“Really?” I ask as she starts the procedure.
“No. I don’t get breaks. Are you kidding? Alright. All done. We’ll give you a call,” she says, yanking off her rubber gloves with a snap.
“A call?” I ask.
“A phone call. With your results,” she states.
“I think we were hoping,” Ashlyn starts.
“It takes anywhere from five to seven days,” she says.
“A week?” I ask. “I have to wait a week to find out if I’m a dad?”
The nurse just stares at me. “Listen, honey. I know the process that got you here only took about five minutes, but medical tests take time unless you have it expedited.”
“I’d like to have it expedited,” I say.
“It’s expensive, and usually you have to have priority,” she says.
“I have money,” I say. After a long moment, the nurse lets out a sigh.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she says before walking out, but not before muttering something about Jett Navarro.
I sigh and run my hand through my hair.
“I gotta tell ya, this is not how I imagined spending my night,” I say. “I just want to go home, toss back a shot of whiskey and sleep till tomorrow night.” I laugh a little, but when I look over at Ashlyn, she’s not laughing. She’s not even smiling. She looks worried.
After what feels like forever, I turn to Ashlyn to break the silence. “Are you okay?” I ask.
“Who would do that?” her voice cracks. “Who would have a baby, a baby they carried for nine months, birthed, held in their own arms night after night, and just drop them off on someone’s doorstep?”
“It happens more than you’d think,” I say softly.
“That makes it worse,” she sniffs. “I’ll never understand it. Women like that…they don’t understand what a gift it is to be a mother. To be able to get pregnant. It’s not fair.”
I move to sit next to her in one of the side chairs. “A lot of things aren’t fair,” I say because I am unsure what else I can say. “But he’s here now. Safe. Warm. Fed.”
“And where’s his mother?” she asks.
“Hard to say,” the nurse answers the question for me as she walks back in. “But I can tell you who the father is.”
Holy shit…
Chapter 23
Zane
“So when wereyou going to tell me?” Cal asks as I walk into the office, and I know exactly what he is talking about.
“Considering I just found out…now,” I say. “How did you hear, anyways?”
“Rumors as usual,” he says. “Is it true?”
“It is,” I say calmly as I sip my coffee.
“Damn,” he drags out. “I would be freaking out. Why are you not freaking out?”
“Because I’m not freaking out,” I state.
