“Well, your baby is very lucky.” She returned her eyes back to the computer screen. “We have you scheduled to come in for your twenty-two week appointment in the middle of August, so we’ll see you then,” she said, handing me an appointment card.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” I nearly had to restrain myself from leaping over the counter and hugging her. I was overjoyed and wanted to share my good fortune with someone else.

“See you next month.”

A grin on my face and a spring in my step, I hopped into my car and made the short drive back home, feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Pulling into the parking lot, I was about to swing my car into my assigned spot, only to see it was occupied by an Audi SUV. I cursed under my breath and proceeded toward the back of the lot.

“There she is!” Paul exclaimed as I entered the lobby, irritated.

“Paul, someone else is parked in my spot,” I said, my tone annoyed at the inconvenience. “Can you look into it for me, please?”

A mischievous grin crossed his face, his reaction confusing me. “Someone else isn’t parked there, Mackenzie.”

“Yes, there is. I just tried to park my car and I couldn’t.”

His smile grew wider. “You’re not listening.” He opened the desk drawer and handed me an envelope with my name scrawled on it in elegant handwriting. “That’s not someone else’s car. It’s your car.” He dangled a key fob in front of me.

“Who would give me a car?” The minute the words were out of my mouth, I knew exactly who was responsible. My heart thumping in my chest, I tore open the envelope and pulled out the note.

Mackenzie,

I know you must be so confused about everything right now. Trust me. I know. I’ve been where you are. You feel as if you, alone, got yourself into your position and you can get through it on your own. You think asking for help is a sign of weakness, but it’s not.

My oldest daughter, Carol, was a mistake. She was never supposed to happen, but I am so glad she did. I was young and thought I was invincible. Hell, I was only eighteen. I thought I had my entire life before me. I was the girlfriend of a handsome navy pilot who was about to travel overseas and serve his country in Vietnam. Then I found out I was pregnant and my life changed. We were married almost immediately. Both our parents were rather conservative and didn’t want to listen to any backlash about my ‘condition’, as it was referred to back then.

Thomas was in flight school during this time and missed everything. He never got to come with me to a doctor’s appointment. He never got to hear the heartbeat. He never got to feel our baby kick in my stomach. He didn’t get to hold my hand when I gave birth.

I felt alone the entire time. I watched as all of my friends went away to college and I remained behind, my stomach growing bigger with every passing day. Some days, I woke up wondering if I would ever see Thomas again. I kept convincing myself he wasn’t going to come home to me, that he would disappear into the night and find a new girl, one without a baby. I was so stubborn and desperate to prove to myself and everyone else that I could do this alone, that I didn’t need my parents’ or anyone else’s help.

But the truth is, I did.

I needed them to sit with me at the doctor’s office and tell me everything was going to be okay. I needed them to squeal with joy when they placed their hand on my stomach and felt her kick. And, above anything else, I needed them to stay with me while I pushed all seven pounds, six ounces of human out of me. If I didn’t admit I couldn’t do it alone, I don’t think Carol would have had the wonderful childhood she did.

Don’t look at any of this as you accepting a handout. That’s not what it is. This is simply an old woman with too many zeros in her bank account providing for her family. Regardless of what happens in the future, your baby has my DNA running through him or her, and I will always make sure he or she has every opportunity available. I will do everything to ensure you have everything you need, whether it be a car suitable for a child, the best medical treatment available, or no longer having to stress about repaying your mortgage or the loan on your restaurant. Those are also taken care of, by the way.

Please accept what I can give you and don’t think twice about it. Pay it forward if and when you can.

Most importantly, take care of yourself and that beautiful baby.

With all my love,

Colleen

I wiped at the tears streaming down my cheeks, my shoulders visibly relaxing.

“What did it say?” Paul asked, eyeing me.

“She bought me a car,” I whispered, my heart feeling fuller than I ever thought possible. I wanted to stop time and remember this exact feeling. I wanted to drink in this moment to remind myself that good things did happen. “And she’s paying my medical bills, and she paid off my mortgage and the loan on the restaurant.”

“Who?”

“Tyler’s mom,” I choked out through my tears.

“Oh, Kenzie…” He wrapped his arms around me, planting a soft kiss on my temple. “I’m so happy for you. It’s about time something went right. You deserve this. Now you can finally take a break from working so hard and take care of yourself for once.”

Shaking my head, still in shock, I replied listlessly, “Earlier today, I was happy to find out she covered my medical bills, but this… I don’t even know what to think.”

He placed his hands on my arms and looked deep into my eyes. “I’ll tell you exactly what you should think. You should think that you worked your ass off and you deserve this. You should think that someone upstairs finally listened to your prayers, sweetie. That’s all. Now, go up and get some much-needed rest. I love you, but you look like hell.” He winked.

Concern washing over my face, I protested. “I need to get changed and go to the restaurant.”

“I’m sure they can handle it,” he said, his voice soothing. “And if I know Jenna, she’ll make you leave the second she sees you anyway. So go. I don’t want to see you back down here until tomorrow, got it? And I’m leaving strict orders with the night shift to drag you back to your condo if they see you.”

I opened my mouth at his mention of the night shift, tempted to ask him if he knew who Wyatt was really working for. I feared the answer may just upset me, so I suppressed my desire and playfully punched Paul in the arm. “Okay, Dad,” I said, heading to the elevator. “Can I have friends over, though?”

He smiled, the joy reaching his eyes. “Sure. But no R-rated movies.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll just watch some porn.”

“Kenzie!” he exclaimed in exasperation, his face turning red. “I have daughters the same age as you. I don’t want to think about–”

“Don’t worry, Paul. Women don’t like to watch porn. We prefer to read it.” I winked and entered the elevator, the sound of his chuckles echoing as the doors closed.

Walking through my condo, everything seemed so different. I no longer glowered at the stack of bills piled high on my kitchen table. I no longer looked at everything I owned as if it had a price tag.

Just as I was about to collapse on my couch and take a minute to fully absorb everything, there was a frantic knocking on my door.

“Mack! It’s me! Open up!” Jenna’s excited voice sounded. “I know you’re in there! Paul said you just got in!”

Grinning, I dragged myself into the foyer and pulled open the door, Jenna nearly tackling me to the ground.

“Is it true?” she exclaimed. “I mean, it’s not a joke, is it?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, already knowing all too well to what she was referring.