someone to fill that role in her life.”
    Her breath hitched because she did know. Her sitter, Mary Nelson, occasionally repeated parts of conversations she’d overheard between Rebecca and Max Williams, who’d lost his father to an accident and then found a great stepfather in Brett Lancaster. Rebecca had been asking questions about her father long before she’d overheard Todd and Grant batting around her paternity like a weapon.
    Since that horrible night, Rebecca had been asking even more difficult questions: “Why don’t some daddies live with their kids?” and “Why are some mommies and daddies mad at each other?” How could Hannah explain anything to her daughterwhen her thoughts were muddy waters that refused to clear?
    Because she didn’t answer, Reverend Bob continued. “Unlike some unfortunate unwed mothers, you have a young man who is interested in, even adamant about, taking responsibility for his child. No matter what your feelings are regarding Todd, you must put them aside and allow Rebecca to have a relationship with her father.”
    The minister stopped then, as if he’d said his piece. Hannah let her gaze fall to her gripped hands. He was right, of course, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept.
    After five years of fighting for every miniscule amount of self-sufficiency, it wouldn’t be easy to hand over part of the responsibility for Rebecca’s care to anyone, let alone Todd. At the thought of him, Hannah couldn’t help glancing his way. Todd had his gaze trained on her, a tight expression on his lips.
    â€œAnd you, Todd.”
    At the sound of Reverend Bob’s voice, both turned back to face him.
    â€œYou could have approached this situation with a lot more maturity, as