What Makes A Father (HQR Special Edition)

by Teresa Southwick

  “So the whole thing was wasted on you.” He knew better than that.

  “Absolutely not.” She met his gaze and there was a wicked gleam in hers. “But it’s not necessary today.”

  “Good. Because that’s not my plan. I wanted to stop by my mom’s and share our good news.”

  “You definitely should. Flo needs to know,” she said emphatically. “I have a little work to do anyway. While the kids are sleeping.”

  “Okay, then. I shouldn’t be too long.”

  “Take your time.”

  He nodded and started to turn away, then impulse took over. Moving close, he curved his fingers around her upper arms and pulled her to him, then lowered his mouth to hers. Her body went soft and yielding, and her small sigh of satisfaction made him hot all over. He ran his fingers through her silky blond hair then cupped her cheek in his palm. Her breath caught and she slid her arms around his neck. When he reluctantly lifted his mouth from hers, both of them were breathing hard.

  “Are you sure you need to work?” His voice was hoarse.

  “Yes. Sorry.” And she did look let down. “Bob is doing the presentation to the client tomorrow and I need to go over the sketches and theme one more time, just to make sure it’s as perfect as possible.”

  “Okay. And I really should share our good news.”

  “Yes.”

  “’Bye, Annie. I—” He’d almost said it again but stopped just in time. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

  “What?”

  “I’ll be back soon. But if you need anything, call the cell.”

  Mason hurried off and drove to his folks’ house not far away. His dad wouldn’t be home from work yet but his mom’s job was part-time and her car was in the driveway when he got there. He exited the SUV then walked up to the front door and knocked.

  Flo answered and smiled instantly when she recognized him. “Mason! This is an unexpected surprise.”

  “Good or bad?”

  She playfully swatted his arm. “Always good to see you. And you know that. Come in.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Can I get you something? Iced tea? Coffee? Food?”

  “Come to think of it, I’m starving. Didn’t have lunch today.”

  “I’ll make you something.”

  In the kitchen she got out what she needed for a sandwich, even putting on one of the dill pickle slices that he liked. He sat in one of the bar chairs at the island and grabbed the plate she slid over to him.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “You’re welcome.” She walked around the counter and sat in the chair beside his, watching wide-eyed as he wolfed down the food. “Why no lunch? Were you at the hospital? I didn’t think you were working today.”

  “I’m not. But it was a big day. Annie and I went to court with the twins.”

  “That was today?” Her mouth dropped open and then she gave him the “mom” look. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’d have been there.”

  “That’s why we didn’t tell you. If something had gone wrong—”

  “But your lawyer said there were no problems.”

  “I just didn’t want to take a chance.” Now he felt like a little boy caught in a lie. “I know how hard you can take things.”

  “I admit that, but I’m still pretty good with moral support,” she defended. “And you might have needed it. You take things hard, too. Sorry. You got that from me.”

  “Do you want to keep busting my chops for protecting you? Or do you want to know what happened?”

  “Tell me,” she said.

  He grinned. “It’s official. The twins are Charlie and Sarah Blackburne now.”

  “Oh, Mason.” She hugged him. “Congratulations. That’s wonderful news.”

  “It is pretty great.”

  “And I could have been there to hear it if you’d given me the chance.”

  “Mom, let it go. I was trying to protect you.”

  “I’ll get over it.” She grinned. “I can’t wait to tell your dad. Or do you want to talk to him? Since you were obviously trying to protect him, too.”

  He sighed. “You can tell him. Maybe that will get me off the hook.”

  “It’s a start,” she teased.

  “Good.” He slid off the chair and took his paper plate to the trash. “I have to get back to Annie and the kids. I just wanted to come by and let you know. My next stop before home is for a bottle of champagne.”

  “You have a lot to celebrate.” She hugged him again. “I’m so happy for you, Mason. After all you went through, finally things are going your way.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  She walked him to the door. “Give my best to Annie and kiss my grandbabies for me. Tell them Grandma will see them soon.”

  “Will do.”

  He jogged down the walkway to the SUV parked at the curb and got inside. The next stop was the liquor store and a really expensive bottle of bubbly. He had big plans for it later.

  After paying, he got back in the SUV, more than ready to be home with his family.

  His cell phone rang and he answered right away, certain it was Annie wanting him to pick up diapers or formula or something. But it wasn’t.

  “Dr. Blackburne?”

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  “I’m calling from the lab about the DNA sample you recently had tested.”

  This was weird. “What about it?”

  There was a brief silence before the woman said, “I’m sorry to inform you that the results were incorrect. Recent court action on your motion to claim your parental rights triggered a quality control test here at our company. It turned out there was a mix-up with your sample and the one we received at the same time.”

