by Sandy James
The room was bathed in neutral tones, so different than the vivacious Alexis and her office. Beiges and browns were set off by light teal as accent on the two sofas’ throw pillows. A large abstract painting that reminded Beth of a Pollock work was the only art on the walls. Alexis no doubt used the room as a place to have what probably were heated discussions, hoping the muted tone would help lessen the strong emotions of any clients.
After helping Beth to her feet with a welcomed hand on her elbow, Robert, still frowning, followed the receptionist. Beth cradled Emma against her, hoping the baby wouldn’t wake up. Emma was getting heavy, but although Beth’s arms ached, she couldn’t make herself ask Robert to take her. As long as Emma was in her arms, she was safe. Someone would have to hurt Beth to get to her baby.
Robert waited until Beth sat on one of the couches before he dropped down at her side. She tried to make herself comfortable in what was sure to be one of the most uncomfortable moments of her life. He draped an arm over her shoulders, and she gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow to try getting him to ease up on the glare he was shooting at Darren.
“Be nice,” she whispered.
Robert didn’t reply.
Darren sat next to the blonde on the other sofa. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and clasping his hands as he studied Emma.
Beth had to fight the urge to grab a blanket from the diaper bag and toss it over the baby, as though she could shield Emma from her biological father’s penetrating perusal. As though Beth had any control over what was going to happen.
“She looks more like you than Tiff, B,” he finally said. “That hair is pure you.”
The comments were so close to her own thoughts that they took her by surprise. She didn’t want to smile, but the corners of her mouth rose anyway. Even though her fear of losing Emma nearly choked the air from her lungs, she also saw how in awe Darren was of his daughter and how overwhelmed he was at seeing her for the first time. He couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away.
Alexis nodded at the blonde. “Beth, Robert, let me introduce you to Kelly Dalton, Darren’s fiancée.”
Kelly smiled and gave them a little wave. “We’re getting married in June.” She held up her left hand to show off the enormous solitaire on her third finger.
“Congratulations,” Robert said drolly. “When’s the baby due?”
Beth jabbed him with her elbow again, hoping he’d get the snide tone out of his voice. “Be nice,” she whispered again.
“August,” Darren replied, shifting his eyes to Robert. “You must be Beth’s boyfriend.”
“Husband.” Robert’s tone shifted, but instead of softening, he now sounded angry. “I’m her husband.”
Beth was tempted to haul him out into the reception area and scold him the way she often did with rude or disrespectful students. “We were married over spring break.”
“That’s so sweet,” Kelly said. Her voice was high-pitched, so much so it made Beth wonder if she’d considered a career doing cartoon voices.
Alexis stood and went to the tray her assistant had carried in. “Where are my manners? My mama would be horrified.” She smiled and held up the carafe. “May I offer any of you some refreshments? Coffee? A pastry, perhaps?”
Everyone declined, so Alexis poured some coffee into a cup, dropped in a couple of sugar cubes, and then took her beverage to her high-backed chair. The leather groaned in complaint as she sat back and sipped her coffee, but there was no relaxation seen in her features. She watched them all intently, yet she said nothing.
Beth stared at her in stunned silence. Shouldn’t Alexis be doing something? Shouldn’t she suggest that Darren take a good look at how happy and healthy Emma was? Shouldn’t she push him to think about how much work raising a child could be, even point out that two babies would equal double that already challenging task? Shouldn’t she demand that he give up his paternal rights right this flippin’ moment?
That was the problem. They couldn’t—probably shouldn’t—demand anything from Darren. The poor guy was clearly stunned over this whole situation. Forcing his hand wouldn’t get them what they wanted, and it might even make him dig in his heels and refuse anything they asked.
The reality was that Tiffany had lied to him by never telling him she was pregnant. A lie of omission was still a lie. Darren had every right to blow his stack, to tell them to hand over his daughter, and to march right out of there with her.
Thank God he didn’t.
Emma stirred, pushing herself back and looking up at Beth. Blinking sleepily, she smiled.
