Child of Their Vows

Hason Sisters #3

by Joan Kilby

Max Walker loves his daughters with a ferocity and depth that constantly surprises him. But in the deepest corner of his heart, in a place not even his wife knows about, he's always wanted a son.

Kelly Walker adores her children and she adores her husband of thirteen years. But recently she's developed interests outside the home.

They each get what they want in unexpected ways.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Joan Kilby is the award-winning author of thirty contemporary romance novels. Originally from Canada, Joan studied to be a marine biologist and worked for many years in the field of environmental biology. In mid-life she returned to her first love--writing--and never looked back. These days Joan lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children. She loves to cook and grows her own herbs, fruit and vegetables. Other interests include hiking, yoga and travel. She once spent six months sailing the South Pacific on a fifty-five foot sailboat built and skippered by her father. Joan belongs to Toastmasters International and is an accomplished speaker--teaching romance writing and giving talks to community organizations. When she’s not working on her latest book she can often be found in a sidewalk café, sipping a latte and indulging in her favorite occupation--people watching.

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marriage in trouble story/cheating story. Set outside of Seattle.

Wow – I haven’t read such an unlikable H/h in a long time. They are a matched set of awful.
Their kids are great though and I wish they had all run away to an enchanted land or had been adopted by kindly giants or something. This author has a knack for writing kids and their activities.

H/h have been married for 14 years. They were high school sweethearts and married at 18. They have four girls together – ages 13, 12, and 4 year-old twins. Hero is an architect who works from home. Heroine has been a real estate agent for a year. It’s heroine’s career and her postponement of having another child that is causing tension in their marriage. Hero has always wanted a son and when they were dating they promised each other five children.

So right away I’m thinking hero is a dick – a son, really? Are you royalty? Who cares?

And then I’m thinking heroine is an idiot – your husband wants you to have a housekeeper and you’re turning it down because it would mean you can’t do it all – mothering, career and household management. News flash: you can’t do it all. Get over it.

So the opening of this story shows us the H/h bickering and the kids looking for that enchanted doorway in the back of the closet. (Not really – but they know something is up)

Hero gets a letter – from his 14 year-old son who was adopted out at birth. He wants to meet his biological father. Hero is delighted – he has a son to to ascend the throne take fishing. He had a summer fling while he was working at a dude ranch in Wyoming the summer before he married heroine. His parents had sent him there to break up his relationship with the heroine.

Heroine was sewing her wedding dress while hero was banging a hot redhead. Hero knew the redhead was pregnant at the end of the summer and he and his parents and the redhead’s parents arranged for an adoption. Hero never knew the sex of the child and never told the heroine about the redhead. He explains that the sexual relationship with the redhead made him realize he loved the heroine.

H/h are on their second honeymoon/anniversary weekend (where the hero conveniently forgot to bring condoms and heroine is not on birth control). After unprotected sex, the hero explains the summer at the dude ranch.

Heroine is not buying it. She thought they had been each other’s first and only. Plus hero has a son -something she hasn’t been able to give him. So this plays into her sense of inadequacy. She demands that the hero go with her to marriage counseling and apologize for cheating.

Hero refuses both. He won’t apologize for the existence of his son and he doesn’t believe in talking to strangers about his feelings.

Heroine’s grandmother conveniently twists her ankle so heroine moves in with gran to get away from the hero. She comes in every morning to do laundry, make breakfast, and get kids off to school. And every afternoon to make dinner, drive kids around, etc. . . So fulfilling her obligations as mother, but not wife.

I know - she’s ridiculous.

Hero flies to Wyoming to meet his son (we’ll call him OC – other child) – who is absolutely adorable. He’s a redhead with glasses and the sweetest thing. He is the only child of an older couple. His mother was in a car accident when OC was a baby so she has been in a wheelchair his whole life. He is very sensitive and helpful. He’s also a computer “nerd” (author’s words) and not athletic or outdoorsy. Hero invites him to spend the summer with his family without asking the heroine first.

Question – I thought you had to be 18 to reach out to your biological parents? Or did the adoptive parents just give in? Biological mom refused to meet him, btw.

Hero then demands the heroine present a united front when OC shows up for the summer so that his parents will let him stay. Heroine and the oldest daughter hate this kid and are really mean to him. OC is hurt but understands why. He feels guilty for breaking up his dad’s marriage. But he wants to stay to learn to fish and be a real boy since his adoptive parents are inadequate. (This is the implication the author conveys and I hated it. Growing up without a dog/siblings is not the worst thing in the world.)

