Come Home to Me (16 page)

“If you don’t mind having her pick you up a little early, that’d be great.”

She hesitated, but he took out his wallet to pay her, and that seemed official enough that she didn’t voice whatever question might have been on her mind.

When he handed her the money, she looked up in surprise. “This is more than I usually make. I’ve only been here for a few hours.”

He’d estimated what he considered to be an appropriate amount, but he wasn’t worried about the extra. “Consider it a bonus.”

With a blush, she shoved the bills in her pocket. “Thanks. Come on in. I’ll call my mom. If I do it right away, I can probably catch her before her nail appointment.”

Aaron couldn’t take his eyes off Wyatt as he and Alexa waited for Sophia. They made small talk, and he pretended to watch TV with her, but he wasn’t really paying attention. When they heard the honk that was Alexa’s signal, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s her,” she said, and stooped to kiss Wyatt before slinging a backpack over one shoulder and hurrying out.

Then Aaron was alone with Presley’s baby, who was dragging around a plastic bat and using it to smack a plastic ball.

“I’m going to have to teach you about baseball,” Aaron told him, but even saying that, thinking like that, frightened him. Was this child
his?

Wyatt’s eyes lit up when Aaron spoke. “Ba!” he said, pointing to the ball.

A hard lump sat heavy in Aaron’s stomach as he got out the picture of himself and crossed the floor. He was afraid Wyatt would be unhappy if he tried to pick him up. What if the kid started crying and wouldn’t stop? Aaron didn’t have Cheyenne here today, or anyone else, to pass him off to, and he’d never taken care of a small child. But Wyatt hadn’t been afraid of him when they first met at Cheyenne’s. It was possible he’d be brave here, too—and he was, as long as Aaron didn’t try to touch his bat.

“Where did you come from?” Aaron asked him.

“Ba!” He proudly held out his toy.

Aaron examined his baby picture, searching for similarities and differences.

Presley’s coloring was darker than her son’s. Wyatt had chocolate-colored eyes, but his hair was more of a sandy blond like Aaron’s. His father was definitely a white man, Aaron concluded. That fit. And no doubt he was tall, as Presley had told Cheyenne. At six-two Aaron wasn’t short. But hair color and size? That certainly wasn’t conclusive evidence when it came to offspring.

Neither did it rule him out, however.

Aaron carried Wyatt to the couch and sat down. At first, Presley’s son seemed surprised and a little intrigued by the stranger who’d suddenly appeared in his home. But that didn’t last. After a few seconds, he grew bored with Aaron’s fixation and tried to get down. Then Aaron’s cell went off, and the ringtone got the tyke’s attention.

“Pone!” He waited for Aaron to take action, but Aaron left the phone in his front pocket. It was probably Dylan, wondering when he’d be coming back to finish the Camaro, and Aaron didn’t have an answer for him.

“Pone?” Wyatt poked a finger at the noise, but that didn’t change Aaron’s mind. Nothing else mattered in this moment; he couldn’t quit staring. He was hoping to see
something,
some trait or expression that would answer his question.

Wyatt was so distracted by the noise and what it signified that he dropped his bat and tried to get to Aaron’s cell himself. “Pone!”

Aaron had to admit the kid had personality, and he seemed smart. His determination and insistence might’ve made Aaron laugh—if he wasn’t so terrified of what he was going to find out when Presley got home.

18

P
resley was excited as she hurried to her rental house from her studio. She hadn’t had too many massage appointments this week. They’d been tapering off since the opening. But she’d expected that, since people who weren’t true candidates lost interest. The clients who did return tipped well, so she was still generally on track. Bill Hunsacker, who owned the jewelry shop down the street, had just given her an extra twenty dollars.

While she was mentally adding up how much she’d made this week and deciding which bills the money would cover, she put her key in the door—and realized it wasn’t locked.

Whiskey Creek was a safe place, but Alexa was only fourteen. Presley didn’t believe in taking chances, not after living in a questionable part of Fresno.

