Trusting Sydney: The Temptation Saga: Book Six (6 page)

C
arrie shielded
the child against her chest. “Back away,” she warned.

Sam steeled himself. He had to think of Duke.

Roy strode forward. “Sam, what are you doing?”

“You were right in the first place,” he ground out, trying his damndest to stay calm, to not alarm the child.
His
child. “We need to speak alone.”

“Take Duke back to the hotel, Carrie,” Roy said calmly.

“But the car… How will you—”

“I’ll find a ride. Just go. Now.”

Carrie stood and ushered Duke away.

Roy sank down on the bench that they had vacated. “Do you really want to turn his life upside down?”

Sam grabbed Roy by the collar again, bringing him to his feet and slamming his back into the wall. “You have turned
my
life upside down, goddamnit.”

“I am sorry.” Roy’s dark eyes misted. “Let go of me, please.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I didn’t know he was yours. Sydney never told us.”

She didn’t?
Sam let go and pushed Roy back down on the bench. “Now start talking. You owe me that much.”

“She was young, only nineteen. She was a champion racer. She couldn’t keep a child.”

“So what? Maybe I could have.”

“She never told us who you were. I think because she knew we’d try to contact you. Carrie and I always felt the father had a right to know.”

“Why wouldn’t she tell you?”

“I don’t know. That’s something you’ll have to ask her.”

“I’m never speaking to her again. So you’ll have to tell me.”

Roy shook his head. “I told you. I don’t know.”

“How did you end up with him?”

“Sydney was too young to take care of a child. But she didn’t want to give him up. Carrie and I were becoming empty nesters. Blake had left while Sydney was pregnant, and Syd was nineteen and ready to fly on her own. We were still young enough to be good parents. It made sense.”

“Well, it doesn’t make sense to me.”

“We love him as our own. He’s our child, and our biological grandchild. He’s had a good life. He’s happy.”

“What makes you think he wouldn’t have been happy with me?” Sam’s voice cracked.

“Maybe he would have. I don’t know. But did you want to raise a child alone? Your son has a mother and father who adore him and a big sister who couldn’t love him more.”

“And when were you planning to tell him that his big sister is actually his mother?”

“I don’t know.” Roy sighed. “Eventually we did plan to tell him.”

“I want to spend some time with him.”

“That’s not possible.”

“I’ll drag your asses to court, then. The kid is my flesh and blood.”

“Are you absolutely sure he’s yours?’

“Are you kidding? Take a good look at me.”

Roy perused him and nodded soberly.

“And even if we looked nothing alike, I have further proof. Sydney has admitted to me that she hasn’t been with anyone since we were together five years ago. He has to be mine.”

“Thank God.”

“Thank God? Are you kidding?”

“You don’t understand. I mean thank God she didn’t sleep with that slime Rodney Kyle.”

“She broke up with him today.”

“Thank God again. She was only with him for his money.”

“She needs money?”

“Our ranch isn’t doing very well. It’s the economy and all.”

Sam understood. God knew he’d been there. He’d only gotten the Double D out of trouble in the last couple years. But damnit, he didn’t want to feel sorry for these people.

They’d stolen his child, for God’s sake.

“I’m sorry,” he said, despite his anger.

“Sydney didn’t want the ranch to go under,” Roy continued. “She wanted it for Duke. The ranch has been In the Buchanan family for three generations.”

“I want a DNA test, pronto.”

“I won’t put him through that.”

“Fine.” Sam stopped himself from putting his fist through the wall again. Wasn’t easy. “I’ll get a court order. Then you won’t have a choice.”

“Do you really want to do this to the child?”

“What about me? Don’t I have rights?”

Roy nodded. “Of course you do. But he’s five years old. He’s secure in his life, his family.”

“Why didn’t anyone try to find me?”

“I told you. Sydney never told us who the father was.”

“Why the hell not?”

“You’ll have to ask her that.”

“I plan to ask her plenty. So much for never speaking to her again.” He took off his hat and raked his fingers through his hair—hair just like Duke’s. His son. “Where the hell is she?”

“I don’t know.”

He’d left her at the hotel. He didn’t want to see her, but she was the only one who could answer these questions.

She was the last person he wanted to see.

