They nod my way in unison before stepping to the left of the sofa and looking out at Cormack as if awaiting a sentencing by the blonde judge.
Cormack flicks a blue envelope in the air. “All right, Papa Bear. Come out, come out, whoever you are.”
“Wait!” Carlotta screeches as she bursts onto the set and squeezes herself between Noah and me. “Go on, Corn Cobb. Trust me. If this goes south, you’re going to thank your lucky stars I’m sitting right here to put a stop to things before they get lethal.”
“And stop my ratings from soaring?” Cormack belts out a hearty guffaw. “Not on your life.” She slides her finger along the seam of the envelope and plucks out the card in haste.
My heart drums hard because my husband’s future lies in that woman’s hot little hands.
Cormack glances my way, and for a second our eyes lock.
“And the winner of the baby derby is—Jimmy Canelli!” She stomps her feet and punches her fists into the air.
Jimmy jumps and hollers, and as quickly as his celebrating begins it comes to an abrupt end as Mayor Nash pulls him in by the lapel.
“Nobody steals my baby!” he riots and Carlotta jumps up.
“Don’t do it, Harry!” she shouts while trying to pluck Mayor Nash off the startled mobster. “You gotta make a run for it. He’s gonna kill you now!”
“Slug him, Harry!” Cormack rails from the edge of her seat. “Think of my ratings!”
Luke pulls Jimmy from under the both of them and hauls off and decks him. Jimmy staggers back and Luke decks him one more time, landing him flat on the coffee table and the small pine oval collapses under his weight.
Luke plucks him back to his feet, and both Mayor Nash and he take turns beating poor Jimmy to a pulp. Noah and Everett mobilize, as do the designated in-house bouncers, and soon the stage is cleared of flying fists, broken furniture, and men who are relatively upset that they’re not my father.
A niggling of pride hits me, but I choose to squelch it. Because we just so happen to have one more paternity hurdle to cross.
Noah and Everett land back by my side, no worse for wear, but they’re slightly out of breath, their chests are pulsating wildly, and a part of me wonders if it’s because of what lies ahead.
Cormack waves the final blue envelope in her hand. “And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for.” She nods to the audience and Mom stands with Lyla Nell as the camera zooms in on her angelic face. “That little precious baby is about to get herself a daddy. Who will it be?” She pulls the envelope apart as if she were unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning. “And the winner is—” She glances to the card for a second. “Essex!”
It’s as if time slows to a crawl as I look his way. Everett’s face breaks out into a genuine grin as he pulls me into a firm embrace and he kisses me square on the lips with all the zest and vigor this occasion calls for.
The crowd gives a round of applause and pulls me from my spell as I turn to Noah.
“Congratulations, man.” Noah pulls both Everett and me into a hug before we all stand to our feet and the two of them indulge in one of those man hugs that looks cordial yet genuine.
“There you have it, Vermont!” Cormack shouts with glee into the camera. “The detective might have been looking for a clue, but it was the judge who handed down the final verdict. We’ll be back after these messages where I’ll regale you with song.”
“And cut!” Woody shouts, and the room breaks out into a thousand conversations at once.
Mom scuttles this way with the baby, and soon Lyla Nell is in Everett’s arms. He holds her high and kisses her cheeks, and I will never forget the way that man glows under the supervision of her love.
Evie hops over and hugs Noah as she brings him over to Everett and Lyla Nell.
“Shoo!” Cormack shuffles everyone off the set and Noah, Everett, Evie, and my mother head backstage, but those cards in Cormack’s hands catch my eye.
“Cormack, can you please give me those cards?” I widen my eyes her way and nod. “You know, for reasons which we discussed not too long ago.”
I’m about to snatch them from her when she pulls them back.
“Wait a minute.” She shuffles through them, rotating them back to front before handing one my way and it says Harry Nash in bold black letters.
Knew it.
A sense of relief floods me, and my heart soars because I’ve actually grown used to the idea of Harry being my father. He could never replace Joseph Lemon, the saint who raised me, but well, I guess, Harry feels special in his own right.
Cormack went along with my scheme to protect Everett after all.
“Can I have the other card, too? I’d like to save it for the baby.”
“No.” She pulls it close to her chest, and I suck in a quick breath.
“Cormack!” I hiss. “You didn’t!”
“Of course, I didn’t.” She starts to take off in a hurry, and in one quick motion I pull her in and yank that card right out of her hand.
She snatches it back and quickly tears it to shreds before me.
“Cormack Featherby!” I shout as I quickly collect the pieces and make a run for it. I stop shy of where Everett is celebrating with his mother, his sister, my sisters, Keelie, Bear, Wiley, my mother, Evie and all her friends, and I see just enough letters in my hands to spell another name entirely.
I head over and take a deep breath as tears swell in my eyes.
“Everett? Noah? Can I speak to the two of you in private?”
“Sure.” Everett lands another kiss to Lyla Nell’s cheek and Noah nods, looking as if he’s putting on his best game face.
We head over to the refreshment table that’s almost depleted of all my chocolate chip cookies, and I press my lips tightly as I look to the two of them.
“I’m sorry.” I shake my head at Everett as I hold out the pieces of that card in my hands. “Cormack—she wasn’t telling the truth.”
Everett’s expression quickly sobers and Noah’s chest fills with a breath.
Everett closes his eyes and bows his forehead to Lyla Nell’s a moment before landing a kiss to the tip of her nose and placing her gently into the arms of her true biological father.
Tears stream down Noah’s face as he holds Lyla Nell close and blesses her with a kiss to the top of her head.
“I have a daughter.” He nods my way. “We have a daughter.” He looks to Everett. “We all do.” He pulls Everett over and the three of us look to Lyla Nell as she studies Noah and Everett with wonder. Her lips begin to twitch, and she breaks out into a full-blown smile—and on both her right cheek and her left appear a set of deep-welled dimples just like her daddy’s.
“Look at that!” I cry as my hand covers my mouth.
Here Lyla Nell was practically hiding her identity herself, keeping her secret close to the vest like a poker hand.
Lyla Nell smiles and giggles as Noah, Everett, and I share a warm laugh at the joyful sight.
Everett gives Noah a thump on the back. “Congratulations. Welcome to the club. You’re officially a dad.” He shrugs. “You would have been one anyway.”
Lyla Nell doesn’t stop smiling and neither do we.
Everett