As I walked, I imagined what I would do if I did happen to find Shayla here. I’d been so caught up in my trip that I’d forgotten that the last time we talked she told me never to speak to her again, and I prepared myself for the possibility that even if I did find her, the trip might’ve all been in vain.
The more I walked, the more I began to accept that my plan was silly, that the odds of me finding Shayla here were beyond slim. As I stopped to look out over the gorgeous lake, I decided that even if I couldn’t find her, at least I’d be with her in spirit. Even if I couldn’t be with her in person, I could at least be with a part of her history.
A low rumble sounded from above when I was about halfway around the lake. More flurries began to come down, these thicker and heavier than the ones before. Another chill wind picked up, and I realized that the time to end my walk was now.
But I was already halfway around the lake, so the only way back was the way I’d come. I started off, the snow picking up more and more with each step. It wasn’t long before my visibility began to drop. I tucked my head down and trudged on, the snow accumulating around my feet as I walked.
Then, out of nowhere, the cry of a baby cut through the low howl of the wind. I stopped in my tracks, looking around for the source of the wail. The snow blowing around me, I spotted the figure of a woman further around the lake. She struck me at once as very familiar, as though I’d seen her somewhere before.
I hurried on. And as I drew closer, I realized why the woman was so familiar.
Shayla.
At first, I was convinced I was seeing things, that she was the snow equivalent of a mirage. But the closer I got, the more certain I was that it was her. Through the blowing white sheets of snow, I watched as she tucked the baby close to her body and trudged away from the lake, toward one of the cabins.
“Shayla!”
I called out, but the wind had picked up to the point where my voice didn’t carry very far at all. I yelled out again, but it was no use. The figure disappeared into the snow and was gone.
All I could do was hurry after her. But the snow had picked up even more, and it was getting hard to walk. Then, as I tromped up the hill away from the lake and toward where Shayla had gone, I stepped on a patch of slick, wet snow and toppled over.
I hit the ground hard, cold and pain spreading through my body.
“Shit,” I yelled out, just as mad at myself as I was at the snow and cold.
Before I could climb to my feet, a figure appeared out of the snow.
It was a woman, but not the one I’d seen before.
Standing over me, the snow curling on the wind around her, she spoke.
“Are you Colton Cooper?”
Chapter 26
Shayla
The warmth of the cabin was the sweetest relief I could’ve imagined. I shut the door hard behind me, blocking out the freezing wind and blowing snow. As soon as I was safe inside, I set down Lucas and got out of my wet winter gear. Once everything was hung up, I rushed over to Lucas on the couch, scooping him up and looking him over.
He was a little red from the cold, but he had a big smile on his face. Relief washed over me as I realized that he was fine. The snow had been bad enough that I’d had to take him out of his stroller and leave it near the lake, but I figured I could go back and get it later. It wasn’t like anyone around here would be swiping an abandoned baby stroller.
I got Lucas out of his wet clothes and into some clean ones. Once he was changed, he let out an adorable little yawn.
“I think you’re about ready for bed, little guy,” I said, sitting down on the couch and holding him up on my lap. “Did you have a good first Christmas Eve, my love?”
He regarded me with a sleepy expression.
“Not much for conversation right now, I see,” I said with a smile. “Maybe in the morning.”
I carried Lucas to his nursery, tucked him in, and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. He let out a gentle coo in response.
“Night, night, darling,” I said before turning off the lights and shutting the door.
Once back in the living room, I regarded the small tree and crackling fire. Was this really how I wanted to spend my Christmases? Sure, being with Lucas was enough to make me happier than I’d ever thought possible, but there was still something missing.
Something more.
It was reasonably early in the evening, so I decided to have a cup of tea and cozy up in front of the fireplace with a book. Before sitting down I turned the stereo back on, Christmas carols starting up again as soon as I did.
Once I’d gotten settled in, however, a knock sounded from the front door.
I set the book down on my lap and looked around suspiciously. Who on earth would be coming over at this hour, and in this weather? I wondered if it was Richie, coming by in the blizzard to make another unannounced visit.
I set the book down and approached the front door. As I got closer, I could hear the low howl of the wind.
I placed my hand on the knob, no idea who to expect on the other side of the door. With a quick turn and a pull, I opened it up to reveal the very last person I’d expected to see.
Colton.
I was so stunned that I couldn’t even begin to think of something to say. When I managed to open my mouth, no sound came out and my breath caught in my throat.
“Merry Christmas, Shayla,” he said with a warm smile on his face. “Can I come in?”
In the back of my head, I remembered that he was still my enemy. But the shock prevented me from doing anything other than stepping aside and mumbling a “yes.”
I shut the door behind him and watched in disbelief as he took off his snow-covered coat and scarf.
“Oh, great,” he said, turning his attention to the fire. “Just what I need.”
