Heart on Fire

by Brandy L Rivers

  Rene burst through the door with an evil smile. “So, I found out who the father of Mila’s bastard is. Her ex, and he wants the daughter.”

  Kyle’s teeth ground together as he took a slow breath through his nose and let it out. With a snarl, he replied, “Mila says it’s not possible, and I believe her.”

  “Bullshit, of course she’s going to lie, especially since she’s using that little girl to win you over. If she loses her child, she no longer has anything to keep your damned interest. She’s brunette, blue-eyed, and a liar. None of the things you’ve gone for in the past.”

  Which was wrong, but arguing the point wouldn’t convince her. The stupid woman only considered herself in the equation.

  Kyle glared back at Rene. “Mila is not a liar. She left the man in question more than a month before she was with the father.”

  “And how do you know that for sure? She’s lying, because she doesn’t want her ex to have that baby.” Her voice dropped, “He left her and married someone else.”

  Anger darkened his tone. “Please, the man was engaged to another woman two weeks after she left him.”

  Rene crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk. “We’ll see how you feel when the paternity test comes back. She says she found the father. Maybe that asshole will sweep her away, and you can be mine.”

  “That’s never going to happen, Rene. Mila or no Mila, we are done forever.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not true. You love me.”

  He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “I’ve got news for you. What I felt for you wasn’t love. You only want me because I don’t want you. Get over yourself.”

  Her face crumpled. “Why are you so cold? You used to be sweet and caring. And now, you act as if you hate me. I don’t get it.”

  He threw his hands up. “You don’t want me! You want someone to mold into what you want. You’re looking at the wrong man. I’m done. And I love Mila Day, so that should be your clue there is no you and I.”

  “Love?” She laughed out loud. “You love her? You never once, in two years, told me you loved me. How can you love a bimbo you’ve known… for what… three weeks tops?”

  “She is not a bimbo,” he ground out. “And I do love her. It’s the only thing I’m sure of. Besides the fact that you have no clue what you’re talking about, contradicting yourself every other statement.”

  “Yes, well she’s fabricated some man who is also going to do a paternity test, at the same company. So when Paul wins, and she loses her little girl, you can thank me for warning you. Paul Galloway will wind up with that child, and it will crush her.”

  “Not going to happen,” Kyle growled at her through clenched teeth. “And I’m never going to want you back. So stop being a coldhearted bitch, and stop trying to hurt Mila. Do you have any idea what it would be like for her to lose Cherish?” He stormed past her, to the shower room. Before he got there, sirens blared to life.

  Turning in his tracks, he hurried to the garage.

  “Kyle, wait,” Rene called.

  He didn’t bother answering.

  Gavin yelled at her, “Go be insensitive somewhere else. We have an emergency, in case you didn’t realize what the bell meant.”

  Chapter 20

  Mila stood at the counter preparing dinner. Cherish washed the berries beside her. Fear flitted through her every time she looked at her daughter.

  What if I’m wrong? What if Paul is somehow her father? What if everything I thought I knew is wrong?

  She wanted to cry, but she had to pretend like everything was fine. Barb was gone. Dee was on another date. She couldn’t tell Cherish. Maybe she could talk to Cadence, who should be there anytime with Jenny.

  Someone rang the doorbell, and she hurried to the door. Cherish, of course, beat her there, throwing open the door with a squeal, “Jenny!” Her daughter’s smile fell when she looked up at Rene.

  “Hi, honey,” Rene smiled weakly. “May I talk to your mother, alone? Please?”

  “Momma?” Cherish looked up at her with a frown.

  She swallowed hard and sighed. “Go ahead, honey. Finish washing the berries.”

  A fire truck went screeching by, and her heart stopped as she watched it fly down the road. She knew Kyle was on it, and hoped he would be fine.

  Of course he’ll be fine. Oh god… why didn’t I tell him? What if…

  “You care about him, don’t you?” Rene whispered.

  She looked back and nodded. “Yes, very much. Kyle is a wonderful man.” Mila closed her eyes, her heart still thudding.

