Secrets of Paternity Read Free

down for her. She’dbeen prepared to have Kevin’s biological father become part of his life— assumed that he wanted to be part of Kevin’s life—but that was before she met the man, when he’d been just words on paper, not a flesh-and-blood person. A man in full biker regalia. A man who made her hormones come out of a long hibernation.
    He came up beside her, his sheer size in his boots and leathers making her feel like a background singer to a rock star.
    â€œYou don’t need to go inside with me,” she said.
    â€œI have nothing else to do.”
    She met his innocent gaze. Up close he was even more attractive, his eyes a lighter green than she’d first thought, his hair not just dark brown but thick and shiny. Only the scruffy beard detracted.
    â€œI won’t walk up to the teller with you,” he added.
    He seemed to be enjoying the moment. She didn’t know why she thought that, because he wasn’t smiling, but something lurked in his eyes, some sense of mischief at the absurdity of what they were doing. Cloak-and-dagger stuff. She smiled. She couldn’t help it. Oh, the irony. The first man she’d been even the slightest bit attracted to since Paul died, and he happened to be…well, who he was.
    â€œWhat’s so funny?” he asked, as they entered the bank just before closing.
    The security guard locked the door behind them then stood at his post, letting each person out as they finished their business.
    â€œJust in the nick of time,” she said.
    â€œThat’s funny?”
    She shrugged. Let him wonder.
    He lingered a distance away as she withdrew a huge chunk of her savings and asked the teller for an envelopeto put the money in, which she then passed to James. The guard gave him the once-over, his gaze shifting from James to Caryn and back, as if trying to match them as a couple—or perhaps trying to determine if James had coerced her into giving him money.
    She smiled at the guard. He unlocked the door to let them through, bade them a good night. James walked with her to her car.
    â€œI’ll need a receipt,” she said to him.
    He pulled his pad of paper from his pocket, scrawled something on it, signed it, ripped it off the wire spiral and presented it to her. “How about taking me to my mechanic’s shop in the morning to pick up my loaner?”
    â€œYou have no friends?”
    â€œOf course I have friends.”
    She studied him. Mischief was back in his eyes. “Take a cab,” she said. “Add the fare to my bill.”
    He grinned. She felt her face heat and tried to draw his attention from the fact. “I’m gathering that this wasn’t the first accident you had with your bike.”
    He cocked his head. “It’s the second, and very similar.”
    â€œSeems to me you should learn to park your bike differently.”
    He laughed, then after a brief hesitation he reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a business card, passing it to her. “I’ll see you in a few days, Ms…. Mysterious.”
    He walked away. She looked at his card. James Paladin, Investigator, ARC Security & Investigations.
    