The Secret Admirer Next Door (Love Next Door Series Book 1) *Editing*

Chapter 43

Sunlight peered in from the window when Abe opened his eyes and staring eye to eye whimpering in front of him was Garth. He smiled scratching him behind the ear, clearly he was in need of a little Christmas spirit, or at least of bowel relief. He got dressed and went outside to the back yard.

When he came back in the house, Christian was in the kitchen stirring a cup off coffee at the table. Abe just smiled warmly. "Well you're up early. You didn't want stay over at Valerie's?" He pulled Garth's kibble out of the pantry and his large bowl off of the top shelf and made his breakfast right on the floor as Garth gobbled it up as it hit his bowel.

Christian shrugged.

After making Garth's water bowl, he sat down in at the kitchen table. It dawned on him how little it got used after Liv passed away. That went for the stove too. He did the best he could but he thought about what he would change if he knew. He thought about that with Christian. What regrets he carried with him.

"So what's new?"

Christian looked at his father curiously. He finally pushed his lips together and shook his head. "Not much."

"So tell me about my granddaughter." He smiled.

He noticed a small twitch in his son's lips.

"What's her name?"

He shrugged.

"Come on." He nudged his son, "I want to know about her. I want to know everything."

"Why?" He said still pushing back a smile.

"Hello? I'm a papa and I have a baby girl out there. I've been wanting to ask, I just didn't know how."

He looked into his coffee cup, "Riley." He smiled, "Her name is Riley Lilian Goodwin."

Abe's heart warmed more knowing she had his last name. "Her name is beautiful."

Christian laughed lightly as tears welled in his eyes. "Yeah." He said hoarsly.

"You have pictures?"

Christian stood up an knelt beside his father pulling out his phone, and flipped through pictures if Riley from her birth to the recent ones April sent him. He had to admit seeing the elation on his father's face gave him a good feeling. Like somehow past all the bull shit in his life he had done at least one thing right.

"So what happened with you and her mother."

Then came that question. "She didn't want me anymore. I would have stayed but I couldn't find steady work, we were staying with her folks. " He ran his fingers through his hair, "We just couldn't stop arguing, and finally I just walked away." He shut his eyes, "I wanted to take her with me, Dad. I did. I would have given anything..." He trailed off.

"Sounds like a hard decision for anyone to make." He said, "I know you do what you can from here."

"I'm saving up to see her." He nodded, "I send her what ever I have. She says it's not enough, but it's all I can do. I even have this new business venture."

His eyebrow quirked, "Business venture?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, I own my own business, but I'll talk about that later."

"Good, because I'm very curious." He said.

The two men talked into the morning like they were old friends getting to know each other again. Valerie was right Christian was so much like him. In a lot of ways a better person, he just got dealt a rough hand and was trying his best deal with it.

He'd convinced Christian to go to Valerie's with him. He'd awoken Jake too and tried to call Valerie , but got her voice mail. He didn't leave a message instead he decided to just get dressed and go over.