CHAPTER TWENTY
When Cam’s phone rang and he saw his lawyer’s name on the screen, he took a few steps away from the worksite. “Hi, Erin.”
“Hello, Cam. I’m sorry to take you away from your work, but we’ve had some news, and I thought you’d like to know right away.”
“Yes, I do. What’s going on?”
Erin Cochrane’s voice came across the telephone as businesslike, but kind. “We’ve served Laura with our petition. Her lawyer got back to me right away. She’s maintaining that Tessa is not your biological daughter and since no father is listed on Tessa’s birth certificate, our next move is to file a request with the court for DNA testing.”
Cam’s stomach dropped into his work boots. He’d hoped to avoid the DNA test because he wasn’t sure what it might reveal. “What happens if the test says I’m not her biological father?”
Erin hesitated a moment before speaking. “If that’s the case, it gets a little more complicated. We can argue that because of your close emotional bond to Tessa, and the fact that you supported her financially since birth, you should be named her de facto parent.”
“What does that mean?”
“It literally means you are her acting parent. If the court deems it to be in the best interest of the child, a non-biological person can be named as a de facto parent and be given sole or split custody, or visitation rights. I think we can make a solid argument for that, but I can’t promise you anything.”
Despite Erin’s cautious optimism, Cam was afraid Tessa could be lost to him forever. “I see.”
“Do you have reason to believe someone else fathered Tessa?”
“No, but then I don’t have any proof that I’m her father either. I slept with Laura around the time Tessa was conceived and when Laura found out she was pregnant, she told me I was the father. But I didn’t know her well at the time. I found out later she has a hard time with the truth.” He sighed. “And I was drinking in those days. A lot. I could have missed some of the cues. But I know, deep in my gut, that Tessa’s my daughter. We have a bond, a connection so strong that it has to be based in blood.”
“Let’s take things one step at a time. First, we’ll ask the court to order DNA testing. Once we get the results, either way, we’ll come up with a game plan. Deal?”
What else could they do? “Deal.”
“Paternity testing usually takes three to five business days from the time all the samples arrive in the laboratory. I’ll text you the name and address of the lab in Minneapolis I use. Because we’re using the legal test kit that satisfies the chain of evidence requirements of the court, you’ll need to go to the lab so the sample you give can be witnessed and documented properly. We will require Tessa’s sample to be obtained in the same way.”
“Will Tessa have to provide a blood sample?” He hated the idea of causing her any pain, even if it was for a good cause.
“No, that’s not necessary. DNA is collected by rubbing a brush gently inside the mouth against the cheek for fifteen seconds. The collection will be safe and painless for both you and Tessa.”
Cam sighed in relief. “Good. I’ll contact the clinic as soon as I get your information.”
“All right. I don’t want you to worry, Cam. Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out.”
“I only want what’s best for Tessa.”
“I know you do. That’s why I’m representing you.”
He chuckled at her candid statement. “So, if I’d been some kind of deadbeat dad?”
“I likely would have shown you the door after our first meeting. But you’re not. I know you love your daughter.”
Cam closed his eyes against the pain. If the DNA test proved he wasn’t Tessa’s father, he could lose contact with her, especially if Laura decided to stay in California. He’d miss her horribly, but that wasn’t the main issue. Laura couldn’t be trusted to look after Tessa properly and give her the care and attention she needed. Laura’s number one concern had always been Laura.
“Thanks Erin. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”
They said goodbye. A few moments later, Cam received Erin’s text with the name and contact information for the lab in Minneapolis. He phoned the lab right away and made an appointment for the following Monday. After recording the time of the appointment in his phone, he stuck it in his pocket and headed back to work.
Frustration gnawed at his gut. He hated being so totally powerless. The fate of his daughter was out of his hands, and there was nothing he could do except give a cheek swab and wait. Patience had never been one of his virtues.
I need a drink.
He pushed the thought away, frightened by its intensity. His sobriety was hard earned and precious. He couldn’t succumb now. Tessa needed him.
His determination calmed him. Tessa needed him to be strong right now. And sober.
So that’s what he’d be.