“Hey, why’s the door unlocked?” she called out as she let herself in. “Did you guys go for a walk and forget to lock up when you came back?”

The stroller was on the front porch, where she usually parked it. So she knew they weren’t gone now. The TV was on, too. But Alexa and Wyatt weren’t in the living room, and Alexa didn’t answer.

“Hello? Lex, I’m home!”

Footsteps sounded in the hall. Presley dropped her canvas tote on the coffee table before glancing up—and then froze. Aaron stood in the hallway, holding her baby.

“You couldn’t have come home ten minutes ago?” he asked dryly.

Wyatt’s pants were off, and his diaper was askew. Although Aaron looked funny standing there, his expression harried after attempting his first diaper change, Presley didn’t laugh. She couldn’t. Fear welled up, nearly sealing off her throat.

Why was he in her house? And where was her babysitter?

“I didn’t see your truck.”

“It’s out there, big as life.”

“Not in the drive...”

“Across the street.”

She nodded. She’d been so focused on her budget that she hadn’t been paying attention. “Where’s Alexa?”

“Her mother picked her up an hour ago.”

“Because...”

“I was here. I figured you didn’t need both of us.”

The fact that he’d taken such a decision on himself let her know she had reason to worry, and that brought tears to her eyes. She blinked quickly, trying to stem them, but they slipped over her lashes and ran down her cheeks.

“Why are you crying?” he asked. Despite her effort to hide her guilt and terror, she was reinforcing his suspicions, and his suspicions made him angry. Justifiably so. But she’d heard the accusation in his voice from the moment he first spoke, knew why he was here. Fear of this encounter—and its outcome—nearly overwhelmed her.

“I–I don’t know.”

“Really?”

“Aaron—”

“Mama!” Wyatt leaned forward, trying to climb into her familiar arms, but Aaron wouldn’t let her have him.

“Is it true?” He held Wyatt but kept him just out of reach. “Is this child mine?”

There’d been times, usually late at night, when she’d imagined such a confrontation. But never had she imagined a scenario that started with her being so teary and tongue-tied.

For a brief moment, she was tempted to shore up her lies, to stand by them, but it was futile. She’d always known that once Aaron began to suspect, the game would be up. All he had to do was demand a paternity test. Within three or four weeks, DNA would remove all doubt.

“I was trying to do you a favor.” Her voice fell to a whisper because she was struggling just to breathe.

“A
favor?
Having my baby and pretending he belongs to some...some asshole in Arizona who supposedly used you for an hour or two? That’s doing me a
favor?
”

If only he knew what’d happened in Arizona, how close she’d come to being swallowed up by the quicksand of her drug abuse, maybe he’d have an ounce or two of understanding. “It’s not like I got pregnant on purpose, Aaron. It’s not like I
wanted
to be put in that situation.”

“Then how’d it happen?”

“I have no idea! When my period didn’t come, I was as surprised as you are now. We always used birth control so...maybe you’re not his father.”

If she could create enough doubt, would he walk away? Why not? He didn’t
have
to open this Pandora’s box.

“Who else could it be?”

She didn’t have any candidates to offer him. He knew everyone she knew around here, and he wouldn’t believe it was someone from Arizona if she brought that up again. It wasn’t as if she could point a finger at someone without expecting him to demand verification, and there was no chance she could give him that. When she found out she was pregnant, it had been at least six months since she’d had sex with another man. Filled with panic and despair, she’d behaved badly in that short time after her period didn’t come—and she’d decided in retrospect that she’d done it just to prove how unlovable and unworthy she was. But that didn’t change Wyatt’s paternity. “I didn’t get his name.”

He stepped closer. “
When
did it happen?”

“I can’t tell you that, either.”

With a curse, he raked his fingers through his hair. “So you were pregnant before you left? There’s no chance it happened after?” When she hesitated, he raised his eyebrows. “I’m going to get a paternity test, so you might as well tell me the truth.”

