Fake it Baby

by Tia Siren

  “What are you doing here?” she asked in a tone that said she was not happy to see me.

  “I didn’t know you owned the mountain,” I shot back.

  She relaxed her shoulders a bit. “I meant did you follow us?”

  I laughed. “No, Ashley, I didn’t follow you. I hike up here all the time. You’re the one who’s intruding.”

  The little boy stood beside Ashley, looking up at me with rapt interest. I looked at Ashley and then dropped to my knees in front of the boy. She stiffened. Apparently I had her worried. Good.

  “Hi, buddy. What’s your name?” I asked, staring into my son’s eyes.

  “Jasper.”

  I nodded my head. “My name’s Brock. Me and your mom are old friends.”

  Jasper looked me over and must have decided I was safe.

  “What are you doing there?” I asked, pointing to a box on the ground by the rock he had been sitting on.

  His face lit up. “Oh! I was looking for unique rocks,” he said, excitement in his voice.

  I was shocked by his use of the word “unique.” I wasn’t an expert in kid vernacular, but that seemed like a big word for a little guy.

  “Really? Have you found any unique rocks?” I asked, using his word choice.

  He shrugged. “Not really, but I don’t mind collecting more rocks.”

  “Do you collect a lot of rocks?”

  Jasper smiled. “Yep. Wanna see?”

  “I would love to see, Jasper. Thank you.”

  I stood up to see Ashley staring down at us. I could tell she was nervous. Good. I wanted her to be off her game. I walked around her and waited for Jasper to spread his rocks out on the large rock they had just been sitting on. He was enthusiastic as he pointed out the different types of rocks and what the lines meant. The kid was a damn genius!

  When he was finished with his spiel, he turned to look at me. “You have a lot of tattoos,” he said, pointing to my left arm, which was exposed given the tank top I was wearing.

  I shrugged. “I have a few.”

  “Can I see them closer?”

  I could feel Ashley’s eyes on me as I sat on the rock. Jasper crawled up beside me and inspected the artwork on my left arm.

  “I like this one the best,” he said, pointing to the tattoo I had gotten shortly after Ashley had left me. It was a dagger through a heart. It was generic and had been done on a drunken whim. Thankfully, I didn’t have her name on the tat. That would have been embarrassing.

  She stared at the tattoo and then met my eyes. She knew exactly what it meant. She shifted her weight on her feet and turned to look out at the view stretched out below. Jasper grabbed a water bottle from a bag, and I got an idea.

  I needed that water bottle. I would accidentally grab it and toss it in my pack as soon as the kid put it down. Jasper grabbed his box of rocks and began sorting through them. I walked to where Ashley was standing a short distance away, stopping beside her and overlooking the town below.

  “Why did you bring our son to our place, Ashley? Is this meant to be some walk down memory lane for you? Visit one of the many places our son may have been conceived?”

  “Shh!” She glared at me.

  I grinned. “Valid question. Why here?”

  “I haven’t told him,” she hissed. “Please don’t drop that bombshell on him. This is something I need to figure out how to tell him. I brought him here because it’s beautiful. I wanted to show him around the area—just in case we never come back here, seeing as how someone is trying to steal our family’s home,” she spat out.

  “No one is stealing anything and he will definitely be coming back here. I don’t give a shit if you come back. I will see my son and he will visit me here.”

  “Keep your voice down. He doesn’t know about all the drama between us.”

  “Tell him or I will. I want to see him. I want to hang out with my son so I can get to know him,” I whispered. “He deserves to know he has a father that wants him.”

  She rolled her eyes. “It isn’t quite that easy. I can’t just drop that kind of a bombshell and expect him to take it in stride.”

  “You should have thought about that before you kept him from me. Hasn’t he asked who his dad is?” I asked, fighting back a fresh wave of anger at her deception. “Doesn’t he wonder why he doesn’t have a dad? He seems like a smart kid, and I have a feeling he would ask questions.”