  The bitchiness seemed to drain out of Rene. “I have something that was faxed to my office. Paul Galloway wants to have a paternity test done.” Rene actually sounded sorry to be delivering the news, and looked even sorrier. “Is she his?”

  “No, Paul is selfish, and wrong. There was too much time between the last time I was with Paul and the man who is actually Cherish’s father. There was no one in between. Paul is not her father.”

  “Then I hope you are getting a paternity test with the real father, and he doesn’t try to screw you over.” Rene handed her the manila envelope. “Good luck, Mila.” She turned and walked back to her car.

  Mila stared after her, not knowing what to think. After all the mean, nasty things that woman said, she was having a hard time believing out of nowhere she was growing a heart.

  Rene climbed into her car as Cadence and Jenny came up the stairs. Cadence ushered Jenny in and whispered, “Please tell me she wasn’t causing more problems.”

  “No, not directly. It must be a miracle.” Mila looked down at Jenny. “Cherish is in the kitchen washing berries for a cobbler.”

  “Ooh, cobbler. Do you always have dessert?” Jenny grinned.

  Mila smiled, but she knew it didn’t reach her eyes. “Usually.”

  Cadence patted her daughter on the back. “Why don’t you two go play outside until dinner is ready?”

  The girls took off out the back door, giggling and chatting at a million miles an hour.

  Cadence turned to her, “You okay? You look rattled.”

  “Yeah, I can explain while I make dinner. You’ll likely think I’m crazy or hate me by the end.” She sighed and walked back inside.

  Leaning against the counter, Cadence asked, “What’s going on? Gavin says something’s up with Kyle. You were tense last night, even before Rene showed up.”

  “Besides Gavin, you can’t tell anyone this. Especially until we figure out how to tell Cherish. Okay?”

  “You got it,” she promised.

  Mila told Cadence everything while she made dinner and put the cobbler together.

  “Wow, I remember Kyle talking about that party, and the devil.” She giggled. “He was taken with you back then, even if he never saw your face. And he does care about your daughter. He did before he found out.” There was no doubt expressed, no accusation. Cadence’s trust made her feel better.

  “Thank you for not judging.”

  Cadence squeezed her arm. “Kyle is sincere. If he says he loves you, he does. You can see it when he looks at you, even when he looks at Cherish. I think you all are going to be happy. I hope your ex-asshole gets what’s coming. His shitty game is evil.”

  “Yeah, well, part of it was my mom, probably fudging on dates to make him think it was possible. Cherish was a couple weeks early, but not that early, and I know he heard about her before, so why now?” Mila brought the food to the table. “I can’t believe my mother would do this to me.”

  “I don’t get that either, but you said she tried to convince you to get rid of the baby before you had her?”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t. I never expected to run into the phantom again, or to fall for him, but here I am.”

  “So you do love him?” Cadence asked with a knowing smile. “Or is it too soon?”

  “I do, but I’m afraid to tell him. The what-ifs plague me. What if I say it, and he realizes he doesn’t. What if we move forward, and he decides
he can’t stand me? What if I’m wrong?” Mila took a slow breath and fought back her tears.

  “If he didn’t love you, he wouldn’t have said it. I guarantee he never once told Rene he loved her and they were together almost two years.”

  “Really?” That was a surprise, not that he wouldn’t say it if he didn’t mean it. But he didn’t love Rene? As obsessed as she was, Mila assumed he had to have loved her once.

  “Trust me. Besides, what’s not to love about you? As horrible as she was, you kept your cool and politely brushed her off. You were even nice when she showed up unexpected, while she handed you the order for the test.” Cadence squeezed her arm. “Trust me, Kyle truly does love you, too fast or not. Sometimes people click, and you two have.”

  Mila traced the edge of the table. “You’re right. I should tell him. Maybe tomorrow. If I see him.”

  “I’m positive you will. In fact, I’m willing to bet he’ll call or text as soon as they are done with the emergency.” Cadence gave her a warm smile. “He’ll feel better if he hears your voice. So make sure to answer the phone.”

