You Are Not The Father
Shay
Natalie was a doll. I noticed Christine starting to fidget the more time went on, getting closer to the two–hour
mark. She let Natalie down, who was starting to whine after she woke up and wanted to explore. With the amount of power tools around, I wasn’t comfortable letting the two–year–old wander around by herself.
She toddled around with an unsteady gate but with the enthusiasm all toddlers have. Everything she reached
for was extremely dangerous, and it didn’t seem like her mother cared. She was too busy trying to get
Bryson’s attention, who was completely ignoring her and talking to Conner and Bryce. They were talking about his furniture and I saw a lot of pieces that could be in our place soon.
My heart was happy for Bryson. I could tell how much both him and Conner missed each other, and Bryce fit
in with both of them. I liked Lyla. She had watchful eyes and I had the feeling her “attraction” to me was just
to push the guys‘ buttons. She would smile and wink at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye that Davis,
Ford and Mic often got when they wanted to needle Dawson.
I also noticed the ice she got in her eyes when she looked at Christine. She was now on the phone talking to
someone as she watched Christine.
“Chay, up?” Natalie asked, holding up her arms.
She was such a smart little girl and if she was Bryson’s, I think I would love to be her mommy.
“You’re such a pretty and smart girl,” I said, nuzzling her cheek. She giggled and played with my hair. She
used the bunch in her little fist to rub her face with it.
I felt someone come up next to me and turned. It was Christine.
“Don’t get too comfortable with my daughter, or your place by Bryson’s side. When it comes out that she’s his, do you think he’d really let his child go for you?”
“I’d never ask him to do that. But I also know he’d never leave me, or the baby I carry. He loves me, and not the type of love that is fickle. He loves me with his whole being, and I am pretty secure in that.”
She scoffed, “We’ll see.”
“Are you sure she’s even either of theirs? I don’t believe she is. She looks nothing like them. She has blonde hair and brown eyes. Your brown eyes but your hair is brown, so where does her blonde hair come from?”
“It’s an inherited trait, obviously from one of our ancestors.”
“Oh, come on. Bryson has reddish–brown hair and gray eyes. Conner is Black and blue. I’ve seen pictures of Bryson’s family, there isn’t one blonde–haired person in that family,” I said.
“So, he hasn’t introduced you to his family yet? And you think he’s in love with you? His family is everything
to him.”
“We haven’t had time, he’s been busy, and we’ve been getting to know each other better,” I said, defensively. I wasn’t going to let her words get to me.
“What’s going on here?” Bryson asked as he and Bryce walked up to us.
“I was just telling her how much your family means to you and I find it weird that you haven’t introduced her
You Are Not The Father
to them yet,” Christine said smugly. “I mean when we started dating you brought me home right away. I
stiffened at the blow, and she smiled widely. I looked at Natalie and she smiled at me. I kissed her forehead
and handed her to Christine.
“Excuse me,” I said.
I walked off to her chuckle and Bryson calling my name. I needed to get away just for a minute. These d*mn
hormones.
I walked out the back, Pumpkin at my side. I sat down on a tree stump. Pumpkin barging herself between my legs. I hugged her, and she put her head on my shoulder. I knew Bryson loved rne. I don’t know why I let her words hit the mark. I also knew it was the hormones making me a little more sensitive than I actually
- am.
“Pretty girl, don’t let her words get to you. You know Bryson loves you,” Bryce said as he crouched down next
to me. I could actually hear Bryson yelling in the warehouse.
“I know. I’m just a little sensitive right now. We have been busy, so I don’t blame him,” I said, with a small
smile.
“This is a lot for you right now. Who knew this b***h would show up and drop a kid in all our laps? What do
you think of Conner?”
“I like him. I think, like he’s said, he’s paid for what he’s done. He did something awful and karma bit him in the butt. And I want Bryson to be happy. I’m glad he has his friend back. What about you? Not feeling
jealous?”
“Oh, I’m very jealous. But he’s my brother, the one of my soul, my best f*cking friend. I’m confident in our bond. Plus, we share the prettiest woman ever. And, I also like Conner and am happy for Bryson and him. I am glad they can work through their conflict and come out stronger on the other side. I think it will take some time to become one hundred percent with him, but Bryson will work it out. I think spending more time with Conner will help that. I like Lyla, I think she will also help Conner to heal, just like you helped Bryson.”
