by Lori Ryan
“Yes, as in have sex. This is getting…”
His voice took on a dark edge. “Getting what?”
How could she tell him she was falling for him and desperately not wanting to?
“You have a lot going on,” she said. There, that was safe.
“So?”
“So, I don’t do complicated.” She fought to keep from twisting her hands together, and opted to put them behind her back to resist the urge.
His face fell, his once easy expression gone. “And I’m complicated?”
She stared at him for several moments. “Of course you are. You have a kid. You have no idea what you’re doing, where you’re going.”
He stepped back, frowning. “I could say the same about you, Lina.”
She tried to swallow down the hurt. “You’re right. I don’t. But I know I don’t need a relationship to complicate things, and neither do you.”
“I don’t recall asking to be in a relationship with you.”
Her face burned with embarrassment and humiliation. Of course he hadn’t. She Lina, the good-time girl, again.
“This was just sex for you, remember?” he said, stepping back. “You said that from the start.” His tone was flat and she could swear she saw a look of hurt flash across his face before he masked it with irritation.
Jake was right. That was what she’d asked for. So why did his reminder hurt so much? Had she really held out hope for more?
“Well…,” she paused, trying to phrase her words carefully. “It just feels...” What?
“Feels like more?”
“No. It feels like this could be drama. Now people know I’m having sex. At work.”
“Maggie and Ben don’t care. They’re your friends.”
Lina waved him off. “No telling what other rumors will start to fly around the town. I don’t do drama, or commitments. I don’t do relationships.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “I got that. But again, I never asked for any of those things.”
“Right. Good.” She breathed out. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
“What about my daughter?” he said.
“What about her?”
“She’s already formed a close relationship with you. Is that one I need to break, too?”
The question kicked Lina in the gut. She started to shake her head. She would never do that to Becca.
“You know what, never mind,” he said. “We’re leaving on Friday anyway to go back to California, so none of this really matters.”
It mattered to her, she wanted to say, even though she knew it shouldn’t.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and bit back the sting of tears that threatened to break free.
Jake looked around at the store, not meeting her gaze, never noticing her near meltdown. “Yeah, well, I guess you can finish cleaning up here then right?”
And just like that, she’d been dismissed. She crossed her arms. “Yeah. Sure. I’ve got it.”
Jake shook his head, his expression filled with remorse and regret. “Look Lina, I’m sorry if somewhere along the way you thought I wanted more.”
She laughed silently. Of all the times for her to want more, she had to pick this guy. “It’s okay. It’s what I wanted, remember?” she said, turning her back to him. She knew she probably wouldn’t see him or Becca before they left. “Tell Becca bye.” She bit her lip to keep from crying.
She could feel his glare on her back.
“You’re seriously not going to tell her goodbye yourself?”
She wanted to. Becca had come to mean so much to her, and so had Jake, despite how she’d fought it.
She drew in a deep breath to steady her emotions before turning to face him.
He scanned her from head to toe and back, locking on her eyes. Slowly he stepped back as if disgusted. “You know what, never mind,” he said. “Bye, Lina.”
“Bye,” she said, her eyes stinging with tears as she watched him walk away before she turned back.
She heard him unlock the front door, the sound of the bells as he opened and shut it, walking away.
Walking out of her life, possibly forever. She might see him again, in passing or if she worked up at the lodge and he was home, but it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t ever be the way she wanted it to be.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jake sat in the large office space at the lodge where all of the department managers had a desk. He was currently using his brother Emmett’s desk. He wondered how anyone could get anything done in this open configuration. There weren’t even cubicle walls between the desks.
He booted up his laptop, opening his email. He had so many things to take care of, not only with Todd and his campaign, but with the film festival they were organizing in Canyon Creek, as well. He didn’t plan to be in Canyon Creek much longer, but he wanted to help his family out as much as he could.
After the previous night with Lina, he wanted to get the hell out of there even faster.
She’d said she didn’t do commitments or relationships. He didn’t either, hadn’t even wanted to…until he met her. He’d decided from the start it was just about sex with Lina, it had to be. He had a kid for Christ’s sake, a child he was still trying to get to know.
But somewhere along the way, as he watched Lina interact with his daughter, watched her command and mesmerize a room full of people, felt her soft body pressed to his…yeah, he’d fallen for her.
He pushed the thought far from his mind as he skimmed through his inbox, stopping when he saw an email from his attorney, Carla Mahoney. The subject line read "Paternity Testing."
Jake’s heart sank and his stomach twisted in knots.
The first thing he’d done when Phoebe had shown up on his doorstep was hire an attorney. He’d asked her to research his options in a custody case if the biological parent hadn’t known about the birth for almost five years. Of course, that was before he knew Phoebe and Steven.
The attorney’s first piece of advice was to get a DNA test. Thankfully, Phoebe had agreed. Carla had informed him that in California, paternity could be established without proving DNA but genetic testing always helped to establish parental rights.