And the first person he wanted to see.

Goddamnit.

He loved her.

How had it come to this?

Yes, his life had gotten stale. He’d wanted to shake things up. But not like this.

He left Roy and walked out of the arena toward the parking area.

And who should be walking toward him, but sharply dressed businessman Rod Kyle.

“Ah, Mr. O’Donovan, just the man I was looking for. I’ve found your answer for you, and even
you
won’t believe where your son is.”

“He’s here in town.” Sam gritted his teeth. “He’s Sydney’s little brother.” Then he hit Rod square in the jaw. Felt damn good, even with bleeding knuckles.

Rod fell backward, rubbing his face. “Hey, we had a deal.”

“The deal was you find out where my son is.”

“I did.”

“Not quick enough. I figured it out without you. Now get the hell out of my sight before I do some real damage.”

Sam found his rental car and drove away. The rodeo was still going on, but Zach’s brother Dallas would be home. Dallas didn’t compete like his two younger brothers. He was a shooter at heart. He’d be at the ranch. It was near suppertime.

Dallas was one of the only two attorneys in Bakersville. The other was Chad’s brother-in-law, Harper Bay, but he was busy planning a wedding in less than a week. Dallas was Sam’s best bet.

He drove to Dallas and Annie’s ranch house on the McCray property, walked up, and knocked.

“Hello there, Sam,” Annie McCray said in her biting Jersey accent. “Nice to see you.”

“Is Dallas at home?”

“Yeah, he sure is. Come on in. We’re just finishing our dinner.”

“I’m sorry to intrude. I have a legal problem.”

“No intrusion. Let me get the kids out of your way, and you and he can talk. Come on in to the kitchen.”

After they said hi to their Uncle Sammy, Annie took Sylvie and Laurie by the hands and escorted them into the family room where the babies were sleeping in their bassinets. “Sam’s here to see you, hon. Legal talk.”

“What can I do you for, Sam?” Dallas asked, standing. “You want to sit down?”

“Do I ever.” Sam plunked his ass in a chair.

“Coffee?”

“Got anything stronger?”

Dallas smiled. “That bad, huh? How about a Macallan, neat?”

“Sounds like nectar of the gods.”

Dallas poured two drinks and sat back down at the table. “So what’s going on?”

“I need to get a court order for a DNA test.”

“What for?”

“You know the Buchanans, right?”

“Blake and Sydney, yeah. And their parents are here for the rodeo too.”

“Along with their little boy. He’s about Sean’s age.”

“Duke, yeah. I’ve seen him.”

“Well, here’s the thing.” He cleared his throat. “Little Duke Buchanan is my son.”

“
W
ell
, Sydney,” Roy Buchanan said when Sydney opened the door to her hotel room. “You’ve got yourself in quite a mess now.”

“I know, Daddy.” She sniffed.

“You’ve been crying.”

“Of course I have.”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s that jerk, Rod. He found Duke’s birth certificate. He brought it over here and confronted me while Sam was here. Sam put two and two together and figured out he was the father.”

“Sam O’Donovan. A good man from a good family. Why didn’t you tell us who the father was?”

“I had my reasons. Don’t worry, Daddy, he doesn’t know where the child is. But I’m afraid he will soon. He asked Rod to find out for him.”

“Rod’s quick, then. Or Sam figured it out on his own. He confronted your mother and me this afternoon at the rodeo.”

Sydney cringed, resisting the urge to swat away the invisible insects crawling on her skin. “Oh, Daddy. What are we going to do?”

Roy sat down and cupped his head in his hands. “I don’t know, Sydney. I just don’t know.”

“I can’t let anything happen to Duke.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear you say that. Duke is the most important thing here. We must consider what’s best for him first and foremost.”

“Of course.” Sydney’s blood turned to ice. “That’s what I’ve always done.”

“Not always, Sydney.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why didn’t you tell us back then who the father was? Then maybe all this turmoil could have been avoided. Sam would have known. He would have had a choice to be in Duke’s life.”

“I didn’t want him in Duke’s life.”

“Why, Sydney? Why didn’t you want the father to know about his child?”

“
I
see
,” Dallas said after Sam had explained the situation. “All this time you never knew he existed.”

“Not at all.”

