Who's Your Daddy? by Lauren Gallagher Read Free Book Online

at the thought of our current situation. “No, I don’t suppose it will be.”

Chapter Four
    Isaac
     
    By the time Carmen arrived the following evening, Donovan and I were both nervous wrecks. Ryan was out with his girlfriend and not due back any time soon, so at least we didn’t have to be concerned with him walking in during an awkward moment in the conversation. Still, I had no doubt there’d be awkward moments aplenty tonight.
    At a little past six, the doorbell rang. Donovan and I exchanged one last look, searching each other’s eyes for reassurance. Then we both walked out of the kitchen to the foyer by the front door.
    I opened the door, and from across the threshold, Carmen met our eyes with the same uncertain, desperate-for-reassurance expression.
    “Come on in.” I stepped aside to let her in. The day was warm, so she hadn’t worn a jacket. I almost wished she had; at least hanging it up for her would have given me something to do with these unsteady, sweaty hands.
    She looked at Donovan, eyebrows up, and shrank back a little as she said, “I’m assuming Isaac told you?”
    He nodded. “That’s why we’re here.”
    “So…” She wrung her hands. “What do we do?”
    Heavy silence fell between the three of us.
    Then Donovan cleared his throat. “Well, I suppose we could always go on Maury .” Carmen and I looked at him, both dumbfounded. He put his hands up. “What? I’m just saying.”
    Carmen snorted, and some of the tension in the room dissipated as we all allowed ourselves to burst out laughing.
    “Better than Jerry Springer , I guess,” she said, still snickering. When her laughter faded, the fear and panic returned to her eyes. “Guys, I really have no idea what to do right now.”
    Donovan reached for her, and when she stepped toward him, he put his arms around her. “Come here,” he whispered. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he stroked her hair as I had done in my office yesterday. “We’ll figure it out, hon. It’ll be okay.” She exhaled and sank against him.
    His eyes met mine. Though he offered her reassurance in both talk and touch, he looked about as scared as I felt.
    “Why don’t we go sit in the family room where it’s a bit more comfortable?” Donovan said to her. Carmen nodded, and we moved from the kitchen to the family room. I really could’ve used a deep glass of wine right then, and I was sure he could have gone for half the bottle or so, but if she couldn’t have a drink to ease her nerves, it was only fair for us to skip it too. That, and wine hadn’t exactly helped this situation to begin with, so I left it alone.
    Donovan took one end of our huge couch. I took the other, and Carmen sat between us. For a moment, no one spoke. I couldn’t read their minds, but I caught myself mentally running through my conversation with Carmen, reliving it to remind myself that it had really happened. As if moving from one building to another had left the situation in the office to evaporate and go away if we ignored it long enough.
    “ Problems don’t go away just because you aren’t talking about them ,” I told my clients time and again. “ They just fester and get worse the longer you ignore them .”
    Caught by my own logic. Damn it.
    Donovan pulled his knee up on the couch between them and turned so he was facing her. “Have you thought about what you want to do?”
    Carmen chewed her lip. “Abortion’s out of the question.”
    “Are you planning to keep the baby, then?” I asked.
    She was quiet for a long moment. “I…yes. I mean, I want to. I wouldn’t feel right giving it up, but with my financial situation…” She sighed and made a frustrated gesture. “I don’t know.”
    “You do know you won’t be alone with this, right?” Donovan asked. “If you keep the baby, you’ll have our support.”
    “Financially and otherwise,” I said.
    Barely whispering, Carmen didn’t look at either of us as she said, “Thank you.”
    Donovan