Tyler, Texas

"That depends on what you mean by yours", avoiding answering the question, Jenna's words could be interpreted as testy, however, her tone said otherwise, and as she cast her eyes downwards, looking at the paving stones beneath their feet, Bobby couldn't tell what was going on in her head.

"You know what I mean. Am I her father? Biologically. I know I can't count myself as being there to raise her like a father, I've never even met her, but that's not because I didn't want to", admitting he had hardly earned the title of father if they did share a daughter, he made it clear that he didn't want to continue moving forward the same way. Before he could move forward in any way though, he had to know whether her daughter was his daughter too.

"Her birthday is August 11th. What does that tell you?" skirting around the question again, she revealed information already known to him.

"Nothing new, that's why I'm asking you", reiterating the question, he wished she would just be straight with him and confirm what he suspected. They'd parted in late October and her daughter had been born the next August, there was a small possibility she'd left town with a permanent reminder of their relationship, but more than likely she'd just been quick to move on.

"I was so young", looking beyond him, she sounded like her mind was miles away, as if she was talking to herself rather than him.

"We both were", unsure where she was going with her comments, he simply agreed, saying nothing more, letting her continue at her own pace.

"I couldn't bear to lose her", making a vague statement, she really seemed lost in her thoughts now.

"I'm not trying to take her away from you", trying to be reassuring, it was difficult when he wasn't sure whether she was referring to the past or the present.

"I know", making eye contact with him again, she still sounded distant, though her weak smile gave him hope that she wasn't completely closed off.

"Don't you think Charlie deserves a father?" trying to do as she so often did and lead her to an answer, he shook his head as she looked away from him again, murmuring, "it's complicated", as she absentmindedly ran her hand over the side of a neatly trimmed hedge separating part of the garden from the path.

"Because you don't want to deal with your ex-husband, her father", having no idea what kind of marriage she had had, he made a few assumptions.

"Why would you say that?" turning her head quickly to look at him, there was no doubt in his mind that he had her full attention again.

"Because you clearly enjoy dealing with me", laughing good-naturedly, he stated what he very much believed to be the truth.

"Believe it or not Bobby, I didn't come back for you", sounding more than a little offended, she didn't exactly deny that she enjoyed his company, just that she hadn't returned to Dallas specifically looking for his company.

Shaking his head, he laughed again, "no, maybe not, but that hasn't stopped you from reminding me of our past at every turn".

"You think I should just forget our past?" raising an eyebrow, she appeared genuinely curious about his answer.

"No, but I do think you need to understand I have a wife now and it's not fair to her to rub it in that you had me first", telling her what he thought, he tried to be kind about it. He didn't really have a problem with her looking back on their relationship with sentimentality, but he'd rather she did it respectfully, without an agenda.

"I did, didn't I?" smirking, any vulnerability she'd displayed earlier disappeared, replaced by clear joy at the fact that she had been his first love and that was something Pam would never experience and could never take away from her.

"You did, and I want to know whether you had my first child too", accepting that she was always going to think of her and Pamela as rivals, he didn't argue with her about her attitude, but he didn't let her attitude rule their conversation either, asking her clearly again about the one thing he actually wanted to know.

"Bobby", petulantly whining his name, it was obvious that she wasn't happy about the change in conversation topic again.

"It shouldn't be such a difficult question to answer", assuming she had to know one way or the other, he stated his opinion about the situation.

"I told you, it's complicated", repeating her earlier explanation, she looked away from him again.

"Tell me what makes it so complicated and I'll try my best to uncomplicated it", attempting to work with her, despite her all but telling him she didn't want to answer the question, he did briefly consider that when she said it was complicated, she meant it. There was a possibility that she herself didn't know who the father of her child was, that after abruptly leaving him she hadn't just gone and married the first man she'd set her eyes on. It was possible, but he didn't think it was probable, she was coquettish but she wasn't loose, or at least he didn't want to think she was.

"You wouldn't believe me", still not meeting his eye, she shied away from answering the question again.

"Try me", continuing to show her patience, he thought that if the situation was as complicated as she made it sound, she likely needed a kind, patient listener to share her troubles with and considering he was involved in a way and wanted to help, he was the perfect person for her to turn to.

Taking his hand, she looked down at their laced fingers for a few seconds before finally meeting his eye again, looking at him with a pleading expression, "we should go inside, I have something to show you".

To be continued…