Robert reached for Emma at the same time she shifted to reach for him. “You’re up, squirt.”
“Bobber!” Once he had a good grasp of her, she stood on Robert’s thighs, clapping and bouncing happily while he held her around her waist.
Darren’s gaze had followed his daughter. The moment she was in Robert’s arms, a frown darkened his features.
“Her name’s Emma, right?” Kelly asked.
Emma stopped moving and turned her head to peer at the other people in the room. Robert let her swivel around; then she plopped onto his lap, leaned back against him, and stuck her thumb in her mouth.
She hadn’t sucked her thumb in weeks, which meant she’d probably picked up on the tension in the room. That, and she didn’t cotton much to strangers. Despite the fact that Darren was her biological father, he was still a stranger.
That notion made Beth sad and helped her understand a little of what the poor man was going through.
“When’s her birthday?” he asked.
Robert replied before Beth could. “Last week. The sixteenth.”
“We could plan a belated birthday party,” Kelly said with a naïve grin. “Cake. Balloons. Maybe a clown.” Darned if she didn’t clap her hands just like Emma had.
How old was she anyway? Twenty? Twenty-one? It was as if she was oblivious to the antagonism shooting between Robert and Darren. All her ridiculous offer did was make the men glower more deeply.
“No, thanks. We had it covered,” Robert said with a shake of his head. “We had a family celebration.”
Kelly knit her brows. “I’m confused.” She cocked her head as she looked to Darren. “I thought you said we’d take her—”
“Kelly, stop!” Darren barked like a drill sergeant.
Alexis spoke a moment before Beth could push aside her incredulity at what Kelly was clearly going to say and find her tongue. “You’d take her where, Mr. Brown?”
Kelly kept shifting her gaze between Emma and Darren. “We’re taking her home, right? That’s what you said, bunny.”
Ice water ran through Beth’s veins. Fear raced roughshod over her with such intensity she almost doubled over in pain.
After jumping to his feet, Robert turned his back to Darren as though he could shield Emma exactly as Beth had wanted. He glared at Darren over his shoulder. “You’re not taking my daughter anywhere.”
Darren narrowed his eyes. “She’s my daughter, and I can take her home if I damn well want to.”
Rising, Alexis said, “Gentlemen, please.” She strode between the two men. “Losing your tempers won’t help the situation.” She directed her gaze at Darren. “Mr. Brown, I understand your desire to be with your daughter—”
“She’s m-my daughter,” Robert muttered loud enough it was obvious he intended to be heard. His eyes fell on Beth. “I knew this was going to happen.”
The accusatory tone hurt. Beth wanted to shout at him that it wasn’t her fault and that he should settle down. Unfortunately, that would only aggravate the escalating situation. She knew Robert well enough to understand he was lashing out because he was hurting at the thought of losing Emma, exactly like she was. She could easily forgive him, but they had a bigger problem on their hands.
Alexis gave Robert a censuring look. “As I was saying… we sympathize with the situation you’re in, Mr. Brown. However, we should all get a strong hand on our emotions and discuss both t
he legal ramifications of the DNA test results as well as what decisions are in Emma’s best interests. I can guarantee you, those will be the only factors a judge and a guardian ad litem will consider.”
Emma clung to Robert in a manner rivaling the most tenacious ivy. Her bottom lip quivered, making Beth reach for the diaper bag to fetch the blanket Emma dragged with her everywhere. Beth handed it to Emma, who snatched it out of her hands, held it against the side of her face, and stuck her thumb back in her mouth.
“That’s really bad for her teeth, you know,” Kelly scolded, sounding a lot like Betty Boop.
Beth wanted to snap back that it wasn’t any of Kelly’s business what Emma did or didn’t do, but that might not be true. Kelly could very well become one of Emma’s caregivers.
Tears threatened. Beth swallowed hard and forced them back. Her heart feared her worst nightmare was playing out right before her eyes and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“Legally,” Alexis said, “Emma must stay with the Ashfords. Beth was appointed her guardian and has control over all decisions where Emma is concerned.”