The rest of the story is the fallout from the heroine living away and the hero having his OC integrated in the family.

Notable events: Spoilers!

*The OC and daughter number one join forces to get the H/h together, sending loving emails and flowers.

*Heroine discovers she’s pregnant from that anniversary weekend and doesn’t tell hero. She wants an ultrasound first to determine the sex. If it’s not a boy, she’ll get an abortion.

*The hero is up for an architecture award and doesn’t win. Heroine feels sorry for him and strokes his ego with tales of what a great guy he is and goes to bed with him. The whiplash from angry/hurt heroine to hot and loving was too much – and hero *still* didn’t apologize for cheating. He just was sad heroine was hurt – as in mistakes were made.

*The H/h have a barbeque to introduce OC to everyone in the family (all the characters from the series) Hero wants the heroine to feel left out so she’ll come home.

*One of the twins almost drowns and OC hurts himself to save her. Heroine then is nice to OC.

*This brush with death makes H/h decide to reconcile and renew their vows.

*The ultrasound can’t tell the sex. Heroine decides to have an abortion without telling hero.

*Hero finds out she’s pregnant and threatens to divorce her if she has an abortion. Renewal of vows is off.

*Kids don’t know about the pregnancy and keep the renewal of vows ceremony on.

*Heroine goes to planned parenthood for the procedure, but can’t do it.

*She returns to tell the hero she’s having the baby. Hero has decided he loves her even if she aborted the baby.

*At the renewal ceremony heroine tells the kids they’re having a baby brother. She had another ultrasound at planned parenthood. Oh, and she’ll have a housekeeper.

So yeah – so problematic.

The H/h’s self-righteousness. The slam at adoption. How marriage counselling isn’t an option. The trivializing of abortion that follows the narrative women only get them for frivolous/shallow reasons. (like wrong sex of the child) The hero’s non-apology.

Still, I loved the kids and I take comfort in the fact they only have to live with these drama queens for 18 years and then can forge their own lives.

This was a very well-written story, but it will probably push a few buttons. Be warned.

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐⭐⭐ - OK decent reads.
=======================

Fourteen years ago he’d spent the summer after high school working on a dude ranch near Jackson. He hadn’t thought of the ranch in years, or of Lanni, the vivacious redhead who, with him, had had a job leading trail rides. They’d had a hot fling. The summer had ended. He and Lanni had parted, and he’d returned to Hainesville to marry Kelly, the only woman he’d ever loved.

Like Max, Lanni had only been eighteen. When she’d gotten pregnant her parents had been adamant there would be no marriage or keeping the baby.

Kelly. He’d never told her about Lanni or the baby he’d fathered.

He and Kelly had been going together for two years before that summer. He’d already asked her to marry him.

In the deepest corner of his heart, in a place not even Kelly knew about, he’d always wanted a son.

“If you weren’t so wrapped up in yourself these days, Kelly, you’d know I’m behind on all my projects, not just the Whidbey Island house. And the reason I’m behind is that I’ve had to pick up the slack for you.”

“If you would quit working or cut back your hours,” he yelled over his shoulder, “we might not have kinks in our relationship.”

The moment they heard we wanted to get married after graduation they shipped you off to that job on the dude ranch, hoping you’d forget me over the summer.”

“You’re hiding something,” Kelly stated. “You’ve been acting really weird all weekend, guilty and secretive—when you weren’t giving me a tumble, that is.” She crossed her arms. “Spill it.”

“I have a son.” She stared. She’d heard him speak, but his words had no meaning. “What did you say?” “I have a son,” he repeated.

Spinning, sinking, Kelly spiraled down through a swirling gray void. “You had an affair with another woman while you were engaged to me?”

“How can you say she’s not important?” Kelly shrilled, tugging away. “She’s the mother of your child.”

Her stomach heaved; she gripped herself tighter. “All these years you knew you had a child and you never told me.”

“What gives you the right to put a child behind you? To walk away and forget it ever existed?”

And I’m angry. I’m so furious I could kill you. While I was sewing my wedding dress, you were sleeping with another woman. While I was counting the days until we could start a family, you were making a baby without me. While I poured out my heart in long loving letters, you were already lying to me. Our whole marriage is a lie.”

“The boy, the boy. He’s the boy you always wanted.”

Lanni, the lies by omission, the secret he’d kept from her all these years. Hurt didn’t begin to describe how she felt, and forgiveness wasn’t even on the horizon.

