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“What kind of bumbling hospital are you guys running?”
“We deeply regret this possible mistake. Thankfully, we’ll be able to clear up the questions with a DNA test. It won’t hurt the infants. Just a cheek swab.”
She spoke about it as if it was only an inconvenience, like an online retailer mixing up two customers’ packages. As if the results of those tests wouldn’t have the power to destroy not one but two families.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
With that, he clicked off the call. He didn’t care if his tone was rude.
“Everything all right?”
Asher’s shoulder blades squeezed together. He’d forgotten that he wasn’t alone. He glanced at Jace. Concern etched in lines between the man’s brows. Jace’s shoulders were back, his arms pressed to his sides, as if he was preparing himself for bad news. The kind that could devastate a guy who thought he’d just found his father.
“It’s not about Dad,” Asher said automatically, not even bothering to include my. It was the decent thing not to worry the guy unnecessarily about Payne, like the hospital administrator had done to him.
Jace’s shoulders dropped forward. “Thought I’d never get the chance to meet him. If we find out he and Tessa really are my parents, then I already missed the chance to know one of them.”
Asher nodded, staring at the ground. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for a guy to track down his possible biological parents, only to learn that one of them had passed away years before. He couldn’t think about that just then, either. One crisis at a time.
“Look, there’s something I need to take care of. Can you hang around the ranch until my sister picks you up? Our cook, Dulcie, will make you whatever you like for lunch if you stop by the main house kitchen.”
“I know my way around. I’ve met Dulcie, too.”
“Oh. Right.” He wasn’t thinking clearly.
“Don’t worry about me. I can find something to occupy my time.” Jace pulled his phone from his pocket. “Maybe I’ll even catch up with my friends back home. They probably think I’ve vanished by now.”
“Probably. Okay. Thanks.”
Asher started toward the house.
“And Asher?”
He looked back once more.
“Whatever it is? I’m sure it will be okay.”
He nodded, unable to trust his voice. Though he could have told their guest where he was going and why, he wasn’t ready to share it. Even if Jace might have understood the trauma of a switched-at-birth situation better than anyone. And even if they could have carpooled to Mustang Valley General since Jace was headed to the same lab. Heck, with Dad still there, they should have applied for a Colton bulk discount on their medical bills.
Asher continued up the path past the rows of white barns and outbuildings. He had to force himself not to run to the house and his own wing on the third floor, where Harper would be just waking up from her morning nap. Once inside his living quarters, he sprinted all the way to the nursery, unbuttoning his sweaty plaid shirt as he went. He would grab something clean on his way out the door.
In her room, Harper was already sitting up in her crib and making cute sounds for the video monitor that Dulcie watched from the kitchen. Wisps of the baby’s barely there hair stood up, punk-rocker style.
“Where’s my Harper girl?”
She squealed, her wide, toothless grin stretching even farther.
His possible big brother had said everything would be all right. But Jace couldn’t promise that. Just like no one could guarantee that Payne Colton would awaken from his coma and demand an accounting of the first-quarter books at Colton Oil. Depending on the outcome of today’s DNA test, Asher’s life and that of his sweet baby girl might never be okay again.
Chapter 2
Willow Merrill startled at the sound of the blaring horn while driving her mini SUV past one of the few stoplights along Mustang Boulevard, also called “Mustang Valley Boulevard” on some old maps. Okay, that light had been pink. Well, more fuchsia.
“Sorry.”
She waved at the other driver, who scowled back at her through the open window. At least it hadn’t been one of her day-care clients. She needed to calm down and pay attention to her driving if she wanted them to arri
ve at the hospital without heading straight to the ER.
