Page 13 of Not the Bodyguard's Baby
“Mom is consulting? She hasn’t been in the office at all.”
“She must be doing it on the side. Had me bill her for my time.”
“And this didn’t raise any red flags?” Adam pulled into a nearby parking lot.
“No, Mom takes jobs a few times a year. Clients needing more privacy than security. The type of thing people don’t want to go through our office for but all on the up-and-up. I know better than to ask questions.”
“I didn’t realize she had clients of her own other than the ones she consults with us for.” When he thought about it, her side job made sense. Mom was an expert at setting up complicated security plans, and he knew she had contracted for Simon in the past. “So, what do you have on him?”
“No can do. Ask Mom. She said if anyone—especially you—asked, only she could answer. She even password-protected the file.”
Adam wished he had gone into the office. It was always easier to intimidate his brother in person. He checked the dash. One hour and fifty minutes until he could pick his mother up. “Thanks for not so much.”
“Anytime, bro.”
Adam headed to the nearest gun range. Target practice was a good way to work out his frustrations about the puzzle that was growing more complicated with every question.
* * *
September curled up with her feet beneath her in the big chair. Harmony had been sleeping when she left her in the nursery. Initially, she worried the care would not be adequate, but the nurses and caregivers cooed and fussed over each baby as they cared for them. They showed September what they were doing and even a trick for changing Harmony’s diaper faster.
Dr. Brooks sat across from her in another chair, feet crossed at the ankles. “Rayne, we often find that PPD mothers also carry stress from past experiences. I am aware your parents died when you were fifteen and you are not married to the father of your child. Both can cause stress in a new mom. Is there anything else I should know about you that may exasperate your postpartum depression?”
“My career is demanding. Everyone is always looking to see if I’ll slip up. I miss a note and Twitter gets a new hashtag. I wear a color that clashes with my eyes and the blogosphere turns my shirt color into the event of the week. I miss a dance move and it becomes a meme. I have been hiding out these past months under the guise of needing to detox. I have never done drugs, but with my reputation as a Christian singer with a virtuous lifestyle, my manager felt the truth would be worse for my career than the lie.” September paused. Shyla had wanted her to terminate the pregnancy at a private clinic near Puget Sound, but with Melanie Hastings’ help, September had ditched her guard in the Seattle Tacoma airport and rerouted to Chicago via rental car and train. The email to Shyla composed with Melanie’s help left her manager with little choice other than to accept and perpetuate the lie. “When I do return to work, I don’t want to hide Harmony, but I don’t know if I am strong enough to face the world. They will be merciless. My manager, Shyla, spent so much time exploiting my commitment to be a virtuous woman as part of my marketing. I think fans will feel I let them down. The thing I am most afraid of is all those teen girls who idealize me and wear purity rings because of my songs.”
“That is a lot to carry. Do you have any other family support? Adam?”
“Adam’s mother, Melanie, took me under her wing when my parents died. She has been there for me most of the past ten years. Adam was stationed in the Middle East when they died, and he was in the army for a few more years after that. I didn’t get to know him until about five years ago.” She didn’t want the doctor to think with the ten-year gap between their ages that anything had been going on when she was still a minor. Even last year the age gap had become one of the main reasons Adam left her. He didn’t see how the difference between twenty-five and thirty-five wasn’t nearly like fifteen and twenty-five.
Dr. Brooks raised her brows for the smallest of seconds. “That would be why you used her as your contact person?”
“Yes, she has helped me with everything the past six months. If her mother hadn’t fallen and broken her hip, she would have been here when I checked in. I asked them to call her and give her my code so she could contact me. She called last night and told me her mother was doing well and her sister was there, so she was coming back. I’m glad she’ll be here to help with Harmony.”
“Don’t you have confidence her father can take care of her?”
September studied her hands. If Harmony’s father even knew about her existence... “Adam is still learning.” It was as diplomatic of an answer as she could give.
“Rayne.” Dr. Brooks looked at her notes before continuing. “Adam isn’t the father, is he?”
September froze. “Why would you think that?”
“Whenever I ask you a question about Harmony’s father, you deflect or word your answer carefully. I noticed in the couple conversations I’ve had with him, he is also very careful.”
The doctor didn’t have any hard evidence. Would Family Services get involved if they thought Adam wasn’t the father? She had only dealt with them briefly after her parents’ death and didn’t want them involved in Harmony’s life. Shyla and the Hastings had helped her file for emancipated minor status, keeping her out of the system. But she had heard the horror stories in the news. “Since we aren’t married, the situation is awkward.”
“Another evasive answer. Who is listed as the father on Harmony’s birth certificate?”
“No one. Since I am not married, I didn’t have to name a father and felt that would be best.”
Dr. Brooks made a note.
Panic. Melanie had double-checked the law before proposing the plan, but what if they’d missed something?
“Although Harmony’s birth seems to have some anomalies, there is nothing I need to report to the state or Family Services. Even if Adam isn’t the genetic father, you chose him to care for your baby, and he seems to be doing well in that role. Nowhere in your forms did you write that he is the father, so there is no legal misrepresentation. My biggest concern is the family-therapy portion of your care. Should your sessions include Adam and his mother, or will they not be in your life once you are discharged?”
Outside of the window, the rain fell, obliterating the last of the snow until the next storm. “I am sure Melanie will be there. I am not so sure about Adam, but he is the kind of man with integrity, so whatever he says he will do, he will do.” Even if it means walking away from his heart. She admired his personal code of honor and loved him for it, even if it kept them apart.
“Very interesting word choice. I don’t think I’ve heard the wordintegrityto define a significant other in quite some time. If he participates in family therapy with you, I’ll keep that in mind. Enough of my grilling. What concerns you most?”