Darren jumped to his feet. “That’s bullshit!”
“No,” Alex countered, “it’s merely the law. I’m sure the Ashfords would be glad to have you come and visit Emma. I assure you, they don’t want to keep you away from her, but they’re the only family she’s ever known. You can’t expect—”
“I’ll get a lawyer,” Darren insisted, his face turning ruddier by the minute.
“You have every right to do so, but do you truly want to spend the kind of money it would take to wage a court battle over Emma?”
Darren scoffed. “I’ll do what I have to do for my daughter. Money’s no object.”
“Just look at her.” Alexis swept her hand toward where Robert held the baby against his chest, gently stroking her dark curls. “Do you want to put that innocent child in the middle of what could turn into an ugly tug-of-war?”
Moving to Darren’s side, Kelly took his hand. Although she didn’t say anything, there was a note of worry in her eyes, almost fear.
What did she—or Darren—have to hide?
“The Ashfords are quite willing to offer liberal visitation rights,” Alexis assured.
Beth nodded, hoping Robert wouldn’t ruin the progress Alexis might be making by contradicting her.
“They can visit. At our home,” Robert insisted. “She’s n-never out of our sight.”
“Robert.” Alexis put a gentle hand on his arm. “Please.” She didn’t need to say anything more. Robert had to understand the lawyer’s plea for his silence. “Mr. Brown, we can assure you—”
“Don’t bother!” Darren gripped Kelly’s hand tight enough his knuckles whitened. “Your assurances obviously don’t mean shit.” He tossed his head in Robert’s direction. “That man seems to think he needs to protect my daughter from her own father.” His hand trembled as he stabbed his fingers through his hair; then he put his hands on his hips. “If any of you think I’m just gonna walk away from my own kid, my own flesh and blood, you’re fucking crazy. I’m going home and hiring a lawyer—the best shark I can afford. C’mon, Kel. We’re getting outta here. I’ve got phone calls to make.” He stomped out of the office just as Emma let out a shrill scream.
Kelly dropped Darren’s hand and cautiously approached Robert. “Is she okay?”
When she reached out and patted Emma’s back, Emma screamed again. “Bobber!”
She wanted her father, the only father she’d ever known, to protect her from a stranger.
Withdrawing her hand, Kelly sighed.
“Kel!” Darren shouted. “Now!”
She left without another word.
Silence reigned. Robert had calmed Emma simply by holding her close and rubbing her back.
The moments ticked by slowly until Alexis sighed, sat back down, and picked up her coffee cup. After taking a sip, she let out a rueful chuckle. “Gee, that went well.”
God help her, Beth laughed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Robert gave up trying to get Beth to listen to him a couple hours after they got home.
The woman was a pro at giving someone the silent treatment. Although he’d trailed after her like a faithful puppy, apologizing, promising to hold his temper next time, and telling her how much he loved her, Beth had stoically gone about her chores. Feeding the family. Folding some laundry. Even emptying the dishwasher, which she’d probably done simply to get to him since it was normally his job.
Now she sat quietly rocking Emma to sleep, another task that usually fell to him. Robert didn’t even consider stepping in. Beth probably needed to hold Emma. He understood because right now he wanted to hold his daughter close and never let her go.
He’d fucked up. Royally. Instead of letting his protective instincts prod him into antagonizing Darren Brown, he should’ve tried a little empathy. It was what his mother always told other kids whenever they’d teased him about his youthful stutter.
Put yourself in his shoes.
Robert hadn’t even tried to understand Darren. For God’s sake, the man just found out he’d fathered a child he hadn’t even been told about. He’d already missed so much. Watching her birth. Hearing Emma’s first cries. Seeing her open her eyes to a brand-new world. Choosing her name. Seeing her roll over or crawl for the first time. Her first word had been another man’s name.
At that moment, he felt like the biggest jerk in the whole world.