  Mason listened to everything the woman said and asked a few questions. He was assured that the tests had been checked and rechecked and the new results were correct. After clicking off the phone, he had no idea how long he sat there. And just like that his world blew up.

  “I’m not a father.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Annie looked at the cell phone in her hand as if it was an alien being. The message from the lab came completely out of the blue and the worst part was that Mason had received the same one. The lab had mixed up the two samples she’d sent. The man who’d signed away his rights to the twins was a DNA match to them. Not Mason.

  She couldn’t imagine what he was thinking right now. Being a father was so important to him. In fact his first marriage had imploded because his wife had given up on them. Annie didn’t quit. She wasn’t like that. He would be home soon and they’d talk this through. She would assure him that everything was fine.

  But time passed and he didn’t come home. She called and he didn’t pick up. She left voice messages and he didn’t answer. He’d gone radio silent. Once she’d come very close to contacting his parents but decided against it. They would have to know soon, but he should be the one to break that news.

  The twins woke up hungry so she fed them then did baths and playtime before getting them down for the night without much fuss. They were obviously still tired from their court outing. It had been several hours and still no Mason.

  Another sixty minutes went by. She knew because she counted every one of them. If she didn’t hear from him soon, she would find out if his parents had. Worry wasn’t something she handled especially stoically.

  She was pacing and just about to call Flo when the front door opened. Relief washed over her when he came into the kitchen.

  “Mason—”

  She moved toward him then saw despair on his face and stopped. He was still wearing his suit but the slacks and jacket were wrinkled, the tie loosened. The crisply pressed-and-perfect exterior was gone and seemed to reflect his inner turmoil.

  “Where have you been?” she asked.

/>   “Driving.”

  “You heard from the lab.” She wasn’t asking a question.

  “I did.” He set a bottle of champagne on the granite countertop beside him. A bottle that would probably never be opened. “Turns out we didn’t have to get married after all.”

  The words were like an arrow to her heart and she nearly gasped. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but that wasn’t it.

  “The reasons we got married are still the same.”

  “What were they again?” His voice was flat, emotionless and just this side of bitter.

  “You wanted a family and so did I. Now we have one,” she said.

  “You do.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “You’re their aunt. A blood relative, at least. I, on the other hand, am nothing to them.”

  “That’s not true, Mason. You are Sarah and Charlie’s dad. A test done in a lab doesn’t change that.”

  “You’re wrong. It changes everything.”

  “All it means is you probably can’t donate bone marrow or a kidney. In every other way you are what you’ve always been. The man who holds them when they cry. Feeds them when they’re hungry. Makes sure their diapers are changed. You keep them safe. Everything a father is supposed to do.”

  “Annie, it’s not that simple.”

  “It’s exactly that simple. You feel the same way about them that you did this morning when you were nervous about what was going to happen in court.”

  “Yeah.” He laughed but the sound was cynical, resentful, frustrated. “The timing of this news is inconvenient. Makes you wonder if fate is having a laugh at our expense.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I have to notify my attorney about this. It’s not as straightforward as it was this morning. The judge should have this information.”

  “Probably. But I don’t think it alters anything. The biological father already signed away his rights. He doesn’t want them.”

  “He did that before test results were in. Knowing for sure gives you a different perspective. Trust me on that.”

  Annie looked into his eyes, dark with anger and pain. She prayed for the right words to get through to him. “Tell me you don’t love them. In spite of this glitch. I want to hear you say that you don’t want to be their father.”

  “I—” He looked down and shook his head. “That’s not the issue.”

  “Are you serious? It’s exactly the issue, the only thing that matters.”

  “I’m nothing to them.” He slashed his hand through the air as if severing ties. “I was something for a while. For a few months I had a son and a daughter. For a few weeks I had it all. Test results matter or we wouldn’t do them.”

  “In a medical situation they do, obviously. But it isn’t relative to the heart and soul.”

  “Relative?” His smile was sarcastic. “Are you making a pun?”

  “Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Mason.” She took a step closer and realized how badly she wanted him to hold her and to hold him back. “They are your children in every way that counts. And they need you.”

  “I’ve lost my children. Again.” Rage and hurt blazed in his eyes before they went dark. “And there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “Let’s take a time-out.” Annie met his gaze. “This has been a shock for both of us. We need to let the dust settle and let it wear off. Deep breath. Decisions should wait until we’ve processed this completely.”

  “It’s not complicated, Annie. Time and cooler heads won’t change the fact that the twins are not mine.”

  It wasn’t the words so much as the look in his eyes that convinced Annie his mind was made up. Nothing she could say would sway him. “Wow, you’re not the man I thought.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I believed you were someone who didn’t put restrictions on love. It never occurred to me that you are a man who can’t care about a child unless that child has his genetic material.”

  “That’s not fair,” he said.