Scarlet snuggled against Cameron’s chest, breathing in his scent and luxuriating in the warmth of his embrace. She loved making love with Cameron. She loved the way he made her feel and the closeness they shared. Cameron took her to heights she’d never reached before. But lying in his arms after making love was fast becoming the best part of her day. There was an intimacy about being together this way that made her feel almost…loved.
She bit her lip. That was dangerous thinking.
“What was that for?” Cameron asked.
Scarlet looked up into his face. “What do you mean?”
“That little sigh and the furrow between your brows. Did you know your forehead wrinkles when you’re deep in thought?”
“No, I didn’t know. Sorry.”
He kissed the spot in question, his warm lips lingering for a moment. “Don’t be sorry. What are you thinking about?”
“About how lovely it is to be here with you.” It was the truth, or at least part of it.
“And that made you frown?”
“No, not at all. But I was thinking we only have a few more weeks.” She was pretty sure that when she returned to Chicago, her heart wouldn’t be making the journey with her. She’d miss him terribly, but she didn’t want to dwell on it or make him feel bad.
Cameron kissed her hair. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that, too.”
“Really?” She didn’t dare look into his face.
“Yeah. I don’t want to waste a single day of those we have left. Why don’t you come to Minneapolis with me tomorrow?”
Tomorrow was Sunday. “I thought your appointment at the lab was on Monday.”
“It is. But I thought it might be fun to go into the city a day early. We could go shopping, maybe go to movie or a museum. Whatever you want. Later, we can find a nice restaurant and have dinner, and we can spend the night at Ethan’s condo. What do you think?”
She looked up at him with a smile. “I think that sounds nice.”
He brushed her hair from her forehead, his eyes serious. “You deserve something nice for a change.”
“What do you mean, for a change?”
“Do you realize I’ve never taken you anywhere, aside from my bedroom?”
“Do you hear me complaining?”
“No, but you deserve more. You deserve a real relationship with someone who takes you places and buys nice things for you.”
“I’m not looking for a Sugar Daddy. And for the record, we do have a real relationship.” Even if its shelf life was limited.
“I know. I just…” He shook his head.
“Cameron.” She clasped his chin and gently forced him to look at her. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m happy the way things are. But I would be pleased to go to the city with you tomorrow. You can wine and dine me to your heart’s content.”
He lowered his mouth to hers, his kiss warm and soft and full of passion. Scarlet loved him so much she could barely breathe.
She didn’t know how she was supposed to live without him.
Scarlet threw some panties into her overnight bag. She wished she had something sexier, but all she’d brought with her from Chicago was serviceable cotton. Maybe one of the stops they could make on the shopping excursion Cameron had promised would be to a lingerie shop. Maybe she’d even let him pick out something he wanted her to wear.
“What are you grinning about?” Harper folded the skirt Scarlet had laid out and placed it in the bag.
“I was thinking about shopping. Other than for groceries or hardware, I haven’t set foot inside a store since I got here. It’ll be fun shopping with Cameron.”
Harper picked up a blouse and carefully folded it. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Scarlet’s pleasant bubble of happiness burst at her sister’s tone. “Please, don’t start.”
“I hate to keep ragging on you, but I’m worried about you. And I’m worried about Cam, too. So is Ethan. What happens when you go back to Chicago?”
“We’ve talked about it.” She couldn’t meet her sister’s eyes. “We both know this relationship comes with an expiry date, and we’re prepared for that. In the meantime, we want to enjoy each other’s company. Is that so terrible?”
“No, of course not. But I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Harper, I told you before, I’ll be fine.” She stopped packing to grab her sister’s hand. “I love you for caring, but you have to let me live my life.”
From the set of Harper’s mouth, Scarlet knew her sister wanted to argue, but instead she nodded. “All right. I’ll stop nagging.”
“Thank you.” Scarlet sighed in relief. She didn’t know if her show of bravado could stand up to scrutiny.
“I know you’re keeping secrets, whether about your relationship with Cam or something else.” Harper’s bottom lip trembled. “I want you to know that if you ever want to talk, you can come to me. Whatever it is you think you can’t tell me, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care. I only care about you. I love you, and I only want you to be happy.”
Scarlet stared into her sister’s blue eyes, eyes so similar to her own. She wanted so much to unburden herself, to tell her what she saw and heard on the last day of their parents’ lives. But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t ruin her sister’s memories. She wouldn’t transfer the burden she’d carried all these years to Harper. “I want you to be happy, too.”