  She shrugged. “Yes, but he knows his father isn’t around.”

  “I am too!” I boomed.

  “Shh! Keep your voice down or this is never going to happen!”

  Glaring at her, I barked back, “Yes, it is. You aren’t running the show here, Ashley. I have rights.”

  “Only if I say you do.”

  I scoffed. “No. You are not the queen bee here, Ash. The judge gets to decide. You better sit back and get ready for what I promise is going to be a very rough ride if you keep this up.”

  I turned away, looking for that water bottle so I could grab it and get the hell away from her. Before walking away, I turned back to look at her. “Why? Why would you not tell me about our child?”

  I asked the question in a soft tone. I was a little ashamed at how raw it sounded, showing my vulnerability, but it was a question I’d asked myself over and over. I couldn’t understand why. She didn’t have to be with me, but why take my son away?

  Tears welled up in her eyes. “I don’t know,” she choked out. “I don’t have a good reason.”

  I knew the pain in her eyes reflected my own. It was a tragic story. One silly choice had set us on this collision course of pain. It was her choice. I was never given a say, and that was what killed me inside.

  I stared at her, trying to understand, but I knew there would never be a better answer, never be a real reason behind her actions, because there wasn’t one. It was in the past. All I could do was hope the future was better.

  “Thanks for showing me your rocks, Jasper. I’m going to go now. Maybe I’ll see you later,” I told him before looking over my shoulder to catch Ashley glaring at me.

  Glaring back at her, I quickly turned at the sound of his voice.

  “It was nice to meet you,” he said. “When I get more rocks, I’ll show them to you.”

  “I would really like that. Maybe I’ll see you in a couple days,” I told him, turning to watch Ashley’s reaction.

  She was practically chopping me up with the little daggers she was shooting out of her eyes. I grinned at her, knowing it would piss her off. She turned back around, and with her back to me, I made my move. I snatched up the kid’s water bottle without him noticing and stashed it in my knapsack before waving and heading back down the trail.

  The walk back to my truck felt too long. I wanted to put some distance between myself and Ashley. She had a funny way of making my world feel a little off-kilter. As I walked, I thought about Jasper. I couldn’t believe how smart he was or how much he looked like me. The water bottle would prove he was mine and then I could sue her for custody. I didn’t want to take him from her, but I was sure as hell going to know my son.

  She wasn’t going to keep him away from me and in New York. No way. I would have a relationship with him. He would visit me at my house on weekends. I knew any judge would have to be sympathetic to my plight. The woman had run away with my child without giving me a chance to be a part of his life. That had to work in my favor.

  The DNA test kit should arrive tomorrow. I would overnight it to the lab, and hopefully I would know for sure that Jasper was mine by the end of the week. I was paying a ridiculous amount of money to get the results in two days. My lawyer was on standby, ready to file the paperwork. Ashley better hold on to her hat. I was coming for her.

  Chapter 11

  Ashley

  I had created the drama. I had no one to blame but myself for my current situation. I didn’t know what I was thinking when I’d chosen to keep Jasper from Brock, but I was going to pay the price for my stupid decision. I could
feel it. Brock was not the kind of man who made empty threats. He would have his lawyer on me, demanding custody, and I had a horrible feeling there would be little I could do to stop it from happening.

  I didn’t necessarily want to keep my son from his father, but I certainly didn’t want him sharing custody. We weren’t there yet. I wanted them to know each other, but the Brock I remembered couldn’t be trusted to take care of a houseplant, let alone a kid.

  I needed help. Janna was always the one I went to when I was in over my head, and right now I was in very deep.

  “Hi!” I said with fake cheeriness in my voice when she picked up the phone.

  “What’s wrong? Is your dad okay?” she asked, knowing me too well.

  “Yes. I mean no, but I’m hoping he will be. This is about Jasper,” I said.

  “What happened!?” she screeched into the phone.

