Open Your Heart

by Cheris Hodges

  “I love you even more. And I can’t wait to marry you and raise our little bundle of joy.”

  “You have told your sisters, right?”

  “Um, not yet. I figured you should tell my dad first, see how he feels about you making him a grandfather and whatnot.”

  Chuck grinned. “Oh, I get to break the news?”

  “It’s only right—remember, he’s the one who hired you.”

  He brushed his lips against her forehead. “Best job I’ve ever taken in my life. Thank you for opening my heart again.”

  Don’t miss the previous installment in the

  Richardson Sisters series…

  WON’T GO HOME WITHOUT YOU

  A refuge in good times and bad, there’s nothing

  the four very different Richardson sisters won’t do

  to sustain their family’s legacy—a historic bed-and-breakfast

  in Charleston, South Carolina.

  Now, as one sister celebrates new love,

  another’s heart is sorely tested . . .

  One night only—that’s all Robin Richardson-Baptiste

  will give the husband she once adored.

  She thought nothing could shatter their storybook

  marriage—not illness or a life-saving operation

  that left her unable to have children. For her husband,

  Dr. Logan Baptiste, told her in a thousand unspoken

  ways their love was all he needed. But now, in the

  face of overwhelming evidence, his co-worker,

  Kamrie, claims Logan fathered her son.

  Logan can’t recall what happened with Kamrie—

  and DNA never lies. He does know he’s never stopped

  loving his gentle, courageous wife. But doing whatever

  it takes to uncover the truth, and save his marriage,

  not to mention his career, will challenge them like

  never before. And one night of undivided attention

  and desire may be the only thing to heal their hearts,

  reveal all—or shatter things beyond repair . . .

  Available from Kensington Publishing Corp.

  wherever books are sold

  Six Months Ago

  Robin Richardson-Baptiste closed her eyes and tried to forget what she’d read on the paper in her hand. The words couldn’t be real. Her hands shook and tears poured down her cinnamon brown cheeks.

  Logan, her husband, was a father. He’d cheated on her. He made a damn baby. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak, all she could do was stand there and cry. After everything that she’d been through. After he said that he was going to be there for her no matter what. This is what was happening? This is what he’d done?

  “Robin?” Logan’s voice felt like a slap in the face when he walked into the foyer of their house. “Who was at the door?”

  She didn’t say a word. She couldn’t even look at the man she’d promised to love, cherish, and be faithful to. Obviously, she’d been the only one who’d taken their marriage vows seriously.

  “Babe, what’s going on? Did something happen to Pops?” He closed the space between them and reached out for her. Robin recoiled at his touch, then pressed the paper against his chest.

  “Get the fuck out of here!” Anger made her voice deep like a lion’s growl.

  “Robin? What . . .”

  She slapped him, unleashing all of the anger and sadness that had taken over her soul. “I hate you. How could you do this to me?”

  Logan read the paternity results and his mouth dropped open. “You can’t believe this. Robin, I’ve never cheated on you and I don’t have a child.”

  She was about to pound his chest with her fists, then she took a step back. “You know, I’ve seen enough of these test results in family court to know that when someone is ninety-nine-point-nine percent the father that shit is real. Who is she? Who is the mother of your baby?” Robin didn’t wait for an answer, which would’ve been another denial. She punched him in the chest, then ran upstairs to their bedroom. Robin slammed the door and locked it before flinging herself on the bed and sobbing into her pillow.

  * * *

  Dr. Logan Baptiste loved his wife more than life itself and he didn’t understand what had just happened. Maybe he was still sleeping and this was a nightmare. But the real paper in his hand wasn’t a figment of his imagination. It was a lie. Ten years ago, he married the woman of his dreams. Robin Richardson had been a quiet beauty who made his heart sing every time she walked into a room at Xavier University.

  The moment he heard her say hello, he knew he was going to put a ring on it. Winning Robin hadn’t been easy. While his charming demeanor and super good looks allowed him to have his choice of women, all he’d ever wanted had been Robin. Double R, he’d called her when he’d gotten into a study group with her.

  She’d told the then basketball star that everyone in her group pulled their weight, and if he wasn’t there to do the work, he could go ruin someone else’s project. He’d been hooked.

  Why would she believe that he’d do something so callous to her, when he knew she . . . He couldn’t get stuck in the past—he had to get to the bottom of this bullshit and make his wife see the truth.

  Logan was shocked and disappointed to see that the paternity test had been performed at the hospital where he worked and that the mother’s name had been redacted. Was this just a cruel joke? As one of the lead cardiologists at Richmond Regional Medical Center, Logan took his job and reputation seriously. That had been one of the reasons why he’d started investigating the drug company that he believed was responsible for the death of several transplant patients. The more questions he asked, the fewer surgeries he’d been scheduled to perform. It didn’t matter that he was one of the best surgeons on staff.

  Now this.

