Finding Me by Danielle Taylor Read Free Book Online

cry, presumably for her since he ceased as soon as she held him. “O Rh negative, why?”
    “Hmm. And Ruan is…?”
    “The same as me.”
    Tiaan gripped his shirt and accidentally pressed too hard on a particularly tender area of his chest. If both mother and child were O type, that meant the father had to have O too, or at least O antigens in their system. He knew what was coming next, and answered without being asked. “Myself as well.”
    “I guess we have a fairly good idea now.” Mac raked his hand through his hair and, from the look on his face, Tiaan could tell his friend was attempting not to laugh.
    It’s not bloody well funny! he wanted to yell.
    “Chelsea, they can take a saliva swab so there wouldn’t be any needles, but for both of your sakes – and my sanity too – we should go ahead with this. I’ll pay–”
    “No, I will,” Tiaan interjected. “And if he’s not mine, she can reimburse me the cost.”
    As soon as he’d spoken the words, Chelsea shot him a look that could have killed him and all but ran from the room with Ruan in her arms. That little voice he shut off many times before emerged to the surface of his mind, telling him what a bastard he’d just been but he ignored it.
    Rather, he attempted to, yet it kept on hounding him. Begging that he do the right thing and run after her, comfort her. That, deep down, he knew Ruan was his son and they needed him.
    Persistent little bugger that his conscience was.
    Thankfully, Mac cleared his throat, distracting him from his integrity or profound lack thereof.
    “Try not to be too much of an asshole, Tiaan. Chelsea hasn’t exactly had it easy since she found out she was pregnant. If it wasn’t for Hannah, I honestly don’t know what would have happened to her. She spent a lot of her pregnancy in the hospital.”
    Self-defences raised, he turned to his friend, stunned. “So you are taking her side on this?”
    “Relax, I’m not taking anyone’s side. Jesus, Tiaan, I know you’ve been through hell, but just think about how it must have been for her. A single twenty-four year old girl living thousands of miles from her family who disowned her when they she told them she was expecting. She had to drop out of university and put herself in debt, just to keep a baby she didn’t even know she was having. Hell, she didn’t know the damned guy’s name that got her pregnant!”
    “And this is all my fault then, hmm? If she’s so damned promiscuous, she should learn to use some kind of protection!”
    Suddenly, he was backed against a wall with a thick forearm pressed to his neck. “It takes two people to make a baby, Christiaan. Obviously you did not offer to use a condom or go buy any. And who gives a damn if she was promiscuous? Grow the fuck up already, you’re only two years younger than I am so act your age! If we men can go around adding notch after notch to our bedposts, why can’t women do the same without getting a shitty name for themselves? Are we the only ones who are allowed to enjoy physical pleasure?”
    Mac released him and Tiaan greedily sucked a few breaths in while massaging his neck. Just being in a position where he was held down brought terrifying memories to the surface. Memories that he wished he could lock away forever, maybe even forget them altogether.
    Then it hit him, square in the solar plexus like a damned wrecking ball. Twenty-four years old. That made her twelve years his junior. Was she truly so young? Why hadn’t he noticed that back when he’d been in the hotel elevator with her?
    He sat down on her bed to think, absorbing the information Mac just granted him. So, her parents disowned her. Big deal. His parents were deceased. At least hers were still alive somewhere. Eventually, they would realize their error and wish to reconnect with their daughter…right? Unless they were selfish bastards like his had been.
    “This is a bloody mess,” Tiaan sighed into his hands. “Here I finally thought I