Page 38 of Fighting His Fate
Memories of unreturned phone calls came back to him, voicemails claiming important conversations needed to be had, a letter in the mail… and suddenly he knew. He knew without a shadow of a doubt exactly what had happened. “Goddamn it, Joni, what did you do?”
20
Brett couldn’t have sleptif he’d tried. He lay on his stomach in the dimly lit room, staring at Theo and Toby in their baby carriers, talking to Joni in his head.
I wish you were here to help me figure this out.
Emotions swirled through his consciousness like a storm, grief and doubt mixing with elation and pride, a thundering of dread rumbling in the background.
How could these be his children? He’d long ago been told fatherhood was a scientific impossibility, yet here slept two sweet angels who were supposedly his own.
His mind needed confirmation, but his heart was not as smart. These boys had already attached themselves permanently to his soul, and he needed a paternity test at the first opportunity.
He frowned. He’d been hoping to get Grace on a plane, train, or bus back home today, but without the boys’ grandmother in the picture, he needed her here to take care of the children while he and HERO Force went after Fleming.
There would be no reprieve from wanting her, no much needed space between them.
He rolled on his side to watch her sleep, legs twisted in the covers and one calf hanging over the edge. He was sorry that he’d taken advantage of her, more sorry that he wanted her still.
When they got back home, he and the boys would find a new place to live. It was the least he could do after all she’d done for him. Leave her in peace and let her build a life without him standing awkwardly in the wings.
God, he’d need a house. A bigger apartment, at least. Babies came with tons of stuff, and he would need a place for it all.
The thought caught him off guard. Was he keeping these children, then? Joni and Luke had named him their guardian, but that didn’t mean he was up to the task. So many people out there wanted babies, were prepared to care for them. Surely Toby and Theo would be better off in a home like that.
A cavernous sadness hovered at the edge of his mind. Theo started fussing, and Brett got to him before the boy let out a cry. The twins didn’t sleep any more during the night than they did during the day, alternating between periods of wakefulness, sleep, bottles, and diaper changes.
It was obvious Grace needed the sleep more than he did, so he took care of the babies as much as he could during the night. She still had to get up twice, because he wasn’t an octopus, and one screaming child tended to wake up the other.
There was an intimacy in those midnight awakenings, the two of them moving quietly in the darkness, caring for the children and passing wipes back and forth despite the elephant in the room between them. He was no stranger to having a woman in his bedroom at night, though admittedly, he was usually awake for a far more enjoyable reason. That was about sex, not intimacy, and certainly not sharing poopy diapers and warming bottles of their special baby formula. It was moments like these that were sure to stick in his mind, and he reminded himself he couldn’t do any of this without her. The boys needed a parent far better than him.
He eventually drifted off to sleep an hour or two before dawn, waking to find Grace smiling as she gave Toby a bottle, the wide V-neck of her oversized shirt exposing the swell of her breast.
What a sight they made.
She turned her head toward him and he quickly closed his eyes, feigning sleep. Several minutes later, Theo cried out and he moved to pick up the other boy. He sat on his bed and opened a bottle, the boy hungrily sucking on it as he stared at Brett.
My son.
The enormity of it sunk in anew in the light of day. Brett looked at Grace. She’d fixed her shirt and lost the smile she’d worn so easily when she was looking at Toby. He braced himself for the conversation that needed to happen now. “You’re a nurse. How quickly can I get a DNA test to check paternity?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Paternity?”
“Yeah.”
Her gaze dropped to the baby in his arms, a subtle shift coming over her features. She was quiet for several beats. “They’re yours, aren’t they?”
“They might be.”
For a moment she said nothing, then she clucked her tongue and stood, tucking Toby into his baby carrier and turning back to Brett. She crossed her arms. “So, tell me, was she already dating your cousin when you slept with her?” She looked at the ceiling. “She must’ve been, time-wise. But that didn’t stop you, did it?” She shook her head, anger coming off her in waves. “You are unbelievable.”
That wasn’t how the boys were conceived, but her obvious lack of faith in his character dug deep like the twist of a knife. “You don’t have the slightest idea what’s going on here.”
“Then why don’t you tell me? Explain to me how it is youimpregnated your cousin’s wifeand are now the father of two beautiful little boys you want nothing to do with?”
“I told you, I haven’t seen Joni in five years, and for the record, I never slept with her.”
“Immaculate conception?”