  Was he now a source of gossip because of this lie? While part of him knew he should’ve been pleading his case to Robin, Logan headed out the door and to the hospital. Someone was going to explain this smear job. Was this the way they wanted to move him out of his position? Hell no. He wasn’t going to take this bullshit. He was going to go down fighting if he had to.

  Chapter 1

  Robin knew the last place she needed to be was in Charleston, South Carolina, helping her baby sister, Nina, with her wedding plans. There was so much her sisters didn’t know about what was going on in her life and she didn’t want to tell them while they were celebrating Nina and her fiancé Clinton’s upcoming nuptials.

  I can do this, she told herself as she walked into her family’s historic bed-and-breakfast. The Richardson Bed and Breakfast had been the place where she learned about love as she watched her mother and father, Sheldon and Nora, live out a fairy tale romance that Disney couldn’t reproduce if they tried. Granted, she knew now that there had been some hard times that probably tested their relationship.

  But there were no outside babies. Robin gently patted her cheeks to stop her tears from coming. She wanted a family like she had growing up. A loving husband, three or four kids, and happiness.

  But even if Logan hadn’t cheated, she wouldn’t have been able to have a child. Two years ago, Robin had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She had a lifesaving hysterectomy. Because she had her husband’s support, she’d never shared with her family—especially her sisters—what she’d been through.

  She didn’t want pity. And she didn’t want a reminder that she couldn’t have the life she’d dreamed of when she’d said “I do” to Logan.

  Obviously, he hadn’t planned on taking his vows seriously. That’s why he’d gone out and made a baby with that nurse. She’d served him with divorce papers over the summer and he’d had the unmitigated gall not to sign them. He kept sending them back to her attorney with a note: Not signing until we talk.

  But she didn’t want to talk to him, didn’t want to see him—she just wanted to be done with him. And Logan wasn’t making it easy.

  Besides, the last conversation they’
d had seemed cruel now. They had been discussing adoption and telling her family about her cancer. That, she’d told him, was going to be hard, because cancer had claimed their mother’s life years ago. Back then, it felt safe to talk to him about everything. To share her fears with the man whom she’d thought she would love for the rest of her life. Robin’s cancer diagnosis had put so much fear in her heart and soul because her mother didn’t survive.

  Logan had assuaged her fears, telling her about all of the treatments and advances in surviving cancer since her mother’s death. Robin knew her three sisters would’ve been overly emotional if she had shared her illness with them. That’s why she’d valued having Logan’s strong shoulders when she was going through it.

  But now, it felt as if it had been a charade. A big fucking joke.

  Robin had moved out of the house in Richmond because Logan wouldn’t leave. Sheldon had come to Virginia and helped her move into a town house in Petersburg. She told her dad the whole story about Logan’s infidelity and the baby.

  Robin had broken down and revealed her health issue. Of course, Sheldon had been shocked that she hadn’t allowed her family to be there for her.

  “Daddy, I thought Logan and I could handle this. He said he was going to . . .” Her voice trailed off and tears spilled from her eyes. “He said as long as we had each other, nothing else mattered. We’d make a family our way. Didn’t know that meant he’d go drop sperm in a . . .”

  “I could kill him. All that Pop shit and he does this to you?”

  Robin shook her head as her tears fell. Sheldon drew his daughter into his arms and held her. “Robby, I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better.”

  “Did you and Mommy ever . . .”

  “I never cheated on your mother, but we had our ups and downs. All marriages do.”

  “But how can a man take vows and break them like this? Then he keeps the lie going like I’m some kind of idiot who’s going to stick around. That mother . . . Sorry, Daddy.”

  “No need to apologize this time. I understand that you’re upset. But you’re going to have to decide if you are ready to let him go and end your marriage.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be? Logan knew I wanted a child— children actually. He knew how . . . Daddy, this is the worst betrayal. There’s no coming back from this.”

  Sheldon brushed a tender kiss across her forehead. “Make sure that’s true. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I can’t wrap my head around Logan doing this to you. That boy . . .”

  “People change and I can’t believe you’re defending him! Daddy!”

  “I’m not defending him and I’m not telling you that you should go back to him, but this doesn’t seem like the man who begged me for your hand in marriage and promised me that he’d never hurt you.”

  “Obviously people change,” she said again.

  “That’s true, but I can’t believe there . . . Robby, whatever you need from me, let me know. I’m going to follow your lead. If we have to kick his ass, then we’ll do that. But if you ever decide to take him back, then I’m going to support you on that as well.”

  She dropped her head in her hands because she didn’t know what she wanted to do.

  Robin opened the door to the suite where her sisters had gathered. Planting a plastic smile on her face, she walked in and gave Nina a big hug.

  * * *

  Logan walked into the house he and Robin had shared for nearly a decade and was still floored by the silence. Six months without his wife had been driving him crazy. What was also making him lose his mind had been the fact that she’d moved out like a thief in the night—with Sheldon’s help.