“Randall is family, Kelly, whether you like it or not.” He paused. “Where are you going?”

“He invited Randall—that’s his son’s name—to stay with us for the summer…without even asking me!”

“Max is set on getting to know his son,” Kelly went on, ignoring that comment. “Randall’s become the most important thing in his life, more important than me and the girls.”

[Beeg Panda · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I have a son.”
She stared. She’d heard him speak, but his words had no meaning. “What did you say?”
“I have a son,” he repeated.
“We were married right out of high school. How could you have a child I don’t know about….”

“On her thirteenth wedding anniversary Kelly learns that Max had a son by a liaison previously unknown to her, and their past becomes a lie.”

“You had an affair with another woman while you were engaged to me?”
“You’d broken off the engagement before I left for the ranch, remember?”
“Your parents broke it off. I had every intention of marrying you as soon as we had the opportunity. I thought you felt the same.”

“He stared at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. “You said we should go along with their wishes. I left for Wyoming thinking you weren’t going to marry me.”

“Did you know before you got the letter you had a child?”
“Yes. Although until yesterday I didn’t know he was a boy.”
“And that made the difference. That’s why you’re telling me now,” she said, struggling to understand….Her stomach heaved; she gripped herself tighter. “All these years you knew you had a child and you never told me.”…”I wanted to put it all behind me.”

“The baby was put up for adoption and…” He gazed at his hands, twisted together. “That was the last I’d heard of the child. Like I said, until yesterday I didn’t even know if it was a boy or a girl.”

“In her mind, she replayed endlessly that summer they were apart. How could she not have known he was up to no good? How could she not have gleaned from his infrequent phone calls and hesitant assurances of affection that he had someone else on a string?

“While I was sewing my wedding dress, you were sleeping with another woman. While I was counting the days until we could start a family, you were making a baby without me. While I poured out my heart in long loving letters, you were already lying to me. Our whole marriage is a lie.”

“You led me to believe I was your first, just as you were my first”

“I was eighteen. I was stupid. And too much in love with you to risk losing you by confessing the truth.”

“How long?”…3 weeks

“He’s got a good home, with loving adoptive parents,” she said callously, thrusting the letter aside. “He doesn’t need you.”
“Maybe not,” Max agreed tightly. “Maybe I need him.”

“Randall’s part of me, Kel. You can’t just ignore him, and I won’t. I’m going to Wyoming. I’m going to see my son.”

“Max loved his daughters with a ferocity and depth that constantly surprised him, and he would cut off both arms rather than hurt them, but…In the deepest corner of his heart, in a place not even Kelly knew about, he’d always wanted a son… ”

“Revelation dawned in her horror-stricken face. “You blame me for having to give up your son years ago.”
“No!” He shook his head vehemently. “That’s not true. It’s not.” He backed away as present anger confused past emotions, mixing things up in his mind.
“Of course it is,” she insisted. “If I hadn’t been in the picture you probably would have married Lanni and kept Randall. Now you’re angry because I won’t give you another chance at a son all your own.”

“This wasn’t the woman he’d fallen in love with, the woman he’d defied his parents and turned his back on his only son to be with.”

“We can’t talk until—A, you apologize, and B, you agree to joint counseling.”
“For God’s sake, Kelly, not that again.”
“Yes, that again. Randall has added a truckload of baggage to our already shaky marriage.”

“Are you ever going to apologize?”
“I never meant to hurt you, Kelly—you know that. I have nothing to apologize for.”

“I have to get away for a while and put myself back together—if I can.”
“I need some time, and space,” Kelly continued more quietly. “I need to be apart from you. I’d like to send you away, but I can’t since your office is at home.”

“I’m still waiting for an apology.”
“We’re going around in circles. Fine.” He threw up his hands. “I’m sorry you got hurt. Is that better?”
“No,” she said, hurt afresh by his hard tone of voice. “You should be saying, ‘I’m sorry I hurt you.’ It’s all about admitting responsibility for your actions.”
“Don’t put words into my mouth. Why should I bother saying anything when you say it for me?”
“I have to say it for you because you never admit when you’ve done some”

“Kelly, I…I’m sorry.”
“Max, honey,” she said wonderingly. “Whatever for?”
He’d never looked so open, so raw and vulnerable. “For Lanni. For hurting you. I knew that summer that you still loved me, would marry me when we had a chance. Away from you I got all mixed up. I was angry at you, afraid of losing my freedom. I loved you and at the same time I resented you for tying up my heart so completely.”

