Page 85 of Resurrection

She rubs her forehead, and I ease my hand across her shoulders. She shifts closer to me and seeks shelter in my arms. I keep focused on Charles as I kiss her temple. He frowns and turns away.

Jay pokes his head in the front door. “We’re all set. Car seat installed. Everybody in. We gotta be there in an hour.”

We’re almost at the car when heavy footsteps sound behind us. I was hoping we’d be gone before Eric tagged along.

“Ah,” Charles says with a grin. “Here you are. I was afraid we’d have to leave without you.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Eric smiles and tries to catch Carys’s gaze.

She turns her face more into my chest. His gaze connects with mine instead, and his eyes narrow. “You’re going to have that satisfied smirk wiped off today.”

Carys stiffens in my arms.

I chuckle. “You know who else has a satisfied smirk these days?” When he doesn’t answer, I continue, “Carys. Whatever happens today, that will always be true. I’ve satisfied her in ways you never could.”

With that, Jay opens our car door with a flourish, and Carys enters first. When I glance over my shoulder, Eric and Charles are deep in conversation. Eric’s cheeks are red with anger, and Charles is trying to calm him down.

“Should you have done that?” Carys asks when I settle beside her.

I shrug. “Was I wrong?”

“No.”

“Then he needs to realize he isn’t winning you back. He’s cheating. He’s trapping you into something you don’t wantanymore. He’s no hero. I’m not letting him walk around pretending he’s some kinda savior.”

She undoes her seat belt and slips across the back seat bench. Her hand slides along my leg and she rests her ear against my chest. “I love this sound.” Her other hand is against my heart. “I want to hear it forever.”

I secure her close to me and kiss the top of her head. The selfishness I can’t seem to shake rears its head. At the back of my mind is the mantra:Please don’t let Lucas be her child.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Carys

Finn was somewhere in the building with the DNA samples. After a couple of hours, Eric gets up the nerve to speak to me. One plus of Finn insulting him—his confidence took a hit.

“We should discuss everything before he gets back.” Eric sips the coffee he bought from the café across the street.

He’s so tall standing in front of me that I’d have to crane my neck up to make eye contact or stand up. Neither appeals to me. I don’t look at him, and I stay seated in my chair.

“Or maybe we should wait for the results to make sure what we’re discussing is appropriate.” I flip through theVoguemagazine I found on a table.

“You realize Lucas is yours. Why would I lie about that?”

“Honestly, I don’t understand why you thought any of this was a good idea. The inner workings of your mind are a bit of a mystery to me.” I toss the magazine onto the nearest table and stand. “I’m with Finn. We’re together. What you think you’ll accomplish won’t happen.”

He raises his coffee and takes another drink. “I didn’t want to head in this direction, but you’re forcing my hand.”

“Welcome to my world,” I mumble.

“You gave up your rights with the paperwork your father had you sign.”

“Which I did under duress. I was deeply depressed. That can be proven with a few inquiries to my doctor.”

“Sure. Maybe. But your father will testify, if it comes to that, that you were of sound mind and body when you signed those papers.”

A denial rises in me. But we’re in this situation because my father believes he knows better than me. He doesn’t like Finn. Those two reasons alone are enough to prompt his interference. Add in Eric as a surrogate son after my brother died, and my protest is a waste of my breath. Even if my doctor would counter my father’s claim, the court battle might drag on forever. My father likes to win.

“Tell me what you want,” I say. “Then I can tell you how much you won’t be getting.”

---