  Nodding, Mila agreed, “I will. I need to hear his voice too.” And maybe tell him. Saying I love you on the phone the first time would be cheesy, but showing up at the firehouse with Cherish in tow seemed like a poor idea. She took a stalled breath and looked at Cadence. “I wish I’d told him this morning. I froze, still afraid.”

  “I bet he understands. Now let’s get the girls, and if you need suggestions on figuring out how to tell Cherish about her daddy, I’ll do my best to help you come up with ideas.”

  Chapter 21

  “You fucking piece of shit!” Sonny Larkay yelled at Julie, his wife.

  Why they were still married was beyond Kyle. They seemed to hate each other. In fact, Julie was trying to tear out of Gavin’s hold to get at her husband. To do what, Kyle wasn’t sure, since they were both cuffed and about to be arrested.

  They were called out to stop the fire that started while they were fighting. Both Julie and Sonny were bruised and swollen. Apparently, they knocked over several lit candles while they tousled.

  Luckily, the fire was easily contained and there wasn’t much structural damage to their trailer. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time they’d been called out for a similar occurrence, and wouldn’t be the last.

  All he could think about was Mila, and Cherish, and what Mila had to be going through. Was Paul like Sonny? Would he have treated her like that?

  Kyle was fully prepared to do anything and everything to keep their daughter away from that scumbag. Even if by some chance Cherish was Paul’s.

  Don’t even entertain that thought. Cherish is mine, I can feel it in my soul.

  Finally, the officers dragged the Larkays into separate police cruisers. “Are we done here?” Kyle asked Gavin, as they cleared up and reloaded the truck.

  “Yeah. You must be happy they don’t live next door anymore.” Gavin laughed. “I doubt anything tops your gorgeous neighbor and her adorable daughter. Your daughter. Who’d have thought the world was so tiny.”

  “You have no idea how good it is to be rid of the Larkays. As for Mila and Cherish—I’m the luckiest man alive.”

  “I wonder what Rene was doing over there.”

  “I don’t want to think about it. I can only imagine she went to stir the pot. Mila is already nervous enough about the ex.”

  As they were climbing back on the truck, Gavin shoved his shoulder. “So call her. You know you will feel better when you do.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Kyle dug out his phone and dialed.

  She answered before the first ring finished. “Are you all right?” she asked breathlessly.

  Christ, she’d been worried about him. That made him smile, but he hated she was scared. “Yeah, especially now that I hear your voice.”

  “Same here.”

  “Are you okay? I saw Rene’s car out front on our way down the road.”

  “Yeah, Cadence is here with Jenny. I miss you.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

  “What did Rene want?” He squeezed his eyes shut, and scrubbed a hand through his hair. Hopefully she wasn’t a total bitch, but with Rene, that was the most likely scenario.

  “Officially, to drop off paperwork about the test Paul wants. She asked me if I cared about you.” He heard her chair scrape the floor, and then the sliding door as she stepped outside. “Which I do, more than care about you.” She paused, and knew what was unsaid. The fact it was on her mind was enough for now.

  “I know.”

  She continued as if she hadn’t heard. “She asked if Paul could be the father, and I told her no. She wished me luck.” Mila sighed, he could see her shrug.

  The results couldn’t come fast enough. Once the truth was out, and everyone knew, he could put Rene in her place, and hopefully keep her there. For now, he had to walk a fine line of trying to shut Rene up without telling her the truth.

  “I’m sorry.” He wished he could pull Mila into his arms and hold her. She didn’t deserve any of this mess. He wanted to take away her fear, her doubt, and fill her with love. “And I miss you too. I simply needed to hear your voice.”

  “Me too. I feel a thousand times better knowing you’re okay. And…” her voice dropped to a whisper, “I love you, Kyle.”

  His heart tried to beat out of his chest as the words warmed through his soul. “Mila,” he whispered, “I wish I could be there right now.”

  “Me too. I have to go. Cadence and Jenny are still here. I’ll talk to you later, if you have the chance.”

