He parked between the corner store and the pharmacy, knowing flowers couldn't hurt. His mom used to buy them and say they were from his father. Somehow, the lie made his abandonment less painful.
Just as he reached for the handle, Doc called his name. The older man waved an envelope above his head while he ambled forward.
"Came today. I was going to drop it off at your place, but since you're here, thought I'd save myself the trip." He placed the paternity test in his hand.
Why did his heart beat wildly like an animal trapped in a cage?
"Thanks, Doc."
"Well, are you going to open it?"
It sat like a snake in his palm, ready to bite. As soon as he opened it, his life would change. If Maddie was his, that meant more changes were coming. What happened when they went on tour? How would she get to school and home each day? Who would watch her once summer ended and Mercy went back to work? If she wasn't his, what did that mean? Every time she called him Daddy, his heart danced. Who knew the one thing he avoided his entire life—fatherhood—could bring him such joy? "Eventually. Right now, I'm picking up flowers and then my date."
Doc set his hand on Alex's shoulder. "Son, no matter the results, just remember that DNA don't make a daddy."
That was the awful truth. "I know." He lifted the envelope. "Opening this will only confirm what I know in my gut. Maddie’s mine."
"She was yours the day you decided that to be true. Enough about that, go get your date."
Alex folded and shoved the envelope into his pocket and strode into the store. Things were changing all right; he had a house, a daughter, and a date.
He entered the Corner Store and walked into some kind of negotiation. The older couple who owned the store shook hands with a woman.
"End of the month, then?"
"You'll get the keys."
He moved to the front where buckets of water held flowers. He took all they had and placed them dripping on the counter.
"Looks like you either screwed up or you're sucking up," the man said.
"Neither, it's date night."
The younger woman cocked her head to the side. "Are you the drummer for Indigo?"
He wasn't in the mood for fan behavior, so he pointed to his hair. "I'm not that guy." Not anymore.
"You look just like him."
He paid his bill and picked up the flowers.
"They say everyone has a doppelganger." He studied her for a moment. "You look like that girl from a beer commercial."
"I get that all the time, and if it brings more people into the Corner Store, I'll pretend I'm her and sell autographs." She held out her hand for a shake. "I'm Jewel, and I take over this fine establishment next month."
He nodded. "Nice to meet you." He pivoted on his heel and fled before anyone else could waylay his progress. If he didn't get to Mercy's soon, she might think he wasn't coming.
They sat at a small table in Trevi's Steakhouse in Copper Creek. The soft murmurs of couples talking mixed with the smell of garlic and spices. The dim, romantic lighting made the place perfect for a first date. He'd have to thank Dalton for the suggestion.
Mercy sipped her glass of wine while Alex drank a soda. He rarely imbibed because he'd once read that addictive personalities ran in families, and he worried he'd end up with the alcoholic gene.
"You didn't have to buy out the store." She set her glass down. "Right now, there's a wife somewhere thinking … where are my flowers?"
"I couldn't choose and realized I didn't have to. I'm learning that I can have it all, so why shouldn't you have every flower?"
"I bet you made Phillip and Marge happy with the sale."
"If not them, then the new owner."
"There's a new owner?"
"I walked in on the handshake. The new owner is a woman named Jewel."
She fidgeted with her silverware and rearranged her glasses for the third time.
He touched her hand, covering it with his. "Are you nervous?"
"No. Yes." She took in a long, deep breath and huffed it out. "Okay, I'm worried."
"About?"
She pointed to him and back to her. "This. What is it? Where is it going? I keep asking myself if I'm stupid to think you'd be interested in me when you have so many beautiful women leaving you sexy lingerie." She lowered her head. "Is she pretty?"
He squeezed her hand. "Is who pretty?"
"Jewel. Even her name is alluring."
He slid his chair closer. "I didn't stay around long enough to look." He'd never tell her she looked like a beer commercial model because that was irrelevant. The only person who grabbed his attention was Mercy. "I had this hot date with a sexy schoolteacher."
"You're just saying that because you want to get lucky tonight."
He lifted her hand to his lips and left a lingering kiss on her palm. "I have it on good authority that's not happening, so the thought didn't cross my mind when I said you were beautiful."
"Liar."
"About you being beautiful … no way, as for the getting lucky, a man can dream."
Their dinner arrived. He had the ribeye, and she had the filet. They ate and talked.
"What's it like being you?" she asked.
He finished his bite and swallowed. "It's not as sweet as you'd think. No one ever takes the time to know you as a person because all they want is a piece of you. A check mark on their list of things to do in life."
"But all these women fall in