He stepped over to the fire and squatted down in front of it, holding out his hands and warming himself. I continued to watch him as though he was some figment of my imagination, as though he’d disappear at any moment, and I’d wake up on the couch with my book in my lap.
Finally, I regained my ability to talk.
“Colton,” I said. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He turned, his handsome profile backlit by the flickering glow of the fire.
“I’m here to see you, of course,” he said with a smile. “I figured you’d be having another low-key holiday and decided to make it a little more fun. But this was a last-minute trip, so no Santa costume and bag of goodies this time.”
He turned around and took a seat in the chair across from the couch. Now that the shock was beginning to wear off, I began to remember why I hadn’t wanted to speak to him.
“Colton,” I said, speaking slowly and calmly. “Do you remember what I said the last time we spoke?”
“I do,” he said solemnly. “You told me to never talk to you ever again.”
“And…here you are,” I said. “Talking to me. In my home.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head, waving my hands in front of my face. “How did you even find me?”
“I wanted to talk to you, but when I went to your old apartment, I found out that you were gone, that you’d moved out of the city. I had no idea where you’d gone off to, but then I remembered that Holly Lake was a place that had been really important to you, and I figured that it’d be a good first place to start.
When I got stuck in the snow just now, I bumped into your friend Jamie. She recognized me, and I told her why I was here. And she was more than happy to let me know where you were living.”
Jamie. I’d deal with her later.
“And you just figured that you’d come up here and knock on my door and I’d, what, be happy to see you or something?”
“I didn’t know how you’d react, to be honest,” he said. “I knew there was a good chance that you’d just slam the door in my face.”
“I could still tell you to get the hell out of here,” I said. “It’s not as though I’m not still f
urious at you.”
“Please,” he said. “Hear me out before you make any decisions.”
I said nothing, crossing my arms in front of me and regarding him with an expression that said “fine, go ahead—say your piece.”
“Shayla,” he began. “A year has gone by, and I’ve thought about you every day. I know the time we spent together was short, but you left a mark on my heart that won’t go away. And I didn’t admit it to myself at the time, but when you told me that you never wanted to hear from me again, it was like something had been ripped out of me.”
I continued to stay silent, but I felt my expression begin to soften.
“I was in something like shock,” Colton went on. “The Christmas we spent together was one of the happiest I’ve ever had, and though the holidays aren’t exactly the most joyous time of the year for you, I knew that you had to have felt the same way. I started to get ahead of myself and wonder if maybe there was a future for you and me. It sounds silly considering what happened next, but you had an effect on me that made me feel like a kid in love for the first time.”
My arms fell to my sides. I wanted to stay mad, but his words were making it hard.
“I don’t know what I did to make you so mad. But I swear that if I could go back in time and undo it, I would. I’ve tried to live without you, but I know now that I can’t.”
He paused and looked away for a long moment, as if trying to gather the courage to say what he now had on his mind. Finally, he spoke.
“And the baby,” he said. “You’re a mother now?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’m a mother.”
Even though it’d been months since Lucas was born, it was still strange to refer to myself as a mom. But just saying the word caused a surge of joy to fill my heart.
“And…your baby. He can’t be more than a few months old.”
I nodded. I could tell he’d put the timeline together in his head.
“Then that means…he’s mine?”
I took a deep breath and let the air flow evenly out through my nostrils. I turned my gaze toward the fire.
This was it. This was the moment when the truth I’d tried to run from had finally caught up to me. And there was no use lying, even if I wanted to.
“Yes,” I said. “He’s yours.”
“He?” asked Colton. “He’s…a boy? I have a son? What’s his name?”
“Lucas,” I said. “After the foster father who lived in this house.”
“Lucas,” he repeated softly. His eyes glistened with what looked like tears. But he composed himself before one could leak out. A smile of total peace and contentment hung on his lips, as though he’d just been given a piece of news that would make the rest of his life fall into place.
But then a thought occurred to me.
“Wait a minute,” I said. “What are you doing pretending like you don’t know about all of this?”
Colton frowned. “What are you talking about?” he asked. “I had no idea about any of this. Until today I had no idea where you lived, let alone that you had a son.”
Now I was the one who was confused.
“But you denied the paternity. You told me to never talk to you about any of this ever again under threat of defamation.”
Now he was looking at me like I’d just started speaking in tongues. He raised his hands, as if to say “Okay, you need to slow down.”
“Shayla,” he said. “I, honest to God, have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re really going to need to fill me in on some details here.”
“Richie,” I said. “He told me that he wrote to your legal team, letting you know that you had a son. And he told me the response from your lawyers was that you’d deny the paternity with everything you had, and if I pushed the matter, you’d take me to court.”
“He sent this to my legal team?” he asked.
“That’s what I just said.”
Colton shook his head in disbelief.
“Shayla,” he said. “I don’t know what else to tell you, but my lawyers never approached me about this.”
