Page 106 of My Wife
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“My guess is she wasn’t sure it was your kid. Then she looked into possibilities of paternity, and they came up negative, leaving you the remaining option.”
Liam’s chest expands on a rough inhale. “Yeah. You’re probably right. I later found out she’d hooked up with half the team that season.”
I wrinkle my nose, but the theory fits with the Pamberlie I’d gotten to know. How she kept the kid from me and the rest of the family is a question I don’t have the energy to ponder, but she’d only returned to LA from Phoenix shortly before the wedding, so she was probably tracking down Liam and keeping the kid a secret.
He says, “In the documents, there was some fine print that I’d disregarded because the one time we were together, I told her that I’d never get married. I was like twenty-one. I meant it at the time. I’d only just met her that night …”
I squirm in my chair, not sure what to think or where this is going.
He stops moving and says, “After she left the kid with me and made it clear she had no intention of taking care of him, the attorneys drafted some documents. The little detail that I missed in my fog of shock was that it stated if I were to remain unmarried at the six-month mark since gaining custody if she wanted the kid back, she could petition the court. That also means she’d be eligible for child support. This was a little way for her to get around some of the laws in her state which prevented me from being required to provide funds since she’d waited so long to disclose paternity.”
“Knowing Pamberlie, and I do, along with Sorsha and Rexlan, I’m not sure that’s a great idea, but she is KJ’s mother.” I tap my chin. “I can’t help but wonder if this also has something to do with the alimony and trust fund tied to the father.”
“If that’s the case, sounds to me like extortion.”
“That would be quite the court case.”
Liam takes a breath so deep the earth rattles. “Pam is just in it for the money. The fine print also indicates that I’d have to sign over seventy-five percent of my salary to her. I don’t care about a penny, but I’m not going to let her use the kid for financial gain.”
Sorsha’s insistence that Rexlan get married so she can collect alimony comes to mind and I elaborate.
Liam crouches down and grips my knees. “Jessica, she left him here with a bag of clothes, a pet hermit crab, and a note. No indication that he’d been assessed for his hearing health. No—” His voice strains.
I swallow back emotion because KJ is such a special boy, I hate the idea of him being neglected and tossed from home to home for a payday.
“I’m the first to admit that I was awful. A bad dad. But?—”
“But you figured it out.” Nodding I say, “We’ll sort this out too.”
Hope flares in Liam’s eyes and a long pause stretches between us before he paces by the big windows in the loft.
“Let me get this straight. In the custody documents, Pamberlie temporarily waived parental rights, but the fine print indicates that if you remained unmarried by a certain date, and she wants to return to the child’s life, she can.”
“Unless I’m married,” he repeats, then tells me they met in college the night he found out he was drafted for the NHL. There was a party. It got a little reckless. He hooked up with her. Things escalated. Then he never saw her again. Tried calling and texting. Still has the messages on his phone.
“So she kept KJ a secret from you, but once you claimed him, she’s hunting for child support and then some. I never even knew she had a son.” Makes me wonder if he was in a similar situation as I was before my mother left.
“If she were a better mother and loved the kid, I’d give her every dime.” He flops into a nearby chair.
Liam may be rough and gruff, but I know he’s telling the truth. The man says little but goes out of his way to make sure everyone in his life is taken care of.
Thinking back to my college days, I say, “I don’t know tons of guys who’re ready to get married in college. They’re rare like diamonds.”
Liam jumps to his feet. “You and me.”
“You and me what?” I ask.
“We could get married.”
Laughter explodes out of me. “You’ll have to forward your application and cover letter to my office.”
“Are you saying there is a line of men waiting to marry you? I’m not surprised.” He rakes his hand through his hair again.
I hold up a one-minute finger and then use my pointer and pinkie fingers as a pretend telephone. “Hi, is this The Beast’s personal assistant? Yes, I’ll hold.”
Deep wrinkles line his brow. “What are you doing?”
