“Your appointment is at two o’clock, right babe?” I asked Lor as she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch beside me.
“About that, are you sure you wanna go with me? You really don’t have to.”
“How could you ask me that? After the past couple of weeks. I thought we were in this together. I thought you realized how much you mean to me? I will always be here for you and the baby, no matter what.”
“We are in this together, but Cade asked me yesterday if he could go with me.”
“And you don’t want me to go, but you want him to take you? Seriously?” I couldn’t believe she didn’t want me there. It hit me hard. I thought we were in this together. Maybe she was having second thoughts about me and the type of father I could be to the baby. Maybe she wanted Cade.
“No, Jaxon. That’s not what I’m saying at all. Of course, I want you there with me. I just know it will be awkward for both of you to be there. And honestly, it’s just a test. A little needle...not a big deal.”
“I’m going to be there with you. If he is there, I won’t have a problem with it. He might though.”
“He knows you’ll be there. He will meet us at the clinic.” She said this as she stood up and started to walk away.
I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto my lap. “Do you have to work today? Or can you stay in with me until it’s time for the appointment?”
She smiled that beautiful smile. “That’s the beauty of being the boss. I don’t have to work if something better comes up.” She shifted around on my lap.
“Something better is definitely coming up, babe.” We spent the rest of the morning making out like teenagers on the couch. It was one of the best mornings of my life.
Loralei
Jaxon and I made it to the clinic a little before two o’clock. Cade was waiting for us in the parking lot. We got out of the jeep and he walked over toward us. He never said a word, just tipped his hat, and gestured for us to walk ahead of him. Needless to say, it was a little awkward walking into the clinic with Jaxon and Cade. I believe it was pretty clear to everyone, why I was there. Most women didn’t bring two guys with them to see their OB/GYN.
The appointment went by without incident. Jaxon and Cade shared a few intense stare downs, but basically it all went pretty well.
The doctor told me we should have the results in about three days. These were going to be the longest three days of my life…
Three days later
My phone was ringing off the wall. I ran to answer it, a little out of breath, “Uh, hello.”
It was the nurse from the clinic. “Ms. Harper, we have the results of your test. We don’t normally do this over the phone. Can you come in and pick them up?”
Really? Did she have to ask? “Of course, I’m on my way.”
The kids were already off to school, so I jumped in the jeep and headed to the clinic. I decided to do this alone. I didn’t need Jaxon or Cade with me. I needed to find this out on my own. It would be difficult, but I needed to tell the father myself.
I was almost sick by the time I got to the clinic. I hadn’t had morning sickness the entire pregnancy, but right then I was so nauseous. I just knew I would puke before I could read the results. I went into the clinic and the nurse handed me a plain white envelope with BABY HARPER typed on the front of it.
I walked out to the jeep holding the envelope. I heard my cell chirping and saw that Jaxon had been calling me. I couldn’t talk to him right now. I had to see what the results said.
I opened the envelope and tried to read the results.
The first two pages were a bunch of graphs and numbers. The grid was titled: “A” and “B”. I read on and realized that Jaxon was “A” and Cade was “B”. Thank God there was a title on the second page that spelled that out. I got to the last page and it said: Paternity Verified, and that was followed by a letter. I finally knew who the father was.
Cade
The past three days had about killed me. I couldn’t eat, sleep, nothin’. Today should be the day that we find out. I just needed to know. I needed to get back to my life either way. I had been neglecting everything and that just wasn’t somethin’ I did.
Since my parents had died, that ranch was my life. Clay and I had been away for too long. If the baby was mine we were goin’ to have to figure somethin’ out. I didn’t know how we were gonna do it, but I wouldn’t be away from my kid.
When I heard the knock on the door, I about jumped outta my hide. I got up and headed for the door. When I opened it, I knew the question had been answered.
Jaxon
I had been trying to call Lor all morning. I couldn’t understand why she was ignoring my calls. I was getting a little worried. Today was the day that we were supposed to get the results of the paternity test and I think we were both a little on edge.
I