  “Okay, later.” He hung up, but didn’t put the phone away. Instead he let the words sink in. He was on cloud nine, everything was right in his world.

  Gavin slapped his shoulder. “Told you. I knew you’d feel better if you heard her voice.”

  “About a million times better. She said it, I think she meant it. She looked like she wanted to say it this morning, but that was right after she received the call from her ex. God, what an asshole.”

  “Hey, you’ll prove it with a test, and everything will be fine. Don’t stress, dude. It’s meant to be.”

  “I hope your sister finally gets the message and leaves us all alone.”

  “My sister is a selfish bitch, but she’ll get over it. I’m sure Mila told her how she feels about you. Maybe Rene will finally admit defeat.”

  “Like Mila doesn’t have enough to deal with without Rene’s games. I’m sorry, but I’m not forgiving her anytime soon.”

  “Don’t blame you. I honestly hope she is truly sorry.” Gavin sighed. “I know she’s my sister, but I can’t support the shit she’s been pulling with you. With some of the other assholes she’s dated, fine. I considered it a what-comes-around-goes-around scenario, but you never deserved her bullshit.”

  “Neither does Mila. I can’t even deal with Rene. She wished some asshole would take our daughter. Who the hell does that?”

  Gavin harrumphed. “And you wonder why I never take my sister’s side?”

  “She’s your sister. I expect you to sometimes, but I can’t.” Kyle took a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t know how Mila lets it go so easily. She’s amazing.”

  Chapter 22

  The next day, Mila sat at her desk during lunch, staring at her trembling hands. She couldn’t even focus on grading the quiz in front of her.

  Kyle had left roses and a sweet note on her porch, but had to work early. He called to wish her a good day, before she left that morning. She hadn’t heard from him since. Now the what-ifs cycled through her mind, leaving her a nervous wreck.

  Someone shut her door. Mila jumped, looking up as the lock clicked into place.

  Kyle stood there with a basket and a smile. She finally started to relax.

  “Hey, skipping lunch?” he admonished.

  “Not hungry. I’m stressed out.”

  “I can help with that.” Kyle moved behind her, setting the basket on her desk before massaging her
shoulders. The tension melted away under his big, strong hands, making her feel cherished.

  “Mmm,” she murmured.

  “Anything I can do?” he asked softly.

  “You’re already helping, and I’m sorry I didn’t say it in person yesterday, but I love you.” She squeezed his hands. Standing, she turned to wrap her arms around his neck. “I love you. I’m afraid, but not of you.”

  “I know, baby. It’s okay. We’ll get through this. Vance says he’ll have the results by Wednesday. He’ll fax them to Paul’s lawyer as soon as he has the official report.”

  “He called with the details. So did Paul and his lawyer. Then Vance called again to tell me he was arranging a restraining order until the test results were back.” She leaned into Kyle, letting him hold her.

  “For what it’s worth, I wish I could take it all away.”

  “Thank you for stopping by. I needed to see you. And thank you for the roses, the note too. You made me smile, when I wasn’t sure that was possible this morning. Cherish tried to convince me to take them to her room, but they are on the mantle.”

  “Next time I’ll remember to send you both flowers.”

  Her heart melted further. “I hope those results are fast. I want to tell her.”

  “We could. I trust you,” he said so sincerely her heart stopped. “Of course, it’s up to you.”

  “Best to wait. As much as I hate it, it’s best to do it afterward.” She knew she was being overly cautious, but she was terrified she could be wrong, even though the math didn’t add up for Paul to be her baby’s father. She knew her body, knew Cherish was Kyle’s. “Especially if she finds out about the test, I don’t want her to know about any of it until after I have proof.”

  “You’re right. You have brains and beauty.” Kyle nuzzled her ear.

  She giggled. “I missed you.”

  He groaned. “I’d kiss you, but I don’t want to get you in trouble either.” He stepped back with a grin. “You have a group of admirers sitting outside your door, working on homework. One of them glared at me when I came in.”