No matter how much they wanted to keep Emma to themselves, he and Beth needed to realize that Darren was going to be a part of her life. Working together, they could make that a good thing. Two sets of adults to give her love and to watch over her as she grew.
Life nowadays was tough—tougher than it had been when he grew up. There were so many temptations being tossed into kids’ paths. Easy sex. Drugs. Violence. They could turn Darren and Kelly into allies to help guide Emma through that obstacle course. Instead, Robert had all but turned them into enemies.
He had to fix this somehow.
With a heavy heart, he went to the bedroom, stripped down to his boxers and T-shirt, and stretched out on the bed. It seemed like forever until he was able to find something decent to watch on TV, and he grumbled to himself about how much he paid for satellite and how it sure wasn’t worth it considering the shitty choices of programs. After settling on a sitcom he didn’t care about, he waited for his wife to join him. Then they could finally talk.
Beth sitting on the side of the bed woke him, which came as a surprise. Since they’d begun sharing a bed, he had difficulty falling asleep unless he was pressed against her back or she was snuggled up to his side. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he tried to gather his thoughts so they could address the fiasco that had been meeting Darren Brown. Every night, he held her in his arms and they shared the ups and downs of their day. He needed her.
“Hey, B.” Robert flipped off the TV, dropped the remote on the nightstand, and held up the covers. “It’s been a rough day. Why don’t you turn out the light and come to bed?”
She sat there with her back to him and shook her head. It wasn’t until he saw her shoulders shaking that he realized she was crying.
He immediately crawled across the mattress. When he sat beside her and tried to wrap his arms around her waist, she pushed him away. “B?”
“I warned you, Robert. Before we left, I warned you to keep your temper.” Beth stood and started pacing.
Another nervous pacer. He’d never noticed that about her before. Or perhaps he’d just never seen her this upset.
“Darren was trying to be nice,” she went on. “No wonder he wants a darn lawyer now. The poor guy probably feels like we’re keeping him away from his own kid.”
Unfortunately, that was exactly what Robert wanted to do, schmuck that he was. He loved Emma so much, and the notion of sharing her affections with Darren cut him to the bone. Sure it wasn’t fair to the guy. But no matter how hard Robert tried
to make himself feel bad about that, he couldn’t.
Right now, though, he had a bigger problem. His wife looked mad enough to pick up something heavy and start beating him over the head with it. “I t-told you I was sorry.”
Beth shot him a piercing glare. “Being sorry doesn’t change anything. You know what he’s probably doing right now?”
“I dunno… calling a lawyer?” He sounded like an idiot.
“Exactly. And he’s going to do everything he flippin’ can to take Emma away from us.”
“Alexis said—”
“Alexis can say anything she wants, but she doesn’t know Darren. I do. He’s like a pit bull when he wants something. Look how he turned his life around to try to win Tiffany back. He went from nothing to a successful businessman. He’s tenacious when he sets his mind to it. Thanks to you, he wants Emma.”
“That’s an awful lot to p-put on my shoulders,” Robert insisted. “He wanted her before I lost my temper. Remember what Kelly said?”
“Like I could forget.” Her sarcastic tone was a one-eighty from the Beth he knew. “They thought they’d waltz out of there with my daughter.” She sniffed hard. “You didn’t help one bit.”
While all he wanted to do was gather her in his arms and soothe away the hurt, he couldn’t. He was the one who’d ruffled her feathers. That anger, added to her fear for the future, probably meant he’d be sleeping on the couch tonight.
Then he realized exactly what was happening. A fight. They were having a fight, and Beth was still being polite and holding her tongue. Darn, not damn. Flippin’, not fuckin’. It was so quaint and so… funny. No matter how hard he tried to push it down, a laugh slipped out.
Beth clenched her hands into fists and stared at him openmouthed. “You’re laughing about this?”
Holding up one hand, he put the other over his mouth, trying to stop himself from laughing again. It didn’t work.
“You… you… jerk!” She stomped her foot.
