A Father's Secret
“Good morning to you, too, Sam,” David Fox’s amused voice echoed in his ear. “I thought we decided on a softer approach first time around, to gauge if the other party would enter discussions and testing willingly. You know, avoid potentially antagonizing the woman who might just be your baby’s mother? The woman you probably don’t really want to alienate?”
“I know,” Sam said, huffing out a breath of frustration. “But I don’t want to wait any longer. I want the tests done and I want those answers now.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” the lawyer replied, his voice now all solemnity. Maybe he finally understood how serious Sam was.
“Good, call me when you have news.”
Sam disconnected the call and shoved the phone back in his pocket. So, Erin Connell thought she could fight him. Well, she was in for a fight all right.
Four
As the receptionist showed Erin into the office, Janet Morin rose from the seat behind her desk and extended a hand.
“Erin, lovely to see you. How’s Riley doing?”
“Great, thanks. Growing like a weed,” Erin said and smiled in response. “And Amy? How is she?”
“The same.” Janet laughed. “Sometimes I regret that I made the decision to come back to work so soon, but I know staying home with her full-time would have driven me stir-crazy! Splitting the days at home versus in the office between my husband and me has been working out wonderfully. This way, we have the best of both worlds.”
Janet’s husband, the other half of Morin and Morin, shared child care duties. Erin envied them their sense of unity. While James had looked forward to being a father, he’d made it clear from the outset that he wouldn’t be hands-on until their baby was old enough to talk. She’d wondered if he might change his position once Riley was born, but on consideration she’d rejected the thought. Older than her by fifteen years, James had been so set in his ways he’d barely coped with the change in routine caused by marriage and sharing decision-making relating to the business. When it came to his child, he probably would have done exactly as he’d said.
Janet gestured to Erin to take a seat and settled back behind her desk.
“Tell me, what brings you here? I have to admit I was a bit curious. Don’t you use the Connell family lawyers?”
Erin felt her gut clench and she forced herself to relax and breathe evenly. “Yes, we do. For the lodge, anyway. But this is of a more personal nature.”
She briefly outlined the situation, thankful that Janet was already aware about the circumstances relating to Riley’s conception.
“The clinic is admitting liability?” Janet asked when Erin finished speaking.
“I’m not sure, but I understand they’ve been closed down.” She reached into her handbag. “This is the letter I was sent.”
Janet took it from her and sat back, reading it carefully. “Seems a reasonable enough request,” she commented, giving Erin a piercing look.
“James is Riley’s father.” He has to be, Erin amended silently.
“Let’s prove it then. If it turns out that this Party A is Riley’s father, I imagine you will want to know ahead of time exactly where you stand, right?”
“Yes.” Erin exhaled on a breath before drawing in a new one. “About payment—”
“Let’s not worry about that unless it looks as if we have to go to court on any of this, okay?”
Tears sprang to Erin’s eyes. “Are you sure, Janet?”
“Of course I’m sure. I know you’ve had it tough,” Janet said empathetically. “We’re friends, right? Custody issues are not my specialty, but I will do more research for you. It might take me a while to get around to it because I have a rather full few days ahead, but I’ll do what I can and call you, okay?”
“Thank you so much.”
“Now, let’s make sure we have all our details right,” Janet said, reaching for a pen and paper and starting to make notes.
Erin answered Janet’s questions as best she could even though the prospect of having to share custody with Riley terrified her. Rationally, she knew that if James wasn’t her baby’s father that Riley’s biological father should have some right to his son’s life. But emotionally…well, that was another story.
As a girl who’d grown up with nothing and who’d run away from home at sixteen to escape a mother who wished she’d never been born, Erin had fought hard to be where she was now—to have what she had now. And she’d gone through hell and back to have her baby boy. He was hers—heart and soul—and she’d do whatever she had to do to keep it that way.