by Tina Cambria
Yes, not long ago, she’d been hoping Walter would show her that kind of attention for quite a while. But he hadn’t. Not even close. So, why would she just act without any sense and let him have sex with her without a condom?
Haven’t I recently asked myself the same question about the first night I was with Kyle?
But wait, wasn’t Walter implying that he’d had sex with her right after her car accident, when she’d been covered with bruises and feeling stiff in a number of places? She was sure she wouldn’t have been in the mood for it. Had he forced himself on her?
Why am I not remembering this?
She raised her head and saw Walter gawking at her from above. Struggling to sound adamant, she said, “I’m married to Kyle, and he’s the father of my baby.”
Walter folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t think you can be sure of that.”
She’d thought she was sure of it. From what Kyle had told her, it seemed extremely likely. He had a legal marriage certificate. And a believable—well, somewhat believable—story to go with it.
“But—”
Before she could formulate any kind of comeback, Walter cut her off. “Who is this Kyle guy anyway? How much do you even know about him? Can’t you see that you and I have much more in common?”
“Maybe we did at one time, but I’m with Kyle now.”
“With my baby.”
“That can’t be true,” she protested.
“I say it is.” His eyes took on a sly glint, and he nodded. “I came to Leslie’s house to visit you shortly after you returned from L.A. She was at work, and you were taking a nap in the living room. I had to keep rapping on the door, and you acted like you were in a fog when you finally answered.”
“And then you just…”
“No, of course not,” he huffed. “You told me you were having some memory problems. I tried to console you, one thing led to another, and the next thing we knew we were upstairs in your bed.”
“Walter, that’s ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous? You’ve been chasing after me for years. Ask anybody in this town.”
Danielle sniffed. “I was hardly chasing you when I moved to Los Angeles and stayed for six months. And I would’ve stayed there even longer if I’d been able to land a decent acting job.”
“I guess that’s what it took to make you realize that you needed to do something exceedingly spectacular to completely get to me.”
“Now you’re saying this was all my doing?”
“It was entirely consensual, Danielle. You let me know how interested you were and, well, I just couldn’t find any reason to hold back.”
She fought off a flare of wooziness and rose from the bench. “You’re full of it, Walter.” Clutching her handbag, she stomped off toward the parking lot, holding her head high in an attempt to project a ton of confidence.
But she was feeling more confusion than confidence. She didn’t want to believe Walter, but there was no denying that her memory had some giant-sized holes in it. And he was the second man in recent months who claimed that they’d shared an encounter that had resulted in her pregnancy.
But she’d been a listless mess for the first month after her car accident. Had she somehow perked up barely a day or so after getting out of the hospital and eagerly hopped into bed with Walter?
Was there any way on earth that Walter’s story could possibly be true?
She sure wasn’t going to annul her marriage to Kyle and turn to Walter. Anyway, she didn’t remember Walter saying anything about wanting to marry her. He’d just said that they had a lot in common, but that was about it.
And she knew deep in her heart that she had no interest in being with Walter.
Finally spotting her vehicle in the parking lot, she clicked open the lock and flopped into the driver’s seat. What should she do?
She didn’t have the slightest idea, but she knew there was only one person who could help her figure out what was best.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Not long after that, Danielle showed up at Nana’s apartment. She’d told her grandmother she’d try to stop by after the checkup, but she was sure nothing could have prepared Nana for when she recounted her run-in with Walter outside the medical office building.
Nana carefully listened to the entire story and then spoke gently to Danielle. “I know you carry scars in your heart over the way things worked out with your mama.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s no secret that she rushed into a marriage with your daddy.”
“I never knew the details.” Danielle’s chest tightened.
“He showed up in town acting like one of those bad boy types, and she couldn’t resist him,” Nana said. “Then you came along so quickly, and they both loved you so much—they really did. But your daddy had his demons. In the end, he couldn’t overcome his addiction problem, and your mama couldn’t handle his unreliability.”
“But what does that have to do with what’s happening with me now?”
“I think it took a heavy toll on you having to see your mama struggle to raise you on her own after your daddy left…and then passed away not long afterwards. And it made you want something different for yourself. A fairy tale marriage, complete with a white picket fence and two adorable tots with smiling faces.”
“Who wouldn’t want that?”
“It’s an ideal, honey. Nobody’s marriage is completely perfect, no matter how shiny that white picket fence is. There’s good and bad. It’s always been that way, and it always will be.”
“So, what are you telling me?”
“I think you got this idea that Walter Ferguson is some kind of prototype for the model husband. Because he seems totally predictable. And his family business is well-established, and he seems to be financially secure.”
“And you’re saying that’s wrong?”
“I’m not criticizing the man. He may in fact be the perfect husband—but not necessarily for you.” Nana pursed her lips. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Danielle. But if Walter were really interested in you, he would’ve gone after you in a big way a long time ago.”