Disappointment flitted across Harper’s face. Whatever else she was feeling was quickly covered with a smile as she squeezed Scarlet’s hand. “I mean it. Any time you want to talk, about anything, I’m here.”
Scarlet nodded, tears threatening to fall. She quickly withdrew her hand and turned back to her packing. “I should finish. Cameron will be here in any minute.”
Harper picked up the blouse she’d abandoned and placed it in the bag. “Yes, of course. You’ll be home sometime on Monday?”
“Yeah, probably by noon. Cameron’s appointment at the lab is at nine a.m. They told him the cheek swab only takes a few minutes.”
“I really hope everything goes well. Cam and Tessa belong together.”
“Yes, they do.” Again, tears threatened. She had to squeeze her eyes shut once more. When she recovered, she quickly zipped the bag shut and lifted it from her bed. “That should be everything I need.”
“Don’t forget to take a jacket. I heard it’s going to rain tomorrow.”
Scarlet had to smile. Old habits died hard. Harper would probably never stop trying to mother her and Maggie, even though they were adults now.
But somehow, it comforted her to know her sister wanted to protect her, even if it was only from a late summer shower.
“I’ll make sure to do that.” On a sudden impulse, she dropped her bag and threw her arms around Harper, hugging her with every bit of affection she held in her heart. “I love you.”
Harper’s arms closed around her and held on tight. “I love you, too.”
Scarlet’s hair glowed like burnished copper in the candlelight. Cam couldn’t stop staring, mesmerized by her smile and the sparkle in her eyes. He’d always known she was attractive; he’d figured that out the moment he first met her. But tonight, her beauty radiated from somewhere deep inside, as if a candle burned inside her heart. He wanted to bask in the warmth of that candle for the rest of his life.
He had a sudden desire to draw her the way he had the other night. He wanted to capture the glow in her eyes, her happiness.
She cocked her head to one side. “You’re very quiet tonight. What are you thinking about?”
“You,” he said truthfully. He reached across the table to hold her hand. “I can’t take my eyes off you tonight. You’re beautiful.”
She gave him a self-conscious grin. “It must be the dim light in this place. It’s affecting your eyesight.”
“My eyesight is just fine.” Maybe he was seeing clearly for the first time in his life. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the room.”
She leaned forward and lowered her voice, a smile in her eyes and on her lips. “You don’t have to butter me up, you know. I’m already thinking about what I want to do with you later in bed.”
His cock instantly sprang to attention at her words. His first inclination was to signal the waiter to bring their bill, so he could pay it and get her back to the condo pronto. But when he looked into her eyes, he realized she didn’t quite believe him when he said she was beautiful.
He squeezed her fingers. “I should have told you before how beautiful I think you are. I’ve known it since the moment I met you. But what I didn’t know then was how beautiful you are on the inside. The way you are with Tessa, and with me, that’s true beauty. That’s something that will never fade.”
She blinked several times, and he saw her throat work as if she was swallowing back her tears. “I could say the exact same thing to you, you know. You’re a beautiful man.”
“Physical beauty is nice, but it doesn’t mean anything unless there’s a beautiful heart, too. My dad was a handsome man. I saw the pictures from my parents’ wedding and the way my mother looked at him, like he was some sort of god. But what she didn’t know then was that his heart was black inside. He didn’t care about anyone, not even himself.” He hadn’t meant to bare his soul tonight. And the last person he wanted to think about was his father. He closed his eyes and averted his face.
“You’re nothing like him.” She held his hand between the two of hers. “You’ve got a beautiful heart, too. You couldn’t be the father you are to Tessa if you didn’t. You couldn’t say the sweet things to me that you do, couldn’t treat me with such tenderness the way you do, if your heart wasn’t so completely beautiful.”
He stared at her, his heart pounding in his chest. Maybe they could make it work. Maybe they could beat the odds. For her, he wanted to be the best man he could be. He could no longer imagine his life without her in it.
Did that mean he was in love with her? Or had the candlelight gone to his head tonight?
She touched his cheek. “Why don’t we get out of here? I’ve got plans for you, remember?”
“I remember.”
