Page 41 of My Song for You
“Puppy? Which puppy?”
“His friend’s puppy. You come too?” His face was so hopeful, I smiled despite everything.
For the first time since I’d entered the apartment, Callie looked at me, her lush lower lip caught between her teeth. She quickly turned away, but not before I caught the hurt glistening in her eyes—because I’d inadvertently brought up the past by asking about Alexis.
“When?” Callie asked.
“Next Friday,” I said in a surprisingly calm voice. “Hailey’s working that day, so it’d be after she finishes work. I figured we could swing by and pick you up from the diner on the way.”
For a second it looked like she was going to say no, but I wasn’t the only person who hadn’t built up an immunity to Logan’s expression. Christ knew I had trouble saying no to it.
“All right,” she said to Logan. Then to me she said, “Are…are you staying for dinner?”
“No. I already have plans.”
She nodded as if everything was fine. As if we hadn’t kissed last night. As if she hadn’t been lying to me all this time. “Well, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks again.” She glanced at her nephew. “Logan, say thank you to Jared for looking after you today.”
“Thank you.” He threw his arms around my legs and hugged me.
Fuck, what was I going to do if he really was my son?
—
Cameron was waiting for me in the lounge when I arrived, with two beers on the table in front of him. The place wasn’t busy yet, but the L.A. Kings were playing on TV tonight (according to Kirk), so I wouldn’t have been surprised if the place filled up soon.
I sat across from Cameron, relieved the nearby tables were empty. This was one conversation I didn’t need anyone accidentally overhearing.
He slid a beer toward me. “Here, you sounded like you might need this.”
“You might just be right. It depends on what you have to tell me.”
“So, what’s up?”
That was what I had always appreciated about my old classmate—he was straightforward and always to the point.
“You practice family law, right?”
“That’s right.”
I gulped back some beer and sat back in my chair. The irony of the seat being red wasn’t lost on me. It was Callie’s favorite color. The color could also mean so many things. Sex. Danger. Anger. Power. Love. I would’ve been more than happy to take the first and the last one, but those options weren’t available to me right now. And if my suspicions were correct, they wouldn’t be after this conversation either. At least not with Callie.
“I might have a situation, and I’m not sure what to do about it.” I told him about Alexis, about Logan and Callie, and about the birth certificate. The entire time I spoke, he just listened, his calm demeanor not hinting at what he thought about it all.
“Have you asked Callie if she knows who the father is?” he asked once I was finished.
“I’ve tried, but she avoids giving me a straight answer.”
“Is there a chance Logan belongs to someone else?”
“There’s a good possibility. It was a one-time thing. Anyone could be his father.” But not everyone would result in a child who resembled me at the same age. I handed Cameron the photo and pointed out the similarities between Logan and me.
“If you asked Callie, do you think she would tell you?”
I thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think so. I have a feeling she’ll deny it. Is there a way I can find out the truth without involving her? That way, if I’m not the father, she can continue lying about being his mother and it has nothing to do with me.”
“And what if it turns out you are the father? Are you ready for that kind of responsibility, Jared? From what you’ve described, Callie is perfectly happy caring for Logan without any assistance from you. Why not walk away and let her be?” He wasn’t suggesting I do exactly that. His tone implied that I should consider all possibilities before making a move I might later regret.
“If Logan is mine, then he’s my responsibility. I owe it to him.”
