Heart on Fire

by Brandy L Rivers

  “What will it change, Paul? You were engaged to Leslie two weeks after I left you. So, why would you do this now?”

  “Leslie can’t have children. I know I can. Cherish will fix my marital problems.” Total typical asshole male thinking the woman was the problem.

  Reality finally sank in and Mila squeezed the phone tighter. The bastard wanted to take her little girl. When she finally found her voice, it came out hollow. “Send the paperwork. You’ll find yourself wrong.”

  She hung up and got out of the bed to find something, anything to wear. “Oh god,” she whispered.

  “Is there any chance you’re wrong about the timing?” Kyle asked sadly.

  “No.” She shook her head but wouldn’t look. “Probably best for you to do the test as well, because no one believes me.” She let the tears fall, she didn’t even try to keep her emotions bottled up. Pulling on a robe, she wound her arms around herself and stared at the wall.

  Kyle pulled her into his arms, her back against his chest as he put his chin on her shoulder. “I believe you. I don’t need a test.”

  “No, we should,” she whispered. “My mother told Paul about Cherish. Probably hoping I would go home. That hasn’t been home since I left for college. This is my home now.”

  His voice was full of tenderness. “We’ll fix this, Mila. It’s okay.”

  “She’s not his, I swear. It was at least six, probably seven weeks, between the last time I had sex with him and you. We had problems with our relationship before I ever ended it. I don’t even know what I was waiting for.”

  “Hey now, Mila, if you want to do the test, that’s fine. Means we should probably wait to tell Cherish, on the off chance he’s right.”

  She nodded, her heart aching.

  Kyle turned her gently and brought her gaze to his. “But I don’t believe him for a second. He sounds like an asshole. Only interested now that his wife can’t have a kid. Seriously? He never cared before, and probably knew about Cherish all this time. Now, when it suits his marriage, he would come and try to take her away from you? That’s not going to happen. I won’t let it.”

  “Kyle, he’s a lawyer. If he believes she’s his, then he can force the issue. I don’t know what to do…”

  “No problem. This is easy. We’ll do the test, and get it as quickly as we can. You can let him have the test done and it won’t make a difference, especially when the results come back that I’m Cherish’s father.”

  All her doubt about Kyle evaporated, but now, with this lingering, she couldn’t say the words. More than ever, she didn’t want to trap him. The what-ifs reared their ugly head, sending her mind reeling.

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead, gently sweeping his hand up and down her arm. “Do you need to call your mother? Explain the situation. Maybe she hoped you would go back home and wind up with him. You said she wanted that before.”

  “Paul is married. The ceremony happened before Cherish was even born.”

  He growled, “Like I said, he’s an asshole.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. “I should call Mom, but I don’t want to talk to her. God, why would she do this?”

  Mila tried to move away, but Kyle pulled her back and held her tighter. “Mila, call her and explain. Maybe she can talk to him.”

  “You don’t know Paul. It won’t stop him from pursuing this. I honestly believe if he thinks there is a chance in hell Cherish is his, he will do everything in his power to take my daughter from me.”

  “He has no ground to stand on. We’ll figure it out.”

  “He’s not listed as her father. No one is because I didn’t know, and that makes me a whore, but damn it.”

  Kyle caught her chin, bringing her eyes to his. “You are not a whore, Mila. You are not the first woman to have a one-night stand, and you are anything but a whore,” he told her adamantly. “Don’t ever let me hear you say that again.”

  Tears fell down her face as she chewed her lip. “But…”

  “Shh. Don’t.” He dried her face, gentling his tone. “Mila, I’ll be with you every step of the way. I love you.”

  How could she believe that when she didn’t deserve him? This was all her fault. With a sigh, she stepped back. “I’ll call my mom.”

  Nodding, he let her move away but never took his eyes off her.

  She took her phone, moving to the window to stare into the yard below. Pressing speed dial she put the phone to her ear and held her breath.