The time it took to settle their bill and drive back to the condo gave Cam the opportunity to think. He cared about Scarlet, and he liked her, a lot. But love? He wasn’t sure he was capable of the kind of love she deserved.
It was selfish, he knew, but he had to stick to his game plan. He’d take whatever Scarlet was willing to give in the next few weeks. And when the time came, he’d let her go. As long as he was in control, he couldn’t get hurt.
He ignored the gut feeling that said he was kidding himself.
They arrived at the lab the next morning, a full twenty minutes before his scheduled appointment at nine a.m. Cam had woken early, too anxious about the results of the DNA test to sleep. He’d woken Scarlet with a kiss and made love to her before the sun had fully risen. Waking with her beside him, warm and sweet smelling, had eased some of the tension.
But now, as they sat in the waiting room, the tension began to build again. If they discovered Tessa had been fathered by someone else, he’d have a few legal options, but they were far from a sure thing. Fear churned in his gut. He couldn’t give up his child. No one could love her, care for her, the way he did.
Scarlet put her hand on his knee, stopping him from bobbing it up and down. “Slow down, Cameron. It’s going to be all right.”
He hadn’t realized what he was doing. Nerves were getting the best of him. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. They said the procedure is painless, didn’t they?”
“It’s not that. What if she’s not mine?”
She squeezed his hand. “She is. I can feel it.”
“You keep saying that. I wish I could believe it.”
“You told me once that no matter what any tests say, she’s your baby. She’ll always be your baby. Nothing will change that.”
Cam rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. His boots were scuffed and dusty, and he wondered when he’d last polished them. His memory flashed to Tessa wearing her tutu and trying to walk in his boots, the tops up to her thighs. They’d both laughed when she tripped and landed on the living room floor in a heap of tulle.
“No, nothing will change that.”
Nothing would ever change his love for Tessa, but everything could change about their relationship. Laura wanted Tessa to call her new boyfriend Daddy. The idea made his gut twist. Would he know she didn’t like apples but loved oranges? Would he read to her before bed each night so she was able to sleep?
A woman in white scrubs appeared at the door of the waiting room. “Mr. Hainstock? We’re ready for you now.”
Scarlet squeezed his hand one last time and Cam got to his feet. After a thorough check of his identification, they were ready to start. As promised, the procedure lasted only a few seconds and was completely painless. He watched as the technician dropped the swab used to brush the inside of his cheek into a container already marked with his name. She twisted the lid shut.
“We’ll seal your sample in a tamper-evident package. When it arrives at the laboratory in California, the staff there will check to see if the package seal is intact. If it is, your DNA samples will be compared to Tessa’s. We make every effort to ensure all the evidence arrives at the lab without being tampered with in any way,” she said.
Cam nodded and thanked her for her help. When he returned to the waiting area, Scarlet jumped to her feet, appearing anxious. She tried to hide her tension with a smile, but she wasn’t fooling him. She was as worried about Tessa’s future as he was.
“Ready to go?”
“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”
He grasped her hand and they walked out into the September sunshine. The changing color of the leaves reminded him that their time together was growing ever shorter.
“Would you like to stop somewhere and grab some breakfast?” she asked. “You didn’t eat anything this morning.”
Cam didn’t think he could keep anything down. “No, I think I’d like to get home. Unless you’d like to eat?”
“No, I’m fine.” She threaded her arm through his. “Let’s go home.”
Though they said very little on the two-hour drive back to the lodge, Scarlet touched his arm or his thigh every once in a while. She smiled each time he turned to look at her, as if she’d been reading his mind, attuned to his every thought.
He didn’t want this time with her to be over. As they approached Minnewasta, he was suddenly seized with a need for her that was so strong he nearly stopped his truck on the side of the road to reach for her. Instead, he gripped the steering wheel and made himself drive on.
“What do you say we play hooky from work today?” Scarlet said.
“I don’t know. We both have a lot to do.”
She waved her hand as if waving away his concerns. “The world can get by without us for one day. Why don’t we spend the day at your place? In bed.”
He slid her a sidelong glance. She appeared perfectly calm and composed. Somehow, she’d known how much he needed her.
He wasn’t a fool. As long as she was in Minnesota, he’d take anything she cared to offer. At the next intersection, Cam turned toward his place. “That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”