Second Chance Pass (Virgin River #5)(69)

Paul went from Cameron’s office to the law firm at which Terri Bradford worked. For the first time he considered the fact that she worked for an attorney. She would know he had legal rights.

Terri was clearly surprised to see him. When she looked up from her desk, her eyes were wide and her expression completely baffled. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“We have to talk. Right now. Today. Have you eaten?”

“Yes, and I don’t want to talk. You’re getting married—you’ll be far too busy to think about me. It’s time for you to walk away from this, leave me alone.” When she stood up from her desk, he noticed the tiniest rounding of her middle and he tried to judge whether it was approximately three months or if maybe she’d just gained a little weight. Her br**sts were definitely larger, straining at her blouse.

“You’d better talk to me, Terri,” he said sternly. “I’m not going away and if I have to, I’ll get help. Legal help.”

She leaned over her desk, whispering, “What am I supposed to tell my boss?”

“Tell him it’s a family emergency. Because it is.”

She sighed, shook her head and went into her boss’s office. She came right back and fished her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk. As she walked toward the door, he grabbed her elbow with a soft hand, escorting her. She was small—much shorter than Vanni. Her shoulder-length dark hair was shiny and her blue eyes large, surrounded by tons of thick lashes. There was every reason in the world to be attracted to someone like Terri. He noticed her body had changed with her pregnancy; she was fuller, rounder—she definitely hadn’t been lying about the fact she was pregnant. The thing missing was that glow a woman carrying seemed to have—but that could be explained by her lack of a partner with whom to bring this baby into the world.

They weren’t even to the parking lot before she stopped walking, turned her eyes up to his and said, “You can let this go. It’s not yours.”

“What? How do I know for sure?” he asked her.

“What the hell does it matter? I’m not holding you responsible for anything!”

“I know,” he said. “I’m holding me responsible.” He looked around. Across the street was a small park. “Come on,” he said, leading her there. There was a bench under a big tree and not too many people around. “Sit down,” he told her. “We’re going to get this straightened out once and for all.”

“I don’t know what your problem is,” she said, sitting down, shaking her head.

“Yeah, you do. I can’t be sure which lie is the truth and which truth is the lie.”

“So?”

“So, if there’s any chance you’re carrying my child, I want to be its father. Is that too crazy for you to understand?”

“Even though you want nothing to do with the mother?”

“That’s not true, either. It’s not like that. If you’re the mother of my child, that comes with respect and support. I wouldn’t ignore your needs.”

“Oh? And how does the woman you plan to marry feel about that?”

“She’d expect nothing less.”

Terri laughed. “Jesus. Aren’t you all just so goddamn decent.”

He nearly flinched. “I need to be sure. I’m not walking away from this without some confirmation. I’m not going to miss out on any time with a child that’s mine.”

“Look,” she said. “It was close enough. I didn’t have anyone and you and I—I thought we worked pretty well. I thought I could pull it off, all right? You caught me. I knew I was pregnant before that night with you. I was thinking of ending it, the pregnancy, but I didn’t want to. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’m not going to let this be one of them.”

“Can you prove this to me with an ultrasound that shows you are further along than three months?” he asked.

“Oh, Jesus,” she groaned. “I don’t have to!”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to. I’ll hire a lawyer. I’ll sue you for my paternal rights, and to get me off your back, you’ll have to have a test.”

“What kind of test?” she asked, shocked.

“Amniocentesis. DNA.”

She went a little pale. “Does that involve a needle?”

“Yeah, it sure does. Unless we can get some easier answers from an ultrasound.”

“I don’t have another doctor’s appointment for three weeks. Maybe I can convince her to do an ultra—”

“You said your doctor was Charlene Weir. Who, by the way, isn’t in the book.”

“God, you remembered that?” She laughed. “Charlene Weir is my girlfriend. I just tossed it out there. I didn’t want you going to the doctor with me.”

“We’re not waiting three weeks, Terri. I have a place to take you for an ultrasound today. Will you go? Or do I have to hire a lawyer?”

“How can you waste money on something like that?” she asked, perplexed.

“It wouldn’t be a waste. I have to know for certain.”

“Is your fiancée making you do this?”

He stood up. “Not at all.” He held out a hand to her. “Let’s do it.”