Jake’s assistant had called him yesterday with news that a certified letter had been delivered to his house. The return address was from the DNA testing facility. He’d asked him to overnight the letter to him in Canyon Creek but it still hadn’t arrived yet.
He opened the email.
Hey Jake,
I wanted to find out if you’ve received the results from your DNA testing yet. As we’ve already discussed, you don’t need the results to begin the process of establishing parentage within the California court system.
Since Mr. and Mrs. Howard are Rebecca’s only living relatives that we’ve found, and they’re willing to sign their own affidavit relinquishing their rights as her legal guardians should you so choose to establish custody, I don’t foresee a problem in court.
We will however need to serve Phoebe and Steven with a summons and your petition, outlining your intent to declare parentage of the minor child.
Bottom line, I don’t believe you’ll encounter much difficulty establishing yourself as Rebecca’s father, with or without the genetic testing, if that is still your desire.
Let me know what you’d like me to do on my end. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Carla Mahoney
Managing Partner
Mahoney, Klein, and Fullbright
He read the email a second time, then a third, before settling on one sentence.
The words played over and over in his head
I don’t believe you’ll encounter much difficulty establishing yourself as Rebecca’s father, with or without testing…if that is still your desire.
“If that’s what you still desire” he repeated silently.
It didn’t seem fair that the future of Becca lay in his hands. Or rather, the option to turn his back and walk away from her
did.
He’d like to say that the DNA test didn’t matter, that he’d take her no matter what. But like he’d told his mother when they’d first arrived, would that be fair to Becca if she wasn’t his? To not be absolutely certain? Would he be able to turn his back on her if she wasn’t his biological child?
He let out a humorless laugh at the irony. He’d never wanted a child, until he had one.
“What’s so funny, brother?” Someone said from the door.
Jake glanced up, surprised to see his twin, Grant standing in front of him. “What the hell are you doing here?” He stood and moved toward the doorway.
Grant met him in the middle and the two shared a brief embrace.
“Is that any way to treat your baby brother?” Grant asked.
Jake laughed. “Three minutes.”
“And you’ll never let me forget it.”
Jake studied his twin. He wore a baseball cap with the L.A. Dodgers logo. He tended to wear things which concealed his identity when in public. Hopefully being in Canyon Creek would bring him some respite from his hectic public life. To a lot of the people in this town, he was plain old Grant Sumner, the kid they’d watched grow up.
“I didn’t think you’d be in for several weeks,” Jake said. “The festival doesn’t start until then, right?”
“Yeah, I’m just in for a few days to do promotional photos. Devlin has me posing all over the town and on the mountain. Apparently I’m going to be the poster boy for the Canyon Creek Indie Film Festival.”
“Awesome.”
“That’s in between her photo shoot for the volunteer fire department. Have you heard of this calendar she’s doing?”
“Hot Men with Hoses?” Jake scoffed.
Grant shook his head. “Don’t judge. She’s already got over two thousand copies pre-ordered. And all the proceeds go to fund the new firehouse.”
“Still.” Jake shivered. “Have you seen some of those volunteer guys? Not real pretty. I bet if she could put you in the calendar she’d sell a ton more.”
Grant flexed his shoulders and lifted his chin, sporting that grin that had him on magazine covers around the globe. “Probably.” He laughed. “Don’t know if my agent would go for it.”
Grant was a lot of things but conceited wasn’t one of them. He took as much joy in teasing about his celebrity status as his brothers did.
“So they went with the Canyon Creek Indie Film Festival? Last I heard, there was no official name.”
“Yeah, they had to. My marketing people were breathing down my neck. Very clever name for it by the way, don’t you think?”
Jake could hear the sarcasm in his voice. He was one of the rare people who could see through Grant’s bullshit. He was an amazing actor, that’s why he’d won awards, but sometimes that carried over to real life. He hid his true emotions a lot. Especially in the public eye. Maybe being home would help him drop his guard a little.
Grant sat down at the desk opposite of the one Jake was in and kicked his feet up. “Actually,” he laughed, “it’s beginning to grow on me. I kind of like it now. Simple and to the point.”
“Unlike you.”
Grant tossed a paperclip at him. “I’m the simplest guy you know.”
“Simple-minded.”
“But handsome as all get out, huh?” He waggled his brows and smirked. “Bet you wish we were identical twins now, huh?”
Jake rolled his eyes. “You have been voted the world’s hottest guy on the planet for several years, so I guess somebody thinks so.”
“That hurt you to say, didn’t it?” Grant said, rummaging through the desk drawers.
“Yeah, it did a little.”
“You guys have anything to eat? I’m starving.”
“We can go to the café. Becca is helping man the counter while Aunt Sally is down and out.”
“Aww, my new niece. That was the real reason I wanted to come home. When do I get to meet her?”
“Mia is picking her up in a bit. They’re going to see Aunt Sally. I had some work to catch up on.”
“How is Aunt Sally, after the accident?”