I sat there stunned for a moment. Then I remembered the letter that Richie had left.
“Hold on,” I said.
I shot up and hurried into my office, rooting through my files until I came across the letter. Upon seeing it, a fresh wave of anger ran through me.
Document in hand, I returned to the living room and shoved it in Colton’s face.
“Here,” I said. “The letter your legal team sent me to basically tell me to screw off. Or was it such a minor detail to the ultra-important Colton Cooper that you’d forgotten all about it?”
He took the letter out of my hand and began reading it eagerly. I dropped back into my seat, watching his eyes scan over the paper. When he was done, he looked up at me, a shocked expression on his face.
“Shayla,” he said. “I don’t know what else to tell you but this—that letter is a forgery.”
“What?” I breathed. I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right.
“Trust me,” he said. “I’ve read through enough letters by the legal team to know what they look like. And this…I mean, it looks similar enough, but there are all kinds of little details that aren’t right. It’s a fake, there’s no doubt about it.”
I sat back, not sure what to make of this.
“Shayla,” Colton said, speaking slowly and calmly. “This is the absolute first I’m hearing about any of this. I would never lie about something so serious as paternity. And I’d never, ever react that way after learning I was a dad.”
It was so strange. I couldn’t quite process what I was hearing.
“Let’s try and work this out rationally,” he said. “What was the reason that you told me never to talk to you again?”
I scoffed and crossed my arms. “Now you’re going to try to get out of that?” I asked. “Unbelievable.”
“I’m not trying to get out of anything,” he said. “I just want to know what I did to make you cut me out of your life so drastically.”
I was shocked he didn’t know. But the news about the paternity had turned me upside down. So I indulged him.
“The logo,” I said. “The Pegasus that I left in your office after me and Richie’s presentation. You took it and made it your logo.”
“I did,” he said. “What about it?”
“You stole it from me!” I said, jabbing an accusing finger in his direction. “You took advantage of the fact that the logo wasn’t copyrighted and used it, knowing that you wouldn’t have to pay a penny. And you had to know that I’d find out eventually. You just didn’t give a damn.”
However shocked he was before was nothing compared to the look on his face now. He looked like I’d just told him that he’d been living in a simulation his entire life.
“What?” he said. “Shayla, I used that logo because you let me. You sold it to me, fair and square.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Chapter 27
Shayla
Something was unraveling in front of me. For the last year I’d been under the impression that Colton was nothing more than an underhanded liar, and I’d been ready to spend the rest of my life thinking that. But now, here he was arguing every detail of what I thought I knew.
“Tell me what you think happened,” I said.
“It’s very simple,” Colton said. “I loved your Pegasus logo from the moment I saw it. Not only was the work incredible, but it was also just the sort of image I wanted for the new look I was planning on the release of the virtual reality program. So, on the first work day of the New Year, I gave Richie a call and let him know I wanted to buy it.”
“You did…what?” I asked. My voice wavered, and I put a hand out to steady myself.
“He told me he’d run it by you and let me know what you said. An hour later he gives me a call and says that you signed off on it and that my offer was fine with you. So I sent him a wire payment. He said he’d add it to your next bonus. And that’
s all there was to it. Or so I thought.”
I must have been pale as a sheet, because he leaned forward and clapped his hands down on his knees.
“Wait, you think I just stole it from you? As in, I saw it and just decided to make it mine without paying you or giving you any kind of credit? Did you check the website where I make sure to have you listed as the creator of the logo?”
I hadn’t. I’d been so mad at Colton that the time Richie showed me the logo was the last time I’d looked at the site.
“I couldn’t believe that you’d done it,” I told him, “but that’s what Richie said, and I just figured that I’d misjudged you. That while you seemed like such a great, caring guy on the surface, it was all to hide the calculated businessman you were underneath.
“And Richie was so convincing. He told me that what you’d done was par for the course with men like you. He told me that it was good I learned the lesson now, before I got burned even harder in the future. So, I decided to cut you out of my life.”
“Richie,” Colton spat. “He’s the common denominator in all of this. He’s the reason that you and I have spent the last year away from each other, and he’s the reason I’m just now finding out about my son.”
He was right. Richie was at the center of the lies that had shaped my life for the last year. If he hadn’t done what he’d did, then…I couldn’t even imagine what my life would look like now.
But I had to be sure.
“You can prove all of this?” I asked Colton.
“I can,” he said. “I made a payment to Richie, and he signed the documents giving me rights to the Pegasus design. As far as the matter of the paternity question, well, it’s harder to prove that something never happened, but you can ask my lawyers and judge their confused expressions for yourself.”
I knew that none of this was going to be necessary. Sitting there with Colton, watching his face and hearing his words, I knew that he was telling the truth. The man across from me was the man that I’d known him to be. And the man Richie had warned me about was nothing more than a figment of Richie’s imagination.
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