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“Admittedly it was Mia who said it,” she laughed. “I just wanted to see if you’d tell me the truth if I shocked you.”
“Considering I don’t know the whole truth, I doubt it,” Kady said. “But I do know that those two women Mia is always with are involved in all of this somehow. And Parker as well. I just haven’t worked out how.”
“I
know that Mia, her brother, and those other two were all there on a scholarship,” she said. “They all lived in a two bedroom apartment, and they were having real trouble making ends meet. Parker convinced Archer to help them out, and that’s when he met Mia. It seemed to be love at first sight, but only for Mia.”
“You know, at first I thought Parker ruined Archer because he was jealous, then I had wondered if he simply wanted revenge for some reason,” said Kady. “But the more I look at all this, the more I believe that it’s Mia who is directing the entire thing. Mia convinced Parker to ruin Archer in the hope that she could swoop in and offer comfort. The only thing I don’t get is why she would have been at a meeting instigated by Archer applying to be his surrogate mother. If it’s true that they knew each other in college, why would they seem so—unacquainted—at that meeting?”
“So you don’t think he knew her?” asked Miss Cooper.
“He didn’t appear to know her very well if at all, and also, I could see that he didn’t particularly like her either,” Kady said. “She kept trying to hang all over him and he was barely polite in his tolerance of it. That hardly seems like the behavior you’d see between lovers.”
“Have you ever asked Archer about college?” she asked.
“No, but I will,” she said. “He’s supposed to call me any time now. I’ll make a point of it and tell you what he says. Will that suffice?”
“Yes, I suppose it will have to do,” she agreed. “Thank you, Miss Ross. I look forward to your call.”
#
When the phone rang, Kady pressed the speaker button and laid back on the bed again. “Hi, hon,” said Archer. “How did things go at court? I did my best to sway things in your direction.”
“Court went fine,” Kady grumbled. “It’s after court I’m more worried about. Some reporter thinks that you and Mia used to be lovers in college. Did you used to know her at all, Archer?”
“I knew of her,” he explained. “But she and I only met once, at her brother’s house about three weeks before he got arrested. She was all over me that time, too.”
“Well, the reporter tried to say that Parker was selling you his sister’s and her friends favor’s during college, if you know what I mean.” Kady scoffed. “Mia must have told her that.”
“No, sweetheart, I didn’t need to buy women from Parker,” Archer scoffed. “It would be more likely I’d have paid some of them to leave me alone if anything. I mean, I know that Parker and those three lived together during our school years, but the first time I saw Mia was about a year ago, and then not again until she caught wind of me wanting a surrogate. I remember that she told me she would be more than willing to be much more than the mother of my kid if I’d rather do things that way.”
“Why do you suppose she would say you got her pregnant?” Kady wanted to know. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Well, not unless—“ Archer began, but stopped short, as if he might be blushing.
“Go on,” Kady prompted.
“Parker convinced me one time to go donate sperm,” he finally admitted. “You don’t suppose he told her about that?”
“You’re kidding!’ Kady groaned.
“Well, no, but I mean, if she got it from that place they’d have it on record, right?”
“Sounds like I may have a bit more footwork to do,” she sighed. “I don’t mind telling you, this is starting to get really weird.”
“I’m sorry, Kady,” he laughed. “But I did tell you I used to be young, dumb, and full of come. I just did it for the experience.”
“It’s all right, Archer,” Kady sighed. “But I sure hope Mia’s baby and mine aren’t going to be siblings. I refuse to tolerate that woman for the next eighteen or more years.”
Chapter 38
Archer had given Kady the name of the company where Mia might be able to acquire his sperm, and she had given them a call, but of course they wouldn’t tell her anything useful due to patient confidentiality. What they did say was that regardless of who the donor had been, a woman impregnated by it had no legal right to demand money or support since all of the fathers would have signed away their rights to the children at the time they’d given the samples.
“Well, at least she can’t force him to give her child support either way,” Kady mumbled, her hand absently tracing the contour of her own baby bump.
Athena nodded. “I had no idea Archer had done something like that, but at least he’s safe from her on a legal standpoint.”
“Unless Mia continues to insist they had sex while I was not home,” Kady pointed out. You don’t suppose she went and got his samples on purpose and now she is making up the whole thing because she’s certain of whose baby she was carrying?”