  I took a deep breath. “He met his dad. His dad wants to get lawyers involved and everything is a mess. You have to come and help me,” I begged. “I need your business savvy to figure out this mortgage stuff with my dad, too.”

  Janna was savvy when it came to business. She could crunch numbers and find solutions that were impossible for others to see. Plus, I needed her. I felt like I was drowning and needed a friendly face to pull me out of the sea of turmoil I had been dropped in.

  “Well, considering my photographer is on vacation and I just wrapped up that deal in Paris, I think I deserve a few days off. I can be there this afternoon.”

  “Thank you! You’re the best. Text me your flight information and I’ll pick you up.”

  “See you in a while,” she replied.

  I felt instant relief knowing help was on the way. Janna would know what to do. She would give me solid advice I could use to save my dad’s farm and keep my son out of Brock’s hands. Janna would help me.

  I spent some time cleaning the house, a task that was sorely needed. It didn’t look like anyone had dusted in months or done any real deep cleaning. I dove right in, appreciating the busy work. It helped keep my mind off everything else that was happening in my world. I glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it was late afternoon. Janna would be landing soon. I hunted down Jasper and got him cleaned up so we could drive into town. I needed to pick up some groceries and then my best friend in the world. I was giddy with excitement.

  When Jasper saw Janna walk through the small airport terminal, he squealed and ran toward her.

  “Janna!” he yelled out.

  “Jasper!” she yelled back, making quite the scene in the small airport.

  I laughed and wiped a tear from my eye as I watched them embrace. They both loved each other a great deal. I was so thankful to have Janna in my life. She was my backup and had often been my other half when it came to raising Jasper. I could have never have gotten as far as I had without her help.

  “So, this is home?” she asked with a smile as we walked out of the airport.

  I nodded. “This is home.”

  She looked around, gazing at the tall trees. “It’s very pretty here. And it smells so good!”

  I laughed. “Funny. That was my first thought as well.”

  We walked to my rental car, which I realized I was going to have to turn in soon. I couldn’t afford to keep paying the fee. My dad’s truck would work perfectly fine for me to get around.

  We avoided talking about the pressing issues at hand in front of Jasper. Instead, Janna filled us in on her trip to Paris and all the goings-on back home. She informed me I had lost one of my biggest clients because I’d had to cancel the job. The client had initially told me they could wait a couple weeks, but apparently they couldn’t. Another photographer had been hired for the job.

  The news crushed a little piece of my soul. That client had been my step into the big leagues. I wasn’t mad at my dad, but I was pissed as hell at my siblings for making me be the one to come down here and take care of this. I’d gotten no warning, no advance notice so I could schedule a visit home around my commitments. Nope. I’d had to drop everything and rush down here to clean up a mess occurring right under their noses!

  When we got home, I introduced Janna to my dad. He was feeling a little wiped out and headed off to take a nap shortly after. So far, he had been handling the chemo fairly well, but he was exhausted. I guessed that was better than the million other side effects he could be dealing with.

  “Yes. You can go outside and play. Stay in the yard and don’t go into the cornfield,” I told Jasper, who had been chomping at the bit to get outside and dig. “And don’t leave holes everywhere, okay?”

  As soon as he was gone, Janna and I sat down at the table. I gave her the rundown on the family farm. She reviewed all the paperwork and shook her head, making weird sounds as she read.

  “Well?” I asked when she was on the last page. “What do we do?”

  She looked up at me. “This isn’t good, Ash. Not good at all.”

  I nodded. “Okay. How do I fix it?”

  A grimace. Not what I wanted to see.

  “Tanner needs to come up with money for the missed mortgage payments. It looks like this will be the fourth month he hasn’t paid, which means a short sale is in order. I’m sorry to say Brock isn’t doing anything illegal. In fact, he’s following the law down to every detail. He clearly doesn’t want to risk making a misstep and have his chances of owning the farm voided.”

