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“Well, Sydney,” Roy Buchanan said when Sydney opened the door to her hotel room. “You’ve got yourself in quite a mess now.”
“I know, Daddy.” She sniffed.
“You’ve been crying.”
“Of course I have.”
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s that jerk, Rod. He found Duke’s birth certificate. He brought it over here and confronted me while Sam was here. Sam put two and two together and figured out he was the father.”
“Sam O’Donovan. A good man from a good family. Why didn’t you tell us who the father was?”
“I had my reasons. Don’t worry, Daddy, he doesn’t know where the child is. But I’m afraid he will soon. He asked Rod to find out for him.”
“Rod’s quick, then. Or Sam figured it out on his own. He confronted your mother and me this afternoon at the rodeo.”
Sydney cringed, resisting the urge to swat away the invisible insects crawling on her skin. “Oh, Daddy. What are we going to do?”
Roy sat down and cupped his head in his hands. “I don’t know, Sydney. I just don’t know.”
“I can’t let anything happen to Duke.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear you say that. Duke is the most important thing here. We must consider what’s best for him first and foremost.”
“Of course.” Sydney’s blood turned to ice. “That’s what I’ve always done.”
“Not always, Sydney.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why didn’t you tell us back then who the father was? Then maybe all this turmoil could have been avoided. Sam would have known. He would have had a choice to be in Duke’s life.”
“I didn’t want him in Duke’s life.”
“Why, Sydney? Why didn’t you want the father to know about his child?”
* * *
“I see,” Dallas said after Sam had explained the situation. “All this time you never knew he existed.”
“Not at all.”
“And had you known at the time, would you have wanted the child?”
Sam rose, shoved his hands in his pockets. “How the hell should I know? That was over five years ago. I know I want him now.”
“Why do you want him now?”
“I’ve always wanted kids. Just never found the right woman.”
“And is Sydney Buchanan the right woman?”
He sat back down with a plunk. “I don’t know. Shit, a mere five hours ago I was sure she was.”
“Are you in love with her?”
“I was five hours ago, before all this shit hit the fan.”