“Can you like Randall, do you think?”
“Oh, Max, I feel ashamed of the way I’ve treated him at times. He’s really a sweet kid.” She paused. “I just wish I had given you the son you always wanted.”

[Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read.Max was a jerk and i had difficulty in forgiving him,he purposely deceived Kelly.As far as Kelly i can understand the way she behaved towards Randall,it will be easy for me to condemn her for the way she behaved towards Randall but then i put myself in her shoe though she behaved badly but as time went by she apologized for her behaviour and also came to accept Randall.But Max he is another story,he cannot be redeemed in my eyes.

Recommend it.

[Daisy Daisy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why oh why did I not heed St Margarets review? I totally knew I'd hate, loathe and detest this one after seeing her review but I still went there.
The only reason I give this 1 star is the kids and dogs. The H and h are awful people.
In particular I hated the H he was a spineless pompous and hypocritical ass and a cheater mccheaterson.
The h I felt angry for as he just dumped on her for most of the book then at the end she too was a hypocrite. She lectures him about keeping his son a secret then walking away and forgetting while she hides her pregnancy for weeks then looks to terminate and puts it on him.
Their kids are gonna need therapy!

[Ana Laura]

If the author's goal is for readers to feel disgusted by reading her book, she was surely successful.

[penelopewanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won this book in a drawing thanks to Nicole.
Quick read between suitcases as I get ready to leave on holiday. Thought it would be the kind of story I wouldn't mind putting down for two weeks if I didn't get a chance to finish it before leaving, but I enjoyed this more than I expected, and stayed up MUCH too late reading. A nice little story about a marriage thirteen years on, when the day to day grind starts to steal the thunder over romance and fireworks.

[Tmstprc · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not only are the character not likable, the author uses the threat of abortion as a plot device, a weapon used to let her husband know she’s unhappy with him and what he did 14 years ago. And, he’s no better, it takes 78% of the book for him to apologize for cheating the summer before they got married. Not only did he cheat, he also knows he has a child that was put up for adoption as a result of that summer fling.

Horrible characters, horrible story.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently I read this in 2011. Although I have to admit I barely remember it. So it was pretty average. I always remember the good ones.

[Beth Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the book. It has a happy ending, but I think that the women in these books need to demand more for themselves.

[Srinidhi.R Srinidhi.R · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the book...

[Nerissa]

Badly written . Not interested in reading as very amateur writing

[Flora · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I didn't like about this story isn't so much about the cheating. Ok, it was bad and worse he never said about it, but it happened fourteen years earlier, so...why still care!
What really bothers is that he's so taken about the "SON", like in male offspring, he would gladly risk his whole family life and marriage to get him. He really doesn't care about his wife, and very little about his daughters provided he can have a SON. Doesn't ask his wife before inviting him(which is highly disrespectful), doesn't even think of meeting him elsewhere and goes as far as asking(begging) his wife to lie in order to convince the boy's adoptive parents. He's a selfish chauvinist and the whole story ends up unpleasant and stupid

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story though well written is hypocritical in some ways. The H wouldn’t have minded it if the girl he had cheated with had gotten an abortion. The only reason the child was born was because the girl was a Catholic and her parents didn’t agree. The H cheats on the h with another woman, doesn’t confess to it and implies that h was his first and last lover. They never address the lies of omission and to top it he even refuses to apologize.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I really didn't care for Max (husband/father).

[Sherry Haynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read a book I usually have at least one of the lead characters I really liked. That isn't the case in Child of Their Vows. I only liked the children. Their honesty despite the fact of what type of emotion they were feeling the truth was said. For Randall, I felt sorry for him. The way the book left made me feel as if there were too many questions left unanswered so I couldn't really give it a four star. If maybe I had closure to the whole story then it would be different. I think I disliked Kelly because she was so cold and selfish. We all have skeletons in the closet but I really didn't hate Max. I just didn't feel anything great for him. I also don't feel as if the title corresponds with the story line.

My favorite line in the book:
"Who I am doesn't depend on what I do, but who I love. And who loves me."

[Aurélie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what I want to find in a romance.

[Deepti · Rating 2 out of 5]

can read once

[PAINTED BOX]

Max Walker loves his daughters with a ferocity and depth that constantly surprises him. But in the deepest corner of his heart, in a place not even his wife knows about, he's always wanted a son.

Kelly Walker adores her children and she adores her husband of thirteen years. But recently she's developed interests outside the home.

They each get what they want in unexpected ways.