  I groaned. “Are you sure? Isn’t there a law to stop the vultures from circling?”

  She laughed. “If only that were the case. Unfortunately, no. Unless your dad can come up with the total amount due, including the late fees and the fees for starting the foreclosure process, this Brock guy can buy the farm directly from the bank. Your dad will no longer have a say in the matter. And, Ash, I don’t know if you are aware of this, but your dad is upside down in this place. He is going to end up still owing the bank money unless this Brock guy pays double what the place is worth. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “Are you serious?” I asked in complete shock. “I can’t believe this is happening. How could he be upside down? He should have a lot of equity in the place.”

  “There was an equity loan taken out last year,” she said.

  “Dammit.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You want to know what’s really shitty?” I asked her.

  “What?”

  “My dad, Anna, and Hank don’t even want the farm. Leslie does, but I don’t really know why. I mean, why am I the only one trying to save this place? It doesn’t make sense.”

  Janna put a hand on my arm. “Because this is your home. This is the place where you have real roots.”

  I sighed. “It is. I know I don’t live here, but I can’t imagine it being gone. He wants to tear it down and build condos. How can he do that? Our rural area is going to be turned into a parking lot.”

  Jasper came back in. “Janna, you wanna see outside? Grandpa grows corn and tomatoes and all kinds of stuff, and he has a lot of rocks.”

  She giggled. “I would love to see corn growing. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a real farm before. Are you going to give me the grand tour?”

  Jasper looked a little confused but nodded and grabbed her hand.

  “Prepare to be amazed,” I said.

  My phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize, but it was from the local area.

  “I’ll be right out,” I told her as she let Jasper lead her out the door.

  I answered the phone, and my stomach dropped when the person on the other end identified themselves. It was Brock’s lawyer.

  “What can I do for you?” I asked in a curt tone.

  “Miss Parks, I was hoping we could come up with a custody agreement that would accommodate the wishes and needs of all parties involved,” he started. “If we can keep this out of the courts and don’t get a bunch of lawyers involved, it will be easier on everyone.”

  “You’re a lawyer. You seem to be pretty i
nvolved,” I shot back.

  “Well, now, that’s true,” he drawled in what I was convinced was an exaggerated southern accent. “However, I think you must know that once the DNA test proves my client is the father of your child, he has legal rights. I am only trying to protect his rights while doing what’s best for the child.”

  “DNA test?” I questioned, completely shocked to hear the words. “What DNA test? I never consented to a DNA test.”

  He cleared his throat. “Suffice it to say, a test has been submitted and the results are due back tomorrow. I was hoping to get a jump on things.”

  My mind whirred, trying to process the information. How the hell had there been a DNA test done? Didn’t that require a cheek swab by someone wearing a pair of latex gloves?

  “Sir, I don’t know what you are talking about, but I won’t talk about anything over the phone with an attorney who absolutely does not have my son’s best interest at heart.”

  I hung up the phone, unwilling to listen to another word. I stomped out of the house.

  “Janna!” I yelled.

  “Over here,” she called from the back of the house.

  I stalked my way to her. “Can you watch Jasper for a few? I need to go have a conversation with someone about a test.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “A test?”

  “Yes. A test. A test that would determine the, uh, background of a certain someone,” I said, looking down at Jasper’s head.

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. That was his attorney.”

  She shook her head. “Wow. The man has ba—”

  She stopped mid-word, realizing we were in the company of small ears.

  “I can’t believe he did that. I don’t even know how he could have done that. How?” I asked her.

  She shrugged. “Beats me. It sounds a little sneaky to me.”

  “Anyway, can you watch him and check in on my dad? He should be fine, but just in case.”

  “Of course. Go. I have enough in my savings to cover bail if needed,” she said with a wink.

  I chuckled. “That’s if anyone can find him.”

  “I don’t want to know. Plausible deniability,” she said, her hands up.