{"id":258230,"date":"2026-07-13T16:08:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/daughter-on-his-doorstep-teresa-southwick\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:08:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:08:38","slug":"daughter-on-his-doorstep-teresa-southwick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/daughter-on-his-doorstep-teresa-southwick\/","title":{"rendered":"Daughter On His Doorstep – Teresa Southwick"},"content":{"rendered":"
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she demanded. \u201cYou\u2019re cold.\u201d He put the jacket he still carried around her shoulders. \u201cAnd I think we should head back.\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t want to go home.\u201d \u201cYou don\u2019t have to. Let\u2019s just head in that direction.\u201d She nodded, turned back the way they\u2019d come and slid her arms into the sleeves that were way too big for her. They walked in silence for a minute or two and she didn\u2019t volunteer any more details about what happened to make her so angry. Back to interrogation 101.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what got stirred up?\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re not going to let this go, are you?\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d he said simply. \u201cWhy do you care?\u201d She looked up, studying him. \u201cGood question.\u201d The fact that she was upset shouldn\u2019t matter and he didn\u2019t want it to. But he couldn\u2019t ignore her show of temper either. He chalked it up to being a soldier and cop, in public service.<\/p>\n

Any other motivation would have been stupid and he wouldn\u2019t go deeper. \u201cI care for two reasons,\u201d he said. \u201cSomething happened and it was about me. And second, you\u2019re the mother of my daughter. Your well-being affects her.\u201d \u201cFair enough.\u201d She nodded absently. \u201cWhat started it was Emma asking why my mom doesn\u2019t like you.\u201d Was it wrong to feel so much satisfaction that Emma was solidly in his corner? \u201cShe noticed that, huh?\u201d \u201cShe\u2019s very observant.\u201d Shelby sighed. \u201cMom came up with an answer that would be hard for any parent to fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d \u201cThat she\u2019s mad at you for making me cry.\u201d That punctured his satisfaction balloon. And he couldn\u2019t dispute the accusation. The last time he saw Shelby to tell her he joined the army and say goodbye, she\u2019d been crying. He hated that and it had taken every ounce of self-control not to pull her into his arms and tell her he would send for her as soon as he could.<\/p>\n

Right now Luke was having similar self-control issues, except this time he was on the other side of her lying to him.<\/p>\n

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Knock, knock. Guess who\u2019s a dad? Nine years of secret-keeping was finally over When Luke McCoy moved back next door, Shelby Richards knew he\u2019d discover the truth. Within minutes, young Emma was on his doorstep, asking Luke if he really was her daddy. Though Shelby believed not telling Luke had been the right thing to do, the police detective was not so quick to forgive. And as Shelby saw Luke with their daughter, her heart was not so quick to forget what they\u2019d all missed out on.<\/p>\n

OceanofPDF.com \u201cThe only thing I ask is that you let me talk to her first. Explain things in a way she\u2019ll understand.\u201d \u201cYou mean make me look like the jerk who abandoned you and her?\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll tell her the truth and make sure she understands that you didn\u2019t know about her. But she\u2019s nine, Luke. I have to pick the words carefully.\u201d She sighed. \u201cDo you want to be there when I do? Keep me honest?\u201d She\u2019d betrayed him in the most elemental way possible, so the word honest coming out of her beautiful mouth was hard to take.<\/p>\n

And the fact that he could still think she was beautiful felt wrong but couldn\u2019t be helped. \u201cAfter you tell her, I want time with her.\u201d \u201cOkay. I\u2019ll be in touch, Luke.\u201d He wouldn\u2019t hold his breath on that but at least he knew where to find her. OceanofPDF.com Dear Reader, It\u2019s said that no one gets out of this life without regrets. Hindsight is 20\/20. \u201cIf I\u2019d known then what I know now.\u201d There are probably more common expressions but those are the ones that popped into my mind.<\/p>\n

The point is that we all make decisions with consequences, but usually a consequence that looks exactly like us doesn\u2019t show up unexpectedly at the front door. This is what happens to Luke McCoy in Daughter on His Doorstep. Ten years ago he was a screwup in love with Shelby Richards, the girl next door.<\/p>\n

He felt she deserved a better man than him and broke up with her, then enlisted in the army. But he had to see her one last time to say goodbye. At that meeting, Shelby planned to tell him she was pregnant with his child.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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