She’d guessed as much. She wiped her cheeks. “That’s partly why I left. But if it helps to think he
could
belong to someone else, then think it.”

“Helps?” he echoed. “How is that supposed to help if it’s not true?”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s true! I’ve taken full responsibility. I haven’t asked you for anything and I never will. Just walk away!”

“How? The fact remains that you lied!”

“I knew you wouldn’t be happy with the news,” she snapped, finally rallying enough to come back at him. “I did what I thought was best for all of us at the time.”

“You thought it was best for my son to grow up without his father?” He seemed wounded, which surprised her. “I’m not perfect, Presley, but am I really that bad?”

“I could have aborted him. I almost did. If I’d gone through with it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. So how is it a major crime that I kept him a secret? You wouldn’t have wanted him even if I’d told you about him!”

Wyatt had had enough. Fussing and squirming, he fought to escape Aaron’s hold.

Aaron set him on the floor, but when she crouched to pick him up, Aaron intercepted her. “No way. Leave him where he is.”

“Why?”

He handed Wyatt his bat. “Because I won’t have you cuddling him and staring at me as if I’m some kind of ogre. I have a right to be mad, damn it.”

Wyatt peered around one of his legs, uncertain now that he’d been released whether or not he should be upset. He didn’t continue to cry, but his lip quivered as he glanced from one adult to the other.

“You have every right to be mad,” she agreed. “But what were my options? Was I supposed to drop him off on your doorstep? Take care of him myself but ask you to help feed and clothe him even though you had no voice in my decision to keep him? Or should I have put him up for adoption? Would that have made you happier? I told you I almost terminated the pregnancy. I went to an abortion clinic in Arizona, you know.” Her voice broke as Wyatt managed to navigate around Aaron. When he reached her, he seemed pleased with himself, but she didn’t dare pick him up. She was too busy trying to make Aaron understand, too busy struggling with the strong emotions Wyatt—and Aaron—evoked.

Aaron looked at her for several seconds. “What stopped you from going through with it?”

That had been her darkest moment, but it was also the turning point, when she’d decided to fight for a better life. Wyatt had been her motivation. It didn’t hurt that he was part of Aaron, a part she could keep. But there was no reason to go into all that. A man who’d never been in love wouldn’t understand.

“I couldn’t,” she said. “And I can’t tell you how glad I am that I didn’t.”

Whether it was that close call or the tears in her eyes,
something
cracked Aaron’s hard, angry exterior. She felt him soften as, with a sigh, he stopped scowling and began to pace. “You could’ve communicated with me, damn it. You could’ve
told
me. We should’ve decided together! I would never have encouraged you to get an abortion or give him up if you didn’t want to.”

“So you would’ve offered to...what? Coparent? Or would you just have sent me a check every month?”

“I would’ve done whatever we agreed I should do!”

She shook her head. “Let’s face it, Aaron. You weren’t ready for a child. You might have helped out financially, but you would’ve been glad to see me go, along with your new responsibility. So, you’re mad that I
didn’t
charge you?”

He sent her a disgruntled look. “You didn’t have a crystal ball. Stop acting as if you knew how I would’ve reacted.”

“I didn’t need a crystal ball. I knew how you felt about me, how tired you’d become of our one-sided relationship. So I let you go on with your life completely unfettered. I wanted our baby, even if you wouldn’t. It seemed fair at the time.”

“There you go again, saying I wouldn’t have wanted him. But you didn’t give me the chance to decide.
That’s
why I’m upset—not to mention that you flat-out lied! I would rather have known the truth!”

He was right, of course. It was fear, more than anything else, that had caused her to do what she’d done—fear that he would somehow try to take control of the situation. What if he sued for custody? If not now, later? Since he didn’t particularly care about
her
that was a very real possibility.

She reached down to smooth Wyatt’s hair from his forehead. “What made you suspect?”