“I love you Bryce. You always know how to make me feel better.”
“I love you too, pretty girl.”
Screeching tires caught our attention. Banging on the warehouse door and yelling had us going back inside
the warehouse as Lyla slipped out.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“No clue. Are you okay?” Bryson asked, taking my face into his hands.
“Yeah, I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said, kissing me.
I saw Christine glaring at us sitting at the table. Natalie is being held by Conner. She was giggling as he
bounced her on his knee.
The signal from Lyla came, and it was Bryce that opened the door. A blonde–haired man came storming in. Christine stood with a cry and snatched Natalie out of Conner’s arms.
“You f*cking b***h. You kidnapped my child and ran here to Denver? Didn’t think I would find you, did you? But what you didn’t know, was I had an inkling you would pull something like this and air–tagged Natalie’s
You Are Not The Father
diaper bag. Not only are you a cheating wh*‘re but now I got you on kidnapping, and I am going to get full custody of my daughter.”
“John! Get out, you’ll ruin everything!” Christine screeched.
“What the f*ck are you talking about, you f*cking c*nt?” He yelled back.
“The hospital bills are astronomical, she’s bleeding us dry, your insurance only covers a quarter of the bills. I was trying to get one of them to take her off of our hands. I was just about to split. They would have taken
her!”
“You’re so f*cking evil, I can’t believe I married a manipulative cheating b*tch like you.” This man, John said. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out papers.
“You will sign these. They are divorce papers and papers to sign your parental rights away. I will take care of
my daughter.”
“Wait, are you saying Natalie is your daughter?” I asked. “She said, you found out you weren’t Natalie’s dad when you did a bone marrow match.”
“Bone marrow match? She doesn’t need a transplant, she’s got type–1 diabetes. And I am her father. I knew Christine was f*cking two other guys when we were together, so I had a secret paternity test done while
Christine was recovering from childbirth. She’s mine.”
“So, you knew about these two?” I asked, pointing to Bryson and Conner.
He squinted at them. “I knew about him. Sorry man, she said you were cold and aloof and needed someone warm. The other guy I never knew who he was, but she called out his name once when I was f*cking her. One day she came to me in tears and said her boyfriend and the other guy had abandoned her. So, I took her in and when we found out she was pregnant, I married her, Maybe stupid on my part, but I thought eventually she’d learn to love me. I was in love with her. But that all changed after Natalie was born, and I found out Christine was f*cking one of my friends, who felt guilty and told me about it. I confronted her. She cried and begged for me not to leave her. So I didn’t. But in my gut, I knew she was going to run with Natalie. Natalie was diagnosed with Type–1 when she was one. She almost died. Christine likes to use Natalie’s illness for sympathy. I was already in the process of drafting up divorce papers and terminating her parental rights when she ran. I’m glad I went with my gut and put a tracker in Natalie’s diaper bag, or who knows what would
have happened to my baby girl.”
Natalie saw her daddy and squealed. “Da, Da, Da,” she chanted, clapping her hands.
“Hi, my baby,” John said with love in his eyes.
“Give her to me,” Lyla said.
“No, she’s mine!” Christine screamed. She turned to run, and Lyla reached out and grabbed her by the hair. Christine wailed. I stepped over and took Natalie from her arms and Lyla turned Christine around, punched her in the throat, and effectively cutting off the scream. Then she chopped her on the side of her neck and
Christine went down, hitting the ground hard.
I handed Natalie to John, who held his baby girl like she was his lifeline. I watched as Lyla grabbed the divorce papers and the parental termination papers and looked them over, then she forged Christine’s name. We all gaped at her.
“Don’t worry about her anymore. She won’t be a problem for you ever again. I do not like women that use
You Are Not The Father
their children for sympathy.”
She handed the papers to John. He nodded and thanked her. He left right away.
“What are you going to do with her?” I asked.
“It’s better if you don’t know. Plausible deniability,” she said.
I smiled and nodded my head. I turned to Conner.
“I really like your girl…”
“Don’t say it, she’s my mistress,” Conner said, hastily looking at Lyla. She winked at him and mouthed ‘Good boy‘. His body vibrated.
“Oookay,” I said, trying not to burst into giggles.
“Well, now that all that drama is finished. Let’s get down to why we came here,” Bryson said.