  One ring and Mom answered, not waiting for her to say anything, she started in, “What do you think you’re doing? Telling him he can’t possibly be the father?” Her mother had the audacity to be outraged.

  She felt like she was pregnant all over again. This was the reason she went to live with her brother instead of staying with her mother. They could go round and round and never get anywhere because neither would budge.

  Holding her anger in check, she shored up her courage, and stated facts. “I know who Cherish’s father is. I recently found out. And no, Paul is not him. It’s not even feasible for Paul to be her dad. It was almost two months between the last time I was with Paul and Kyle. It can’t be Paul.”

  “And how do you know his name after all these years? Are you making up a story to appease me? I still think Cherish is Paul’s—that you had a moment of weakness and let him in your bed again, winding up pregnant.”

  “Mom!” The air left her lungs on an exhale and she sucked in a breath. That her mother could think that hurt and pissed her off. Mila didn’t bother holding back her temper. “He was engaged to another woman two weeks after I left him. That should tell you something. He’s not the father, and you had no right to talk to him. He hasn’t been a part of my life for years. Never showed any interest in me, or in Cherish. Now he wants to take her away from me because his wife can’t get pregnant. Do you realize what that means? You would let him take away my little girl, and for what?”

  “Now honey, it would make things easier on you. He would have to share custody. It won’t be all bad,” her mother cooed.

  Mila slammed her hand against the wall. “She. Is. Not. His!” Her voice was forceful, though she tried to fight back the scream. “I know who the father is. I’m with him now.”

  “You are?” she whispered. “How is that possible? You didn’t know his name. Didn’t even know his face. How can you be so sure?”

  “It’s him, Mom. Actually, he’s my neighbor, but we didn’t figure out our previous connection until Friday. The point is, you didn’t have a right to even bring her up to Paul, who never had a claim to Cherish. It’s not even possible, so thank you for starting a legal battle.”

  “Truly? You know your neighbor’s the one?” Her mom sniffled.

  The fact that she even thought to appease the situation after causing it abraded. “Yes, and I’ll have a paternity test to prove it. You had no right to do this to me. To Cherish.”

  “I’m sorry, Mila, baby, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I hoped Paul would take you back.”

  “What? So I can throw away my career? Live in New York with a man who doesn’t respect me or my decisions? A man who happens to still be married? No, thank you.”

  “I’ll talk to him. I’ll tell him it was a mistake.”

  “It’s too late. Once he has his mind set, he won’t give up. I need to go.” Mila hung up, and when it rang again, she turned the damned thing off.

  “I’m sorry,” she told Kyle. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Hey, no big deal. People do these tests all the time. It’s not a problem.” Kyle smiled weakly.

  “You must have doubts,” she whispered, her heart breaking.

  * * * *

  As pieces of Mila’s past came out, her hesitancy made perfect sense. He watched all the expressions flow over her face. Hurt, anger, pain, betrayal.

  Tracking Paul down to beat some sense into him was awfully tempting. She needed reassurance though.

  “Mila, I don’t doubt you for a second.” H
e closed the distance and captured her face in his hands. “I believe you. We’ll do the test, and he can go to hell.”

  “Why believe me? No one else does. My mom—”

  He pressed his lips over hers, thumbing her tears away. “I trust you. You have nothing to gain by lying. And I love you, Mila.”

  She opened her mouth, and he kissed her again.

  “Don’t,” he whispered against her lips. Leaning back he gave her a warm smile. “You aren’t ready, but that doesn’t change the fact my heart belongs to you. We’ll prove the bastard wrong, and then, when things settle down, we can tell Cherish.”

  “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

  “I can say the same about you. Now, can I help you make breakfast? I hear them waking up down there. I know I should have left by now, but it’s too late to sneak out.”

  “Please. I’ll go down first. I planned to make bacon, eggs, and waffles,” she whispered, wiping at her eyes.

  Kyle placed a soft kiss on each of her eyelids, on her nose, both cheeks, her chin, then finally her lips. “We’ll figure this out. I’ll see about a fast test. Maybe we can dissuade him from perusing action if we can get the results first.”

