The alcohol was clouding my thoughts, making it difficult to think straight, but I’m almost certain that she said, “In case you were wondering… I wasn’t interested in Gavin or anyone else, for that matter. I only want you… just you.”
The room was silent. I could feel the rise and fall of her chest as her breathing became slow and deep. Even though she was sleeping soundly, her words continued to echo through my mind, and I wondered if I had imagined her saying those words to me.
“Henley?” I whispered, but she didn’t answer. The room was spinning, so I finally gave in to my intoxicated state, and fell asleep. I couldn’t have been out for more than a few hours, when I heard someone pounding on the door.
“Maverick!” Goliath shouted as he continued to slam his fist into my door. It felt like I had barely closed my eyes when he said, “It’s time to roll, man. Ana just called and the test is back.”
Why the fuck did I drink so much? My head was throbbing, and the light creeping in through the window was only making it worse. “Just a minute!” I shouted back. Henley was nowhere in sight when I pulled myself out of bed.
Wearing only a pair of boxers, I opened the door and asked, “Have you seen Henley?”
“She’s out front with Lily. She can hang out here with Bobby or…”
“No, she’s going with us,” I told him. “Just give me five minutes.” I still reeked of alcohol, and I needed a hot shower to clear my head. Goliath nodded as I closed the door behind him.
I turned the hot water on high and stepped into the shower, trying to wash away the fog of my hangover. It didn’t help. My head was still pounding while I got dressed and headed down the hallway. When I opened the back door, the heat of the early morning sun hit me like a brick wall. I still hadn’t gotten used to the Tennessee humidity, and I could already feel the sweat begin to trickle down my back. Henley walked over to me with a bottle of cold water and a couple of aspirin in her hand. “I thought you could use this.”
“Thanks, Slick,” I told her, taking the bottle from her hand. Her full lips curved into a sexy smile, tempting me to pull her close. “You ready to go?”
She laid the palm of her hand on my chest and said, “You really want me to go? I don’t mind staying here. I can hang out with Bobby or Gavin until you get back.”
“No, you’re coming. Lily said it shouldn’t take long, so I thought I’d show you around the lake when we got done, maybe grab a bite to eat.”
“I’d like that.”
With Lily and Goliath following behind us in their car, we headed over to the lawyer’s office. We drove in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I couldn’t stop thinking about the night that I took JW back to Lily and Goliath – the night that sealed my fate, our fate. Every decision I’d made over the past year had a rippling effect, and I wondered if it all ended today. Would it – could it ever really end?
When we pulled into the parking lot, Ana was leaning against her car with a large yellow envelope in her hand. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she was wearing her doctor scrubs. Even in her work clothes, it was easy to see why Sheppard had fallen for her. She was beautiful and smart. Almost dying in that river was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Goliath pulled in next to me, and as we were getting out of the car, Ana walked over to us with a troubled look on her face. When she reached Lily, she said, “Hey, I need to talk to you before we go inside.”
“Why? What’s going on?” she asked.
The distressed look on Ana’s face said it all. Something was wrong.
“It’s the DNA test results. I don’t know how to tell you this…” she started as her eyes skirted over to me. Fuck. What the hell was that look? Whatever was bothering her obviously had something to do with me, but I had no idea what it could be.
“What is it? Just say it, already,” I demanded, feeling my heart pound against my chest. I tried to think of all the things that they might find in a DNA test. Was John Warren sick? Did he have some kind of genetic defect because of me?
Lily looked at Ana with a pleading look in her eyes. “Just tell us Ana,” she begged.
“The test results showed that …. Maverick isn’t John Warren’s father. After analyzing all the markers, they determined that the percentages were just too low for him to be the father,” she explained.
“Then, the fucking test is wrong!” I roared.
“I don’t know what to say. There has to be some kind of mistake! We all know that Maverick is John Warren’s father!” Lily shouted hysterically. “It just doesn’t make any sense!”
A million thoughts were running through my head, and when I tried to speak, the words just wouldn’t come. The rage began to boil in my gut when I finally realized what Ana’s words really meant.