“She’s good. Tough old broad, and not listening to doctor’s orders, as usual. But Warner is forcing her to rest.”
Grant shook his head. “That is still so weird to me, Aunt Sally with Warner Noble.” They sat in comfortable silence while Grant continued to look through the drawers like he might find a hidden nut or something for the winter in there. “So how’s it going, being a dad and all?”
“It was really weird at first. Being responsible for another human being.”
“We had a pet growing up. Can’t be that different.”
Jake raised a brow. “She’s not a dog, dude.”
“Yes!” Grant held up a candy bar. “I’ve struck gold.”
“Uh, that’s Maggie’s desk. If I were you, I wouldn’t eat her candy.”
Grant waved a dismissive hand in the air then ripped open the candy bar, shoving an enormous bite into his mouth. “She loves me,” he said through a mouthful of chocolate. “She won’t mind. In fact, she told me she really wanted to marry me but Ben asked her first and she felt like she couldn’t back out.”
“Aren’t you still married?”
Grant’s feet fell from the desk, along with his smile and Jake instantly felt like an ass.
Grant and Sophie had been separated almost a year and still no divorce had come, something the tabloids had picked up on a few months before. His family knew better than to ask. But Grant was his twin. He and Jake talked about things the rest of them didn’t.
“Anything I can do?” Jake asked.
“Nope,” he said, biting off another chunk of candy bar.
Jake accepted the line Grant had drawn. Grant had always been a hot-head. It had resulted in the destruction of not only his career, but his marriage. But in true Grant fashion, he was building his way back to the top, in his own way, and in his own time.
He seemed to be centering himself again. Jake just hoped for Grant’s sake he’d control his temper this time.
“So have you gotten the DNA test back yet?” he asked.
“My assistant called. They were delivered to my house in Sacramento yesterday so he mailed them to me here.”
Grant leaned closer. “And?”
“I haven’t gotten them yet.”
“What if they say you’re not the father?”
Jake shrugged even though the truth was becoming clearer with every day he spent with Becca. In his heart he knew she was his daughter. He didn’t need a piece of paper to prove it.
“Do you want her?” Grant asked. “I mean permanently?”
Jake paused, considering the question. “The truth is most days I don’t have a clue what I’m doing with her. I never really thought about kids, never really wanted kids. Half of me says I should let her go, that I’m going to screw her up if I try to raise her instead of leaving her with Phoebe and Steven.”
“And the other half?”
“Just the thought of giving her back, of not seeing her every day, makes my physically sick.”
Grant smiled. “You’ve got it bad for her, huh?”
“You should see her, Grant. She’s incredible. She’s beautiful.”
“Of course she is, she’s my niece.” He tapped his chest and grinned like a proud uncle.
“And it’s more than that. She’s smart as hell. Smarter than me for sure.”
“That’s not saying much.” Grant laughed.
“Even at five she schools me every day, can you imagine her at fifteen?”
Grant raised a brow. “Can you?”
“Yeah, actually I can.” He groaned as he said it. He’d be lucky to stay out of prison when the first idiot teenage guy came sniffing around his daughter.
“Her grandparents still in California?”
“That’s where they live, but they’ve been here this last week, visiting Becca and our family.”
“You going back, to Californi
a?” Grant asked.
“We’re all flying back in a few days for a benefit.” It was a punch in the gut knowing Lina wasn’t included in that group. She wouldn’t be going with him to the benefit, or anywhere else.
“It seems like something’s in the water here in Canyon Creek,” Grant said, finishing off the candy bar. “After moving away from our tiny town, most of my bachelor brothers have moved back and hooked up with someone.” He nodded toward Jake. “Except you, of course. You haven’t fallen in love with the town or anyone in it have you? No great urge to move home?”
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about staying. It’s been great to have the built-in help of the family with Becca. And everyone is totally in love with her.”
“Not a surprise,” Grant said. “Ma and Maggie go on and on about her when I talk to them. What the hell would you do here, though? It’s not like you can get into politics here.”
“I’ve been doing some research into this proposed highway expansion. It’s nice to be down at the ground level of politics again. And I could do consulting for campaigns, from a distance.”
“If you say so.”
“Plus, there are so many things here at the lodge that need to be done. The movie festival for one. They’ll have to transform the town. And after that’s over, they need help thinking of other ways to increase tourism.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” He laughed.
Jake shrugged. “It’s just feels good to help people who actually deserve the help.”
“Yeah, I feel bad I haven’t been able to come back before now.”
“Me, too.”
“You still didn’t answer my question.”
Jake drew in a deep breath and sighed. How could he admit to his brother what he hadn’t even admitted to himself? “Honestly, I don’t know what I want. My job is shit.”
“The state senator messing around on his hot wife?”
Jake stared at him in surprise.
Grant shrugged. “I see a lot of that kind of thing in my job. You get to recognize the type. Your senator’s the type, brother.”
Jake shook his head. Had he been the only one not to see what Todd was like?