  “He’s a lawyer. My guess is that he’s going to question even that.”

  “Well, I have a lawyer, a friend, in fact. I’ll ask him what he thinks. I’ll be down as soon as I get off the phone with him.”

  “Won’t you wake him?”

  “Nope, he’s always up early. Go, and I’ll be down in a few.” He kissed her again, and she went to the closet to get dressed while he did the same.

  He had every confidence in Mila. Now it was time to prove it. If he could turn back time and do one thing differently, he would have gotten that mask off her and begged her for her name and number.

  When Mila came out, he was sitting on her bed, waiting for her with a smile. “Go on down. I’ll be there as soon as I’m off the phone.”

  “Thank you, Kyle. For everything.”

  “I’d do anything for you.”

  She moved to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing a kiss to his forehead. She opened her mouth but looked away. He knew what was on the tip of her tongue, but he was finally understanding why she was afraid.

  “Go. I’ll be down in a few.”

  Nodding, she left, shutting the door behind her.

  He called his dad’s best friend, Vance, hoping he wasn’t already at a golf game. “Hi, Kyle, what’s up?”

  Kyle launched into the story, and by the end of the conversation, he felt better. Vance Jenson had some great ideas.

  * * * *

  “What’s wrong?” Barb asked as Mila bee-lined straight for the kitchen. The girls were still snoozing, but Barb had been up reading a book.

  Mila’s hands fisted, and she whispered harshly, “Got a call from Paul. Mom told him about Cherish, and because he can’t get his floozy of a wife pregnant, he decided Cherish has to be his. He wants to take her.”

  Anger flashed through Barb’s eyes. She sneered, “He can’t do that, that’s ridiculous. Get a paternity test.”

  “Yeah, going to do that. I’m having Kyle do one too, so no one can argue.” She swallowed hard, and looked into Barb’s eyes. “He says he believes me. With that call though, I don’t see how that’s possible. I can’t believe my mother thought calling Paul would help me in any way. I could strangle her.”

  Barb winced. “Unfortunately, you wouldn’t, because you know it’s her crazy-ass attempt at showing you love—which by no means excuses her actions.”

  Mila looked away, realizing Barb was right.

  Taking her hand, Barb added, “She’s fucking nuts though. Things were falling apart between you and Paul even before you left him. The timing doesn’t even work. You couldn’t have been pregnant with that little bitty costume you wore. I think I would have noticed, Miss Flat-and-Toned.”

  “Kyle said the same thing, but how does he know I didn’t have sex for that long? And Cherish was a couple weeks early, but my period was always like clockwork. Even after I stopped taking birth control.”

  “I know your girl isn’t Paul’s,” Barb offered with a grin.

  “I’m so freaking stupid. I was sure I was done with men, and would focus on my career. One night, that’s all I wanted. One night to be wild and crazy and do what I never do. I love Cherish to death, and I don’t regret her for a second, but this whole situation is screwed up.” Mila paced away, trying to reign in her temper. She was mad at herself. “Mom… she must have thought Paul could be the father. Now he’s going to try to fight for her.”

  “Paul won’t win. Don’t let him ruin this thing between you and Kyle. He’s perfect for you, and if he says he believes you, he must. That man doesn’t strike me as a liar. In fact, he strikes me as incredibly honorable. So remember that.”

  “Okay.” She twisted the hem of her shirt. “I need to get breakfast going. He’ll be down in a few. He’s calling a lawyer.”

  “A lawyer? You think that’s necessary?”

  “He wants to have the bases covered, and he’s a friend of his. Besides, Paul is a lawyer, and without the test, he’d probably find a way to take Cherish from me. He’s that kind of asshole. I still think he put Leslie up to asking me to be her maid of honor.”

  “Wait, what? You never told me that.”

  Mila turned back with a smirk. “You’d have found her and beat the hell out of her. I know you have my back, but I’d rather you not go to jail because my ex is an entitled asshole.”

