Page 9 of Finding You

Instead of answering his father’s question, he said, “Tomorrow, Raven and I agreed to get the ball rolling on the paternity tests.” There’d have to be two done, one for each baby since they were fraternal twins.

“How long will that take? Because Raven will only be here for a week, and after that, I’m not sure where she’s going.”

His mother explained how Raven had ended up at the B & B in the first place. A friend of Raven’s had gifted her with a certificate that would cover seven nights at the bed and breakfast. Raven had also mentioned she had an aunt in town that she planned to visit, especially since she hadn’t met the babies yet.

The original plan was that her aunt and her cousin would watch the kids one or two days while in town, so Raven could get a little R & R, but those plans had changed. She found out her aunt wasn’t in the best health, and the cousin wasn’t dependable. Raven wasn’t comfortable leaving the twins with either of them.

“If there was no one here to watch her babies, why’d she still come?”

“Don’t you mean your babies?” his mother asked as she shot daggers at him.

“I said what I said,” Zion mumbled, but straightened when his father told him to watch his mouth. “Mom, why are you mad at me? If the kids are mine, then you’ll have the grandkids you’ve been hounding all of us for.”

His mother had been on a mission to get more grandkids and had gone as far as guilt tripping them. With his sisters, she’d even tried matchmaking, stating that all of them were taking too long to find mates. The one grandchild she had, thanks to his oldest sister Essence, was seventeen and planning on leaving for college in the fall.

Virginia smacked her lips, and her frown disappeared. “I know they are my grandkids despite what you’re telling yourself. And I’m mad, not necessarily at you, but at the situation. Raven is a sweetheart, and she’s had to raise Zanaya and Andrew on herown for the last three months. When all the while, we’ve been here.

“Do you have any idea how hard these months have been for her, especially with twins? If she’d known about us, or if we’d known about her, we could’ve helped. Alone and pregnant is scary enough, but once they were born, I don’t know how she managed two babies on her own.”

Zion felt like a jerk. He didn’t know anything about Raven’s situation. Was her aunt and cousin her only family? Where were her parents? Did she have any siblings? Who helped her when the kids were first born? Hell, how did she deal with being pregnant with twins… and possibly on her own?

He had more questions than answers. Instead of insisting he wasn’t her kids’ father, he should’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about her and the kids. The babies looked healthy, but what if they weren’t? What if they were healthy on the outside but had some health issues?

“What else do you know?” Zion asked.

His mother was a talker and could get anything out of anybody. She was the kind of person to make you feel comfortable with her from the minute you met her. And she was nosy as hell.

“Not a lot,” she said. “She drove here from Houston, and it sounds like she’s thinking about moving here. Which I hope she does, but she’s still figuring it out. I think she might be running from someone.”

A wave of protectiveness gripped Zion. His family often said he was a protector by nature, but this? This was different. He and Raven might’ve only had that one night together, but they’d had a connection like nothing he had ever experienced. Even today, as shocked as he was by everything he’d learned, he still felt a pull between the two of them.

“What do you mean she’s running from someone?”

His mother lifted her hands out in front of her. “I don’t know for sure, but it was something she’d slipped and said.”

“Which was?” Zion’s father asked.

“Gwendolyn helped her unload her SUV. Well, most of it. Just a couple of suitcases and a portable baby bed, but there was still a lot of stuff left in the vehicle. It looked as if she had brought half her house with her.

“So I asked if she had just moved to town, and she said maybe. Then, flustered, she said she wasn’t sure, and she was still figuring things out. After she warmed up to me, she said she needed to get out of Houston for a while because of her ex. I asked if she was in trouble and if the guy was abusive. She said not physically. They broke up a year and a half ago, but it sounds like he hadn’t come to terms with it. He was still trying to insert himself in her life, even with the kids, and Raven said she needed space.”

Zion almost said that maybe the kids were her ex’s, but he kept that thought to himself. He would know in a few days if the kids were his, and if they were, he and Raven could go from there. But whether they were or weren’t, he wanted them and their mother safe.

“How long will it take with the paternity test?” his father asked, probably thinking similar thoughts as he was.

“Maybe a few days. A week at most,” Zion said. His friend already knew that he wanted the tests expedited.

His father nodded. “Okay, and if it takes longer, we’ll make sure Raven knows she’ll have a place to stay.”

Zion wasn’t surprised. Despite them heading into a busy season with spring breakers, his parents were extremely generous. No doubt they were booked, but they wouldn’t put Raven and the kids out on the street. And if he was honest with himself, Zion knew he wouldn’t either. He had a three-bedroom,two-bathroom house, and they could stay with him if it came to that.

“I know we don’t have to tell you this,” his father started, “but if those children are yours, I expect you to step up like the man we raised.” The steal in his father’s tone left no room for an argument. In this case, his words were final, but they were also unnecessary.

“I will,” Zion said, meaning it. Despite the way he treated her earlier, he cared about Raven. No way would he turn his back on her and the kids. Then he met his father’s gaze. “And even if Zanaya and Andrew aren’t mine, I’ll do whatever I can for them and Raven.”

Raven Shepard.

Now that she’d stumbled back into his life, Zion had no intention of ever letting her walk away.

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