James swallowed hard and tossed his keys on the table by the door, trying to seem like everything was fine. Trying to tell himself everything was fine. But it wasn’t. Lexi wouldn’t be coming over to deliver the DNA news in person if everything was fine. He almost wished he’d insisted she just tell him what was going on over the phone, but honestly, now that he was home, he was grateful he hadn’t. If it was bad news, he wanted to be here, in his home, with his dog and Harper, to deal with whatever it was.
“Well, great,” Harper said. She was looking at Isaac with a strange expression.
James wondered if she was debating about picking the baby up. He was feeling the same way. He was torn. He wanted to cuddle the little guy. Hug him and hold him and assure himself that Isaac was fine. On the other hand, he was afraid he might not ever put him back down if he picked him up now.
“Thanks so much for coming over tonight,” James said, pulling his wallet out and withdrawing money for Sophie.
She took it, though for just a moment he thought she was going to turn it down. She slid it into her pocket and gave him a smile. “I enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me do it. I’m happy to help out any time.”
“We’ll remember that,” James said. Hell, part of him would love to make plans right now to take Harper out for a romantic dinner that weekend and wanted to ask Sophie to plan to come over, but something held him back. He needed to know what was going on first. He had a nagging feeling that Lexi was about to tell them something that was going to change all of their plans.
Sophie gathered her stuff, said goodbye, and even went over and gave Isaac a kiss on the head. “See you soon, sweetie,” she said to him. Then she patted Fred and headed out.
James went to Isaac. “I guess I’ll change him and see if we can get him down before Lexi—”
There was a knock on the door just then.
Harper sucked in a quick breath. Clearly, she was feeling the same touch of dread he was.
He looked down at her. “Here we go.”
She nodded.
He pulled the door open. Lexi wasn’t alone. But it wasn’t Caleb. Another woman was with her.
“Hey.”
Lexi gave him a little smile. “Hey. James, this is Shelly. Shelly works at the hospital with me. Shelly, this is James.” She leaned in. “And that’s Harper.”
“Hi.” Shelly extended her hand.
James took it. “Come on in.”
It was not a good thing that Lexi had brought a coworker with her.
Harper had already gathered Isaac out of his car seat and was holding him, rocking gently side to side, as if to comfort him. But James knew it was her who needed the comforting. He felt the same way.
“Are you a nurse, too?” he asked Shelly. Maybe she specialized in genetic disorders or something.
“No. I’m a social worker,” Shelly said. Then she lifted a hand. “But I’m only here to provide information tonight, I promise. I’m here as a favor to Lexi.”
“Information?” Harper asked. “Why would you be here to provide information about the DNA test?”
Lexi shook her head. “That’s not why she’s here. But let’s start at the beginning. Do you guys want to sit down?”
“No.” James knew his tone was sharper than it needed to be, but his emotions were swirling now. He braced his feet apart and crossed his arms. “Just tell us what’s going on, Lex.”
She took a breath. “Okay. The test results came back as I said. And… you’re not the father.”
There was a long pause where no one said anything or even moved.
“Wait. What?” Harper finally asked.
Lexi shook her head. “James is not Isaac’s father. We can’t tell who is, of course, but we can tell that there is definitely not a match between the two of them.”
Her words rocked through him. His throat tightened, and his heart thundered.
“James?”
He vaguely heard Harper’s voice filter through the static in his ears.
Harper came closer, reaching for his arm. James couldn’t make his muscles work to uncross them. Hell, he couldn’t make his lungs work to take in oxygen.
She laid her hand on his arm but looked at Lexi then Shelly.
“So you’re here to help us with what? How to find his parents?”
James looked at the two women. Fuck. His parents. Not just his mom—who was even further out of reach now—but both of Isaac’s parents were now a mystery. Well, at least he didn’t have to get Marcus to try to find Caroline for him.
James waited for a feeling of relief or humor or even anger to go through him, but he felt nothing. He was numb.
He hadn’t realized just how deeply, and how easily, it had sunk in that Isaac was his. From the moment Harper had suggested it, it had just felt right.
Now nothing felt right.
“Not… exactly,” Shelly said. She was watching them with some concern. “Maybe we should sit down. I can tell this is a shock.”
Lexi was frowning at him. “You had to know there was a chance he wasn’t yours,” she said. “That’s why we did the DNA test.”
“No,” he said flatly. Well, he’d found his voice. “No, I didn’t really know that. We did the DNA test to prove to everyone else, like doctors and teachers and whoever else would need proof, that he was mine. But no, Lexi, I guess I didn’t really believe that he wasn’t mine. Someone gave him to me. Why would they do that otherwise?”
Yeah, he’d definitely found his voice. By the end of that, he was almost shouting.
Harper squeezed his arm. Shelly nodded.
“That’s a good question. And maybe a good place to start,” Shelly said. “Why would someone leave the baby with you?”
“Because if you have something that needs taking care of and you’ve met James, he would be the first person to come to mind,” Harper said, her voice scratchy.
He looked down at her, but she didn’t meet his gaze.
“James is a natural protector. He’s a caregiver. He’s warm and loving and loyal and dependable. If you had a baby that you couldn’t take care of but that you loved and wanted to be sure was in a safe and loving place, then yes, James’s doorstep would be on the top of your list.”
His heartbeat thundered, and he was finally able to move. He uncrossed his arms and put one around Harper, pulling her and Isaac up against his side, hugging her close. He looked at Shelly. “What do we need to do now? Apply to be his guardians? Foster parents? Start an adoption process?”
She held up a hand. “Okay, slow down. That’s why Lexi asked me to come—to talk to you about all of this. What happens next, where things stand. All of that.”
James sighed. “All right.” They needed answers, and it seemed that Shelly had them. “Let’s sit.”
Shelly and Lexi looked relieved. Everyone took seats around the living room. Harper and James sat together with Isaac on the couch, right against each other, his arm still around her.
“I want to reiterate that I’m here tonight as a friend of Lexi’s,” Shelly started. “I’m not here in an official capacity.”
“What does that mean?” Harper asked. “If you were here in an official capacity, what would be happening?”