Pivoting at the far side of the room, he shoved his hands in his pockets but didn’t protest when she lifted her son into her arms. “Riley’s mother has been blabbing her big mouth all over town.”

“Mrs. Stinson? But how—”

“She went to get her hair done this morning and told everyone at Shearwood Forest that he’s the spitting image of me.”

Did
he
see the resemblance? He didn’t indicate one way or the other.

Too exhausted, physically and emotionally, to continue standing while holding her son, Presley sank into her favorite chair. “That was all it took?”

“Once I started wondering–” he dropped onto the sofa “–I just...knew.”

The fatalism in his voice made her wince. “I’m sorry, Aaron.”

When he didn’t answer, she set about fixing Wyatt’s diaper so it would do the job it was intended to do. Trying to refasten the tabs gave her something to concentrate on besides Aaron’s shell-shocked demeanor. But adjusting it only ruined the diaper. She might’ve teased him about his inability to properly change a baby, but doubted that would go over very well at the moment. At least he’d made the effort.

“So now that you know, what are you going to do?” she asked.

He lifted his gaze from the carpet. “Was Dylan in on the secret?”

“No. He believes the same thing you did.”

Suspicion entered his eyes. “What about Cheyenne?”

Presley thought of the favor he was about to do her sister and prayed her answer would be credible enough that he wouldn’t change his mind. “I didn’t tell
anyone
.”

He shot to his feet. “Bullshit!”

Presley felt terrible that she wasn’t better able to defend Cheyenne’s interests, but nothing she said would convince Aaron now. She and Chey were too close. “You’re right. But...she wanted to tell you. She begged me to do it.”

“Before or after she asked me to donate sperm? Neither of you cared that I would have
two
children?” He rubbed a hand across his face. “Shit. For someone who’s always been so careful about birth control, now I’m fathering babies all over the place.”

Wyatt wriggled out of her lap and went over to get his bat. “You won’t have two children, Aaron,” she said. “Dylan and Cheyenne will have one, and I’ll have the other—with whoever I eventually marry.”

His eyes narrowed, so she tried to win him over, to bring about the solution she’d held in reserve against this day. “You could sign away your parental rights. Then you’ll have
no
responsibility for Wyatt. None.”

“Oh, and
that’s
such a tempting offer.”

She hadn’t expected him to be so sarcastic. “You’ll be free to move on, to relocate and live your life as you see fit, a single man with no responsibilities.”

“I understood what you were offering the first time,” he said.

“Why does it make you so mad?”

“You think, now that I know, I could do that?”

Her pulse, which had begun to race when she first saw him, spiked again. Aaron might have softened somewhat, but this was not going as she’d hoped.

“Why not?” she asked. “You could always have a family later, when you’re ready. With a quick signature, there’d be nothing lingering in your past that you’d have to worry about. No one who could lay any claim on you.”

A muscle moved in his cheek; he was struggling with as much emotion as she was. “While someone like Riley raised my son.”

“Maybe. Him or someone else.” Taking a deep breath, she got to her feet. She
had
to persuade him. It felt as if she was fighting for her life—and in a way she was. She was fighting for life as she knew it, where she had full custody and control of her child. “I have the form in my bedroom. I’ll get it.”

He didn’t protest, but when she came back, his lip curled. “You just happened to have that handy?”

She put it in front of him and handed him the pen she’d also retrieved. “I’ve considered telling you before.”

“So you got prepared, just in case.”

“Wyatt means the world to me,” she said softly.

When he didn’t respond, she pushed a little harder. “I’ll take good care of him, Aaron. I promise. Whether I ever marry or not, you won’t have to worry about me hitting you up for support. You’ve seen how hard I’m working, what I’ve done to change my life.”

He tossed the pen onto the document without signing it. “Yeah, I’ve seen how you cut me out of it. I guess this is where I’m supposed to thank you for that, too, huh?”