“But Nana, he says he might be the one who got me pregnant. How could I stay with Kyle if this is actually Walter’s baby?”
“Are you seriously going to plan to spend the rest of your life with whichever man got you pregnant? Even if you can’t even remember what happened?” Nana gently stroked Danielle’s hand, but her eyes showed steely resolve. “You should be with the man who you love. If that man’s not the father of this baby, a family court judge can figure out what’s best for the child as far as support and custody goes. You’ll love this baby and be an amazing mother no matter who the father is.”
“And what if Kyle wants nothing more to do with me if it’s not his baby?”
“Don’t you think you owe him the right to make that decision?”
“Nana, I’m so confused, but I think I don’t want to lose Kyle.”
“I’m not surprised,” Nana said.
“I don’t even remember what happened when I first met him. But I think he seemed exciting to me. Ever since I was a teen-ager, I’ve tried to shy away from guys who seemed like bad boys.”
“There’s a lot being thrown at you all at once.” Nana patted her hand.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, and you might be right.” Danielle nodded at her grandmother. “Maybe I was trying to avoid what happened to my mother. But something must have made me want to experience that excitement of an adventure with a man who wasn’t all prim and proper.”
“Honey, I want to clear one thing up. You might find Kyle exciting. But he’s not a bad boy. Not in the true sense of the word.”
“How would you know that?”
“Remember when you first stopped by here with him? Before he headed over to the hotel near the interstate to register for a room?”
Danielle merely nodded, completely confused as to where her grandmother was going
with the discussion.
“And then I told you that I liked him and thought you should take a chance and go with him to Cottonwood Ridge. But I wanted you to text me twice a day, so I’d be sure you were all right.”
“Of course, I remember. I’ve been texting you like clockwork ever since I left.”
“Well, you don’t think I was going to let my granddaughter run off with a total stranger, did you?”
“But that’s pretty much what I did.”
“Not exactly. Do you remember when Kyle came back the next week to take you to Cottonwood Ridge, and he said a cop had pulled him over the last time he was in town?”
“Yes, I do remember that. Something about a crooked license plate.”
“I don’t think the police around here are usually such sticklers for perfect placement of license plates. But I asked my friend, Charlie—you remember, he’s the retired chief of police—if he could arrange a legal way for Kyle to get stopped, so that they could run a background check on your young man.”
“You didn’t!”
“I did. It’s what you young professional types call vetting.”
“Vetting is for professional jobs, not for potential husbands,” Danielle protested.
“Kyle seems to be more than a potential husband. Anyway, that’s why he got pulled over for the crooked license plate.” Nana shrugged as though she were confessing to raiding the cookie jar. “And the check on his driver’s license came back clean. No criminal record at all in the national database. So, I could rest a bit easier letting you go off with him.”
“Nana, I’m shocked.”
“Well, you’ve done a few things lately that have shocked me, my dear.”
Danielle’s shoulders sagged. “You’re right. I guess I should thank you for looking out for my welfare.”
“Isn’t that what grandmothers are for?” Nana hugged her. Then her face turned stern, and she pointed her index finger at Danielle. “Now, you need to figure out which of those two men you’re in love with—if you’re actually in love with either of them. And then you need to find out how important the issue of paternity is to that man. You may end up with no husband at all. Or you may end up with a husband most women could only dream about.”
Danielle sighed. “Does life ever get to be simple, Nana?”
Her grandmother shook her head. “No, it doesn’t, honey. But it wouldn’t be very interesting if it did.”
* * *
Danielle settled in her vehicle after leaving Nana’s apartment. She knew that her friend, Leslie, was already planning to meet her for lunch before the drive back to Cottonwood Ridge. But they’d been expecting it to be a final chance to see each other for a while. An opportunity to celebrate what they hoped would be a positive report from Dr. Chartoff that everything was progressing as it should with the baby.
Her head throbbed. Now, she needed to confirm who had actually fathered her baby.
It was going to be embarrassing—make that pointblank humiliating—to repeat to Leslie what Walter said. But she needed to find out about DNA testing, so she’d have to trust her. What other option did she have? Pop in at the local drugstore and ask if they had a DNA test kit that could reveal which of the two men she’d possibly slept with had fathered her baby?
Just imagining having that conversation with the grandfatherly local pharmacist made her break out in beads of perspiration.
So, she took a deep breath and texted Leslie, asking if she had time for lunch. When Leslie replied back that things had been a bit hectic at the hospital and she’d only be able to slip away for a few minutes, Danielle actually felt relieved. That was all the time she needed to spill what she hoped was the last of her outrageous secrets.
Fifteen minutes later, Danielle’s heart raced as she and Leslie settled in a relatively secluded area of the hospital coffee shop.
“Did Dr. Chartoff give you a clean bill of health?” Leslie asked, leaning across the table in anticipation.
Danielle nodded. “Everything seems to be progressing normally with the pregnancy.”
“Then why don’t you seem more excited?” Leslie looked at her friend thoughtfully. “Are you and Kyle having problems? He’s not treating you badly, is he?”
