The Secret Baby

Chapter Eight

"Ashtyn, I need to pack our bags. Can you play with Jaxon for a little longer?" I asked, setting her back on the floor. She nodded and waddled back to Jaxon, giving him a hug. I went into her room, packed up a diaper bag, then went into the kitchen to pack up some snacks and drinks for her. When I returned to the living room, I smiled, "all set."

He carried her out to the car and sat her in her seat. He buckled her in as I loaded her carriage into the trunk, which helped save time. "Can you check to make sure I pulled it tight enough?" He asked, stepping back from the door. I checked, noting that it was done right, kissed Ashtyn, and closed the door. I walked around the car and got in the driver's seat with a sigh. I started the engine as he climbed into the passenger seat with a big smile. "First outing with my daughter as a family." He sounded so giddy about it.

On the drive, he grabbed my hand to hold, but I pulled it away. At the zoo, I sat Ashtyn in her carriage until we were in the zoo. Then she started wiggling in her seat to get out. "Zee down." She called. I took her out of her carriage, and she grabbed Jaxon's hand to walk around the zoo. He happily gave her a finger to hold as she walked over to the viewing window of the bears. She looked around excitedly and pointed at the three bears in the exhibit.

"These are bears." I told her, "look at their big paws." I noted, pointing to a sign where they can compare paw versus hand size.

She pulled Jaxon over to the chimpanzee exhibit and began making monkey noises. "Yes, monkeys. Good job, MacAshtyn." Jaxon chuckled. We walked around the zoo for a while, then stopped for lunch.

After lunch, we walked around a little more as Ashtyn watched the animals happily. "Zee, up." She told Jaxon. He picked her up and held her as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"It's naptime. We should start heading home." I replied. He nodded, and we headed back to the car. By the time we reached the car, she was sound asleep on his shoulder. I smiled as I put the carriage in the trunk.

"I don't want to wake her. She's so precious." He commented when I gave him a questioning look as he stood in the open car door.

"She'll fall right back to sleep as soon as I start driving," I assured him. He nodded and gently put her in her car seat, buckled her in, and closed the door. He got into the passenger seat, glanced back at her with a smile; she was still sound asleep. As I drove back to my house, he reached a handover and placed it on my thigh. "jax, please stop trying. I don't want to do this with you again. You left promising to write to me and never did. Now you're here, you're getting married to another woman, and the only reason why we're even having a conversation is because of that little girl in the back seat." I tell him as I remove his hand from my thigh.

"I believe it was the backseat of a car where we made that little girl." He responded, grabbing my hand and bringing it to his lips.

"You were supposed to use a condom." I snapped at him.

"I didn't have one, and we've done it a few other times without one. I wanted one more night with you before I left. I figured it wouldn't make a difference." He deflected. "I was young and dumb."

"You were almost as old as I am now. That's not an excuse."

"If I wrote to you, would you have told me?"

"Yes. I was in love with you, Jaxon, but you were just after the sex. You were so concerned with your mother's opinions that you hid our relationship. We never really went on a real date, and if anyone you knew saw us together, you were quick to ditch me. How many times did I have to walk home alone because you took off with someone else? You were ashamed to be seen with me, but I was an easy lay to you." I wretched my hand out of his grip. "Why can't you just go back to where you've been living and leave us alone?" Tears began to slide down my cheeks. I angrily wipe them away with the back of my hand. "I know you deserve to be in her life, and she deserves to know you too, but it would be easier if you just went away again."