Flashback

"Jarod." She crept up to him and whispered his name as he stood under the moonlight on a secluded private beach front home. Startled, he stepped away at the familiar sound of her voice.

"Miss Parker." He swallowed hard and expected to be held at gunpoint.

"What are you doing here?"

She shrugged and moved in closer to him. He held his breath as she answered.

"I followed you. There's no one here but me." She smiled.

He shuffled his foot through the sand. "And what do you propose you'll do to me?" He waited for her Smith and Wesson 9mm to be pointed directly into his face.

"Anything you want, Jarod, whatever you want." Parker spoke in her throaty voice as she tugged at the waistband of his swim shorts.

He pressed his lips down together and it showed an impression of his dimple, which she poked at, but, he brushed her finger away. He waited for her next move. She was a conniver and manipulator. She, afterall, was a Parker. He did not want to be pulled into her web of deceit. After what seemed like a lifetime of silence between them, Jarod spoke up.

"Okay, cut the crap, Parker. No games with me. What?" He imitated her oh so famous telephone salutation of etiquette. "Is "daddy" or Lyle around the corner somewhere? Ready for their attack? Take their trophy back to The Centre? Sent you here to lure me into you?"

She shushed him as her two fingers touched his lips. "I'm here to finish up what almost happened, but didn't. A moment of weakness? I don't think so. If we weren't so rudely interrupted, what would have happened, Jarod? We had the perfect setting".

"When "daddy" arrived, what happened in the car? You pulled away when I reached out to you, held your hand. You were so cold-hearted, my little ice queen. No amount of fire could have melted that iceberg around that heart of yours."

She ignored his remarks and continued with her speech. "A roaring fire. Two willing adults. Didn't need a cup of tea to warm us up. Did we? We could pick up where we left off. If you want me, if you'll have me, I'm yours."

He had wanted her for the longest time. His hand caressed her face slowly and gently, but pulled back suddenly.

"Scared of me, Jarod? I can read your heart. I see your eyes. The urge, your needs, the way you pine over me, like Poe pinning for Lenore. The only difference is...", she ran her finger across his collarbone..."I'm not dead."

He hesitated, then roughly pulled her into him. "Shut up, Melissa."

"Make me," she hissed.

He held on to her tightly At first, the excitement was a quiet pleasure, the gentleness of his touch and the tenderness of her kiss followed as they fondled each other. His dark chocolate browns and her sky blues were so hot that they danced as if to escape their fiery of passion. They shared patience, trust and without fear, love. They made love and experienced their unity with each other.

End Of Flasback

He'd never imagined fatherhood as being a single parent for him. Jarod wanted a storybook romance. But, he knew fairy tales never came true. There were no happy endings. Someone eventually dies. Happiness was only a temporary thing. He brushed his little girl's hair and helplessly tried in vain to do a ponytail on the top of her head.

Kayla squirmed impatiently. "No, no,no," she snarled and pulled off the cloth rubber band which held her lopsided hair.

"You are your mommy's daughter," he teased her. He had given up and instead placed a headband atop her head. He was a pretender, one who could become anyone and do anything. But, ah...he was not successful in such a simple task as a ponytail.

"Mama?" His daughter called out, her eyes scanned the room as if her mother would suddenly appear.

"No, baby, mama's not here. But, daddy's here." He reassured her. She stayed in the comfort of his arms as he hugged her little body, but after a couple of minutes, she pushed him away, squiggled out of his hold. The little two year old ran to the corner of their living room and curled up in a fetal position.

"Mama," she cried out. Jarod joined her on the floor and he patted her lightly on the back.

"Run...way, Mama." She cried painfully.

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"This is Sydney." The psychiatrist answered his telephone in the same manner as he'd always done.

"It's Jarod, Sydney."

"How is Kayla adjusting to her life with you?" The doctor asked concerned.

"She has her good days and her bad days. She misses her mother. What do you think?"

"Give her time, Jarod."

"Time? Time? It's time for Parker to get her ass back here. She knows how it feels to lose her mother. Or has she forgotten? To put our daughter through all of this, it's breaking her little heart. If I was heartless, I'd take my baby away from her and she'll never see her again. But, I can't do that. I won't have Kayla growing up looking for her mommy, wondering what happened to her, asking why did she leave or why was she taken away." Jarod raised his voice.

"Jarod..."

"I'm not done talking. Parker leaves The Centre when she was a few months pregnant, leaves the country, gives birth and brings my child to me at two years of age. And furthermore, what made her decide to bring the baby to me now when she definitely did not want anything to do with me? Tell me, Sydney. I'm hurting as much as Kayla is."

"You do love her, don't you?"

"Yes, I love my daughter. What kind of a question is that?" His voice softened.

"No, my boy, I meant Parker."

Jarod was quiet.

"Your silent. Is it a yes or a no?"

"You're the shrink, you tell me. You tell me, because I don't know anything anymore."

Sydney led out a sigh. "Jarod, there is a very good reason why

Miss Parker had done what she did."

"Then make me understand why? Make our daughter understand why. I want to know, we want to know."

"Alright, Jarod. I'll come over and we can talk."

The truth, it is said, can set you free. The truth can also be a very dangerous thing.

TBC - Chapter 3