  Logan knew his father-in-law was loyal to his daughters, but he thought the older man would’ve allowed him to plead his case. Nope. The calm and serene Sheldon Richardson actually told him to fuck off.

  He was still shocked to hear that word come out of Sheldon’s mouth. He’d even called his sister-in-law, Alexandria, who’d been a fan of his in the past. But she obviously had his number blocked. The two times he had called, the calls went straight to voice mail.

  When the Richardsons closed ranks, there was no getting inside that wall of loyalty.

  As much as he wanted to fight for his marriage and prove his innocence, Logan couldn’t. Not until he had gotten to the bottom of the deaths that he was sure had been linked to Cooper Drugs, the company the hospital had started using for transplant patients. Then there was his career to consider. Something he’d worked so hard to build.

  But is it worth losing your marriage?

  The ringing of his cell phone shattered the silence and nearly made him jump out of his skin.

  “Dr. Baptiste.”

  “Logan,” a female voice cooed. “It’s Danielle.”

  He rolled his eyes. Why was she calling? He’d just ended a twelve-hour shift and had no plans to go back to the hospital.

  “What’s up?” he asked the nurse.

  “Your patient, Mr. Gary Cooper, there aren’t any orders for his medication this evening and I’d hate for something to go wrong.”

  Logan groaned, because he knew good and well that he’d left detailed notes on the man’s insulin dosages. But he wasn’t going to allow anything to go wrong. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He ended the call without saying good-bye. It wasn’t as if he had anything else to do. Being alone in what had been a dream house was nothing short of a nightmare.

  Speeding down the road toward the hospital, Logan thought about the days when heading into work was an exciting time for him.

  Then all hell broke loose.

  Kamrie Bazal. The nurse, who had assisted him through some of his biggest surgeries at Richmond Medical, had the nerve to accuse him of being her son’s father. Bullshit. He’d never slept with that woman.

  No matter what a flawed DNA test said. But he’d been hit with divorce papers and a child support lawsuit in a span of six months. Then there was talk of an internal investigation at the hospital about his so-called relationship with Kamrie.

  That made him laugh. Outside of the operating room, he had nothing to do with that woman. Though there were plenty of other doctors who couldn’t say the same thing. He thought she’d been a friend. He had been nothing but kind to her.

  So, why did she pick me? He pulled into his assigned parking spot in the parking garage.

  When he got out of the car, his phone rang. Seeing that it was a blocked number, he hit the ignore button.

  This day was getting more annoying as the minutes ticked by.

  “Logan.”

  Turning around, he saw Kamrie walking toward him. “What the hell?”

  “I’m sorry for the subterfuge. But you won’t talk to me and we have to figure this thing out.”

  “Figure what out?” He folded his arms across his chest. “You mean to tell me that you and Danielle don’t have anything better to do than fuck with me after my shift?”

  “You could get to know your son and . . . I heard your wife left you. Nothing is stopping us from being a family now.”

  Logan blinked, then broke into laughter. “Have you lost your mind? How are we going to be a family when that kid of yours isn’t mine?”

  “We’re going to do this. You remember the night of the hurricane. We were all trapped here and . . .”

  Logan threw his hand in her face. “You’re fucking insane.”

  “That’s not what the DNA test says. Jean is your son and I know for a fact he’s going to be the only child you’re ever going to have, since your soon-to-be ex couldn’t give you a child.”

  “Watch your mouth. You’re not even fit to think about her, much less say a mumbling word about her.” Logan clenched his hands into fists. And though he would never strike a woman, Kamrie was a test.

  “Logan, we can have the family I know you want. Jean should meet his father and have a relationship with you.”

  He took a huge step back. “You don’t know shit about me.”

 
She smiled, reminding him of The Grinch on Christmas day. “You keep acting as if you’ve forgotten that I know every inch of that amazing body. Especially . . .” She nodded toward his crotch. “Stop denying it. We’re a family and you should come home, where you belong.”

  Logan crossed over to his car and slammed inside. He wondered if he could order a seventy-two-hour hold for that crazy bitch. Calm down, he thought as he pulled out of the parking garage. Logan knew he needed to find his wife. She hadn’t taken his calls and her lawyer wasn’t forthcoming with where he could find Robin.

  Of course, going to her office was an option but it was going to be his last resort. He didn’t want to cause a public scene this close to the holidays. Hell, he didn’t want to cause a scene, period.

  But he had to find her and they needed to talk. Robin was more than likely in Charleston, South Carolina, with her family. Maybe it was time for him to listen to the human resources director and take some time off.

  All he wanted for Christmas was to win his wife back and get his life back on track. And he was going to do whatever he had to do to prove his love to Robin. That meant that he was going to have to get Kamrie to come clean about the father of her son.

  Logan couldn’t live without Robin and this lie wasn’t going to destroy them. All he could do was pray that he wasn’t too late.