Justice For Juniper novel Chapter 132

Juniper … I Am Your Father

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– Part

II

Juniper wanted to run from the table as emotions flooded her. “You think you are my father?”

“I know I am. I don’t need a paternity test. I know this woman,” he lifted the phone in his hand and showed off the photo of their graduation, “matches the woman I met the night before my life imploded. We felt an instant connection. I told my parents,” Fermín waved at his father, “while we were rushing to the airport how I believed the timing was awful. My mother called me a selfish asshole for thinking only of my dick while my grandmother lay dying, but I didn’t want to get on the plane. I suffered the worst feeling of foreboding in my chest. I even argued with them it felt so wrong, I was certain the plane would crash. What I wanted, and I repeated it until I was nearly hoarse with it, was to call the beautiful woman I met and tell her I’d be back for her. My mother assured me the minute we landed and said our goodbyes to my grandmother I could call her. Instead, I forgot everything but her name for two years. By the time my memories came back, the bar where we met was gone. My wallet which had housed her phone number on a piece of paper was long gone. I only had her name. I hired an investigator to find all the Maeve’s in Toronto. Evidently, he missed one.” He gave a sigh, “or perhaps he discounted the single mother instead of looking for the woman who should have been a recent college graduate.”

Juniper’s eyes watered, “you didn’t just use her in a bar and forget about her?”

1/5

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Juniper … I Am Your Father – Part II

“Back of my truck, not a bar, and I still keep the truck in my garage in Toronto where it has sat since the day I left her.”

“Why?”

“Because she was the one. I knew she was the one. Did I date since, sure I have. Nobody has ever compared to her.”

“What if it was an illusion?”

+2 Bonus

“No. It’s why she didn’t marry either. She dated here and there but I promise you, what we felt that night was as real as two souls finding each other and it’s why she never married.” Fermín got up from his seat and moved around the table. He gently extracted her hand from Inigo’s and pulled her away from Phineas until she was on her feet in front of him. His eyes watered as he cupped her cheeks tenderly, “I am your father, Juniper and not even God himself could convince me otherwise. I can see her in you. I can see me in you. You might not have ever longed for a papa, but you have one now. I missed so much time with you.” He took a shaky breath, inhaling so sharply his nostrils squeezed together as he struggled to keep the tears at bay. “All this time we lost.”

“This is the weirdest coincidence of my life.” Juniper’s voice broke at the way this man was staring at her.

“You are my little girl.” He gave a laugh, “I have a daughter. I have a child.” He was squeezing her hands tightly and he looked at his own father, “you felt it before she even spoke.”

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Juniper… I Am Your Father Part II

+2 Bonus

His father shrugged, “I did not know anything other than she looks too much like your sister.”

Juniper felt awkward standing there while her father appeared to be memorizing her features.

Her phone which he’d placed on the table before approaching her buzzed and then the tinging sound of multiple text messages coming through made her giggle.

“I think Mama recognized you too.”

“What?”

“When you first came through the gates, I snapped a photo and sent it to her. I figured she was still sleeping and wouldn’t see it until morning.” Her own eyes were watering as Phineas reached across the table to grab the phone and passed it to her. “This might get loud.” She wrinkled her nose as she noted several demands from her mother to call her immediately.

She dialed out and her mother answered on the first ring. “Hi Mama”

“Juniper, baby girl, are you okay? Do you need to come home? Are you lonely?”

“No Mama. I don’t need to come home. I’m fine. I really am.” She met Fermín’s gaze, and he was smiling at the way Maeve’s first concern was Juniper’s wellbeing.

“Do you know who the man in the photo is?” Maeve asked again 3/5

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Juniper … I Am Your Father – Part II

breathless.

“His name is Fermín.”

+2 Bonus

“Yes. How?” her mother’s voice choked off and then she asked, “was this Adil’s doing?”

“What? No. I don’t think so,” she looked at Adil who shook his head furiously. “Nope. I didn’t even tell them anything until we sat down to dinner. Beni’s grandmother mentioned the neighbor’s name was Fermín and he was invited to dinner. We were talking and,” her voice broke as she stared into warm brown eyes which were already reflecting a love she never knew she needed, “I think he might be my dad.”

Maeve gave a whisper, “Juniper.”

“He was in an accident Mama. Thirty years ago, on the morning after he met you, he had a family emergency and in racing home to say goodbye to his grandmother, he was in a car accident and was in a coma and lost his memories for two years.”

The sound of Maeve’s sob echoed over the now very quiet table.

“He says he’s my father and I don’t think he’s wrong.”

“He’s not wrong,” Maeve whimpered. “He is definitely your father. I’d know those eyes anywhere. I searched for them a very long time so I could tell him about you.”

“Fate put us together,” Fermín said quietly. “Fate put us at the same table in odds which are incalculable. Maeve, do you 4/5

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Juniper … I Am Your Father – Part II

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