  “I think it is,” she snapped. “And what about you and me? What happened to sharing this adventure together? You said that to me just today, but I’m getting a totally different vibe now. The fact is that we’re married and we have two children.”

  “You do,” he corrected.

  “Back to that.” She blew out a breath. He was hurt and betrayed and too big for her to shake some sense into him. “So where does that leave us?”

  He opened his mouth then closed it again. But emotions were swirling in his eyes: pain, bitterness, betrayal because of a stupid mistake, regret. And that was the one tearing her apart. He was sorry he married her.

  Annie hated being right. Mason Blackburne was one more man abandoning her. She should have been prepared for the fact that sooner or later he would back away. Unfortunately she wasn’t. She had let down her guard and got a right hook square in the heart.

  “Message received,” she said. “This is your house. I’ll move out, but I’d appreciate a little time to find something for the babies and me.”

  “Annie, we—”

  She put up a hand to stop him. “You made it clear there is no we, so it’s a little late to play that card. Until I can move out, I’m taking the master bedroom. I’d appreciate it if you’d sleep in the guest room.”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  No, it’s not what she wanted, but it was the only choice he was giving her. This wasn’t a misunderstanding about whether or not they would assume traditional husband and wife roles and have sex. He’d all but told her that since his DNA didn’t match the twins’, he didn’t want her.

  “Good night, Mason.”

  Without a backward look, Annie walked away and down the hall. She went into the room she’d so happily shared with Mason and closed the door to shut him out.

  She’d been clueless and overconfident believing she was in control of her feelings. Now she knew that what she felt for Mason was too big to contain. She was head over heels in love with him and knew it for a fact. Because letting him go was so much harder than any rejection she’d ever experienced in her life.

  He’d only married her to do the right thing for the children he’d believed were his. It was clear to her now that she would never have married him if she hadn’t been in love with him. The worst part was she couldn’t even blame him. She’d agreed to everything he’d proposed.

  She tried to hold back the sobs, but one escaped before she put her hands over her mouth. Mason had broken her heart but she would never let him know how much he’d hurt her.

  * * *

  Mason was a mess.

  That was his diagnosis and there wasn’t any medication or therapy that would make him better. It had been a few days since finding out he wasn’t a father and he still felt as if someone had cut out his heart and left a gaping hole where it used to be. He and Annie had been unfailingly polite when forced to interact, but every night he heard her crying and it ripped him apart. So he’d decided to do something proactive.

  He’d gotten in touch with the twins’ biological father. Annie had his contact information in a file, along with paperwork relinquishing all rights to them. Mason wasn’t their blood relative but Tyler Sherman was. And kids needed a dad. The guy reluctantly agreed to meet him during his lunch break and suggested neutral territory. Patrick’s Place.

  Mason had pushed back on the location because it had memories, but the man insisted. It wasn’t far from his current landscape job. Apparently he wasn’t inclined to go out of his way for his children.

  So Mason was waiting in a booth. He glanced around the place where he and Annie had taken vows not so long ago. The bar with brass foot rail dominated the room and there were personal family photos of the owners on the wall behind it. A room adjacent to this one had pool tables, flat-screen TVs mounted on the wall and comfort
able seating to watch televised sporting events. Next to that was the restaurant where they’d had dinner with his family after the wedding. The tables were nearly full during the lunch hour. Coming here was a really bad idea.

  So he turned away and focused on the front door, where he could see everyone who came in. There were couples, groups of women and men, even lone individuals who’d stopped by for something to eat. But no one who seemed to be looking for someone. The meet time came and went and he was beginning to think he’d been stood up until he saw a guy enter by himself then hesitate and look around.

  “Tyler?” Mason said quietly.

  “Yeah.” He was tall, blond and really young. Dressed in jeans and a navy T-shirt with Sherman Landscape silk-screened on the front.

  “Mason Blackburne.” He stood and held out his hand.

  The other man shook it then sat across from him. He looked acutely uncomfortable. “What’s this about? You insisted it was important. You said it was about the DNA test.”

  “Yeah, you are the twins’ father.” Mason was surprised those words didn’t stick in his throat. A lab test didn’t change his love for those babies and that meant he wanted them to have everything they deserved.

  “Is this some kind of scam? Annie said the DNA would be done in five business days. That was months ago. Why are you telling me this now?”

  Mason swallowed hard. “The lab made a mistake and we just found out about it. They mixed up the samples—yours and mine.”

  Tyler looked down at his hands for a moment then blew out a long breath. “I signed a legal document giving Annie sole custody.”

  “That was before you knew for sure that you’re their father. You might change your mind.” Mason pulled out his cell phone and found the pictures he’d taken right after court, the day he’d claimed parental rights he wasn’t entitled to. “Here they are.”

  Tyler scrolled through the series of photographs but his expression didn’t change. “They look healthy. Cute kids. Look like Annie.”