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I had to be sensitive to that reality and to what it must put him through. Though I didn’t know if he was going to be at the lab when I submitted Willa’s cheek swab, if he was, I wanted it to be just me there. Seeing Kira would be a reminder of her involvement and make it seem like I was trying to gang up on him. So, I sucked it up and went alone. It turned out, he wasn’t even there. But it was still a relief to get home and see her there with lunch already prepared.
“How was it?” she asked.
“He wasn’t there. And I was really glad they only had to do a cheek swab on Willa. She’s never had to have her blood drawn for anything. I really didn’t want her to have to go through that for something I already know,” I said.
“Well, the test isn’t really about you,” she commented.
I paused as I lowered Willa to the floor so she could play with her toys.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“You just sound like you feel inconvenienced by having to do the test,” Kira said. “Like it kind of offends you that you have to do it.”
“Shouldn’t I be? I mean, I know I’m the one who offered to get the test, but I didn’t think he was actually going to take me up on it.”
“Why not?”
“He just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would ask me to do it, that’s all. How would you feel if you were in my situation?” I asked.
“I would probably feel like he wants to be sure. I know it’s an uncomfortable situation for you but think about it from his perspective. You two didn’t know each other. You didn’t even know each other’s last names. You literally left the country the morning after you slept together. It wasn’t some sort of euphemism or a way for you to chicken out of ever seeing him again. You actually went to another country and were there for three more years during which time you gave birth to his child. He had no idea he would ever see you again, and then when he did, you didn’t even tell him about the baby until it had been weeks and you coincidentally were already working at his family’s business.”
“Are you saying you don’t think it was a coincidence that I ended up working at Freeman Racing?” I asked.
“No. I know you had no idea he even raced much less that he was involved in the company you applied to work for. But, again, think about it from his perspective. You’re gone for three years, you show up at the bar where you met on his birthday, and then you show up at the company his brother owns to work.”
I let out a sigh.
“All right. I can see where that would seem like a lot of dots that connected, but it’s what happened. I can’t help that.” She gave me a look, and my shoulders dropped. “Fine. I can understand why he wants the test. He wants to know for sure. I just wish he wasn’t so blunt. He made it abundantly clear he thinks I might be lying to him just so I can get to his money. It makes me feel sick to my stomach he would think something like that about me.”
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“Honestly, I have no idea. None of the options sound particularly good. It’s going to be a bit until the test results are in, and until then, I’m in a holding pattern. They are going to show Darren is her father, of course, but then what? Is he going to want to take her? Will it get nasty with him dragging me to court and putting his family’s lawyers up against me? They have money. They’ll be able to take her.”
“Don’t think about that right now. Just think about what you’re going to do one day at a time,” Kira said. “And how you’re going to make it ok for Willa.”
“Going to work on Monday will be miserable. Not going to work would be unprofessional. Like I said, neither sound particularly good,” I said.
“One day at a time,” she reminded me. “Just think about this weekend and get through that first. Then we’ll figure out work when the time comes.”
I looked down at Willa and immediately knew all I wanted to do for the rest of the weekend was spend time with her. She was the most important thing in my life, and I was willing to go through anything to try to make her life better in whatever way I could. Because she always made my life better. So, for the rest of the weekend, Kira, Willa, and I cuddled in pajamas, ate ice cream, watched movies, and played. It was enough to distract me and not let me dwell on what was ahead.