“Oh no, not at all. If anything, he couldn’t be nicer to me.”
“I guess it’s hard to pick up and move to a new place twice in the same year.”
“You’re right, it’s rough to leave friends behind, and I miss you.” Danielle put her hand over Leslie’s. “I’ve met a few of the teachers when I substituted at the local high school. So, maybe I’ll eventually make some friends.”
“Well, what is it then? Is it hard to feel a connection to him when you can’t remember how you met him and that time you spent together in Las Vegas?”
Danielle fidgeted. “A little. But I feel like we’re starting to…connect.”
Leslie’s eyes narrowed, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Have you made love with him again?”
Chewing at her lower lip, Danielle nodded. She wasn’t sure whether to feel embarrassed that she’d gotten so unbelievably intimate with him when she felt she barely knew who he was, or whether to feel even more embarrassed that they were legally married, and they’d only made love twice since moving in together in Cottonwood Ridge.
“So, what’s the problem? Not as good as you remembered?” Leslie’s expression morphed from curious to stricken. “I didn’t mean to say that. I should be more sensitive that you don’t remember anything about him before that day he showed up at my house.”
Danielle lowered her voice to match her friend’s. “Making love with him is…divine. But it does seem kind of weird since at first, he was a little like a stranger. A stranger who was very gracious to me, but it’s like I got thrown into this super-personal situation with him without even knowing who he was or anything about him.”
“Maybe you’ll grow to love him again.”
“That has actually happened.”
“Omigod, I’m so happy for you.” Leslie leaned back in her seat and theatrically fanned herself with her right hand.
Danielle glanced nervously around the coffee shop. “Thanks, but I have a bigger problem now.”
“But you said that Dr. Chartoff told you everything was fine with the pregnancy.”
How could she tell Leslie what Walter was claiming? It was true that she and Leslie had been a little free-spirited on occasion back when they were college girls. But her stomach churned at the thought of telling her best friend that not only had she hooked up—apparently multiple times—with a handsome stranger in Vegas, but she might also have had sex with Walter a few days later. And right in Leslie’s house.
It made her skin crawl.
“I-I need your professional opinion about DNA testing. How can I find out right now who the baby’s father is?”
Leslie looked puzzled. “Why do you want to do that now? I thought you were going to live with Kyle at least until the baby arrived. And you know that he’s the father anyway.”
Danielle scrunched her eyes shut, almost as though that would block out the reality of what she was going to say. “Walter,” she croaked.
“What’s he got to do with this?”
“He says he’s the baby’s father.”
Leslie shrank back. “No!” Then she quickly scanned the coffee shop, as though she were afraid she’d drawn attention to their conversation.
Twisting in her seat to survey the room as well, Danielle then turned back to Leslie and quickly filled her in on the earlier confrontation with Walter. “So, you can see why I’ve got to find out right away who the real father is,” she said when she finished the story.
“It’s not that simple.” Leslie’s brow furrowed. “The only way to do genetic testing on an unborn child is through amniocentesis. They have to insert a needle into the amniotic fluid to get a sample of the baby’s DNA.”
“That’s the only way?” Surely there had to be something less complicated th
at could be done in this day and age. “I was thinking more of some kind of simple, pain-free swab.”
Leslie shook her head and looked alarmed. “No, there’s no do-it-yourself test that you could do now to get the baby’s DNA. And, of course, you need a sample from the suspected father. But you can’t keep this a secret from Kyle. What if your baby is born with a shock of Walter’s reddish hair? Can you imagine Kyle’s reaction? He’d probably freak out right in the delivery room.”
Danielle gulped. “No, I don’t even want to imagine that. I hate anything to do with needles, but I think I’m going to have to get the amniotic fluid tested so I can be one-hundred percent sure who the father is.”
“I think you should be aware that amniocentesis carries a risk of miscarriage.”
“You mean I could lose the baby as a result of the testing?”
“It does raise the chances slightly. That’s why it’s not routinely done unless there’s a strong possibility of genetic defects.” Leslie stared fixedly at Danielle. “So, why would you introduce that potential threat to your baby just to confirm right now who the father is?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Danielle got back to Cottonwood Ridge in time to prepare a simple meal of pasta, turkey meatballs, and garden salad before Kyle arrived home from work. That was about as complicated a meal as she could manage, with so many conflicting thoughts ricocheting through her head.
Could Walter possibly be the father of her baby? She had no recollection of anything close to lovemaking happening with him when she’d first returned to Leslie’s house—or any time ever, for that matter—but there was no doubt that her memory had some gaps lately.
Maybe she should call the neurologist who’d treated her right after the accident. He should know whether it was possible that her amnesia had continued with some spotty episodes for a few days after the accident. Was it even possible to forget something as momentous as the man you’d been trying to entice for almost two years ultimately taking the bait?
Maybe it hadn’t been so momentous.
