Page 23 of Finding You

“You don’t want to marry a police officer,” her aunt continued. “His job is too dangerous, and he probably can’t support you and the twins long term. Maximus and his family are wealthy, and if you would say yes to his marriage proposal, I’m sure he would adopt the babies.”

Raven’s mouth fell open. “Have you heard anything I’ve said over the last hour? There is no me and Maximus. He’s burned that bridge, and I have moved on. Even if I was interested in marrying him, he wouldn’t be able to adopt the twins. There’s no way their father would give up his rights.”

That was something Raven knew for sure. Zion might be waiting for confirmation from the paternity tests, but she knew he was the father. She also knew he would love and protect his children. He and his family would.

“But you said he didn’t believe he was the father. It doesn’t sound like he’s interested in the job. Why push fatherhood on him if there’s someone more capable, like Maximus? Another thing, I don’t think Zion is right for you.”

Raven gawked at her aunt. “What are you talking about? You don’t even know him.”

“I know his type,” she countered with attitude, and Raven rolled her eyes. “He’s probably one of those gigolos who gets with so many women, then impregnates them. Then after he plants his seed all over the place, he probably doesn’t even know how many kids he has.”

“Okay, I’ve heard enough,” Raven said, glad the babies were fed and changed because she needed to get out of there in a hurry. Otherwise, she might say something inappropriate to the woman who helped raise her. “I need to get going.”

“Why? Just because we disagree. You’ve never run away from a lively discussion before. Maybe it’s because you know I’m right.”

Raven released a humorless laugh. Fuming as she hurried and repacked the twins’ diaper bag, there was so much she wanted to say. Part of her wished she could just drop the conversation, but the other part of her needed to set a few things straight.

“First of all, Maximus is a misogynistic, narcissistic jerk. I wouldn’t marry him if he was the last guy on theplanet! I’m disappointed you think I should lower my standards mainly because he has money. I don’t care how wealthy he is. He’ll never be able to buy my love or my respect.

“Secondly, Zion is my kids’ father. While he might be struggling with the fact that he might be a daddy, I’m not concerned. He’s going to step up and do right by our kids. He is one of the nicest, upstanding men I’ve met in a long time. I suggest you stop talking about stuff you don’t have a clue about and not judge folks without getting to know them first.”

“Sweetheart, don’t leave like this. I love you and the babies, and I wasn’t trying to upset you,” her aunt said as she stood. “If you want me to meet Zion, I will, and I’ll be nice. I’m sorry for whatever I said that made you mad. Going forward, I’ll respect your decisions even if I might not agree with them. You know I love you, right? I’m just an old lady set in my ways.”

Raven huffed out a breath. “I know, and I love you too, Aunt Nancy.” Raven kissed her aunt on the cheek. “But we really need to be going.”

She slipped the kids’ huge backpack diaper bag onto her back and then grabbed a baby carrier in each hand. The twins were getting heavier. Soon she wouldn’t be able to carry them at the same time. However, right now, her anger seemed to give her extra strength.

“I’ll be in touch,” she said as she headed out the door.

The paternity test results couldn’t come fast enough, and when they did, she and Zion needed to have a long talk about the future.

Chapter Eleven

After changing out of his uniform, Zion set his duffel bag on the bench in front of his locker, then grabbed his cell phone from the top shelf. For days, he’d been checking his email for one message only. The results of the paternity test.

There’d been no news, and he debated on calling his friend at the lab. He didn’t. The guy had already told him they were swamped, and it could still take up to a week for the results despite him asking they put a rush on it. Still, Zion wanted the answers sooner rather than later.

For the last few days, it had been all he could think about. Not just because he’d find out whether he was a father, but also because of Raven. Now that he’d made up his mind that he wanted her in his life, it was hard to think of much else. There was still so much to learn about each other, but once he had his answers, he’d know what direction he needed to go with her and the kids.

With his phone in hand, he went to his emails, then froze when he saw the one he’d been waiting for. The one that could change his whole life. Before opening it, he inhaled a long breath, then released it slowly. All the noise around him—the loud talking, laughter, locker doors being slammed shut—driftedaway as he took another deep breath and released it. Then he opened the email.

“Zion,” someone called his name, but he ignored them as he skimmed the document with Drew’s name on it.

He ignored the lines of numbers and columns and went straight to the bottom of the page where it read,Probability of Paternity—99.99%.

Andrew was his son.

Zion read the results again before he clinked on the link for the second document.

Zanaya was his daughter.

He leaned forward with his elbows on his thighs and stared at the information. A tremor skirted over him as he gripped his phone tighter. Raven had been telling the truth. While deep down he had believed her, seeing the truth documented in black and white shook him.

He was a father.

He had twins.

He had a baby boy and a baby girl.

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