  “I would have done it anyway,” Barb grumbled before helping with breakfast.

  They had everything ready to go half-an-hour later. Kyle was still upstairs. Her hopes were falling, maybe she was wrong. Maybe his conversation caused him to doubt her story.

  She couldn’t blame him. She might not believe her, if she were him. There were too many things going against her.

  Trying to block the warring emotions, she stared out the window, waiting for the girls to be ready for food.

  Kyle came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. “Vance says we can have the results by Wednesday. He’ll have it arranged, it’s a well-known company, very respectable. All we have to provide is a few hair samples from each of us. He’s even going to have something drawn up, requesting the test, so your ex can’t fight it when it comes back with the expected result. Hopefully it takes this slime bag a few days to be prepared enough to put something together.” He kissed her ear. “If that upsets you, I’m sorry. I only want to make this easier.”

  “You are,” she whispered, turning to drown in the emotion shining back at her.

  Kyle always knew what she needed, whether it be words or actions. The words “I love you” were on the tip of her tongue, but Cherish and Jenny came bouncing into the kitchen.

  “You’re here, Kyle!” Cherish squealed and wrapped her arms around both their legs. He reached down, putting a hand on their daughter’s back.

  Hope flowed through her, threatening to bring her tears back. They could really be a family. There were still too many things waiting in the wings to tear them apart. The what-ifs were terrifying.

  Chapter 19

  Kyle felt horrible leaving Mila Sunday afternoon but he was on shift. Barb was leaving, and Mila was a nervous wreck. She agreed he could talk to Gavin, who seemed to be on a mission to find out what the hell was going on. Even Cadence was nagging him.

  With Paul coming around, he wasn’t sure how much to tell them.

  Gavin would have his back. Kyle knew that without a doubt, but he still worried how the rest of the town was going to take the news. Not for himself, but for Mila, who hadn’t caught on to the fact most people would be happy for them after the shock wore off.

  Gavin followed him into the firehouse, took a look around and when he saw it was clear, asked, “So what is it? What has you so tightlipped?”

  Kyle clocked in. Then he turned to Gavin and discretely said, “We need some p
rivacy for this conversation, and besides Cadence, you can’t tell a soul. She needs to keep it quiet too. I know she will, but it has to be said.”

  “All right, dude. I need to know. You’re stressing me out.” Gavin dragged Kyle into the seldom used stretching room. “Spill.”

  He did, everything he could think to share. None of it seemed to surprise Gavin. No doubts. He simply listened, his smile never failing.

  “You have a family? This is what you want, right?”

  “Yes, definitely with all my heart. I want to tell Cherish, but with Paul…”

  “Dude, you have a family. I’m so happy for you.” Gavin slapped him on the back. “You love Mila, right?”

  “I do, I told her. I think Mila wanted to say it, but she’s so damned scared I’m going to be an asshole and hurt her. I mean, I get it. Sounds like this Paul was a real dick in the end, especially now.”

  “Yeah, I don’t envy you. This has to be hard on her. She is used to having Cherish all to herself. Now some douchebag, who isn’t even the father, is trying to take her away.”

  Kyle scrubbed a hand over his face. “I want her to trust me. How do I prove to her that I love her and our little girl? That I want to be a part of both their lives, not just Mila’s.” His chest ached. Finding patience wasn’t as easy as he imagined.

  “Oh Kyle, where are you hiding?” Rene called, and Kyle had the urge to punch a wall, which would do nothing but probably break his knuckles. “I have some great news.”

  His blood froze. Her snarky attitude could only mean one thing. Gavin and Rene’s father was the one that jackass Paul was going through for the local contact. She was daddy’s paralegal, and their firm handled that kind of shit. And it was pure shit.

  “I could get rid of her,” Gavin offered quietly.

  Kyle shook his head. “She’s not going to stop. May as well listen to the bullshit so she’ll leave. I wish I could tell her, but I don’t want to hurt Mila by letting a rumor start before it’s verified.”