“And had you known at the time, would you have wanted the child?”

Sam rose, shoved his hands in his pockets. “How the hell should I know? That was over five years ago. I know I want him now.”

“Why do you want him now?”

“I’ve always wanted kids. Just never found the right woman.”

“And is Sydney Buchanan the right woman?”

He sat back down with a plunk. “I don’t know. Shit, a mere five hours ago I was sure she was.”

“Are you in love with her?”

“I was five hours ago, before all this shit hit the fan.”

“You have a child with the woman you love.” Dallas smiled. “That’s a beautiful thing. The rest can be worked out.”

“Dallas, my child is five years old! I’ve missed a half decade of his life. I didn’t hear his first word. I didn’t see his first smile, his first step.”

“I understand.” Dallas looked toward the family room where the girls were playing. “Believe me, I understand.”

“I have rights, damnit. I want to know my son.”

“The child legally belongs to the Buchanans. They adopted him. I’m assuming they went through all the legal channels.”

“What if they didn’t?”

“I suppose it’s possible that Sydney just let her parents raise him.”

“She said she was only nineteen when she had him. I can’t believe she was that young when we met. She seemed so much older. She was a champion barrel racer. Dusty was twenty-three at that time.”

“And you were?”

“Twenty-seven. I feel like I robbed the cradle.”

“She was legal, Sam. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know that.” He shook his head. Emotion coursed through him. “Damnit!”

“First thing is to find out if the Buchanans
are
Duke’s legal parents. If they are, this is going to be more difficult. I won’t lie to you. If they’re not, and Sydney is the legal parent, it will be easier for you to get paternal rights.”

“Can you find that out?”

“Where was the child born?”

“Hell if I know. Nevada, probably.” Sam took a drink of Scotch. “That’s where they live now.”

“That’s a start. We can search the records.”

“How long will that take?” Sam asked.

“I don’t have an office. I’m not a practicing lawyer. I’ll have to call someone in Denver. But there’s an easier way to get this information.”

“And what might that be?”

Dallas cleared his throat. “Ask Sydney.”

“Are you kidding? She’s hardly proved herself trustworthy. First, she neglected to tell me she was engaged to some effeminate businessman, and now this? I’m not taking her word for anything.”

“All right. Fair enough. Her parents, then.”

“I doubt they’ll cooperate. I was pretty hard on Roy at the rodeo.”

“I’m sure he understands. This is a lot for you to deal with.”

Sam nodded. Finally, someone who understood, or at least tried to. “They see me as a threat. They’re probably afraid I’m going to take Duke.”

“Are you?”

“I just might. He is mine, after all. I was never given a choice in the matter.”

“How do you think that would affect them?”

Sam clenched both his fists in his unruly hair. “It’ll hurt. I know that. This isn’t their fault. According to Roy, Sydney never told them who the father was.”

“Hmm. Why didn’t she?”

“Do you honestly think I have a clue? I don’t know anything about that woman.”

“Only that you love her.”

“Love her?” He unclenched his hair. “She’s a completely different woman than the one I thought I loved earlier today.”

“I see.”

“So what are my chances? What do I need to do?”

“We can get a court order for a DNA test, but that’s not your main problem.”

“The DNA will show he’s mine. Sydney admitted to me that she hadn’t been with anyone since she was with me over five years ago, and the child was born after that. Plus, have you seen him? He’s definitely my son.”

“Have you told Dusty?”

“No. I haven’t told anyone. Just you.”

Dallas sighed. “I feel for you, I really do. But like I said, there’s a bigger problem than proving that he’s yours.”

“What’s that?” Sam asked.

“Whenever a child is involved, the courts focus on one thing and one thing only—the best interests of the child in question.”

“How can I not be in his best interest? I’m his father.”

“He’s a child of five. The only parents he’s ever known are the Buchanans. To take him from them would scar him. He’s just a little boy, Sam.”

“Damnit.” He pounded his fist on the table. “This isn’t fair.”

Dallas nodded. “I agree with you. It’s not fair. It’s not fair to you, and it’s ultimately not fair to Duke. He should be able to know his biological father if that father wants to be known. But right now he’s a little boy, and if you take his mommy and daddy away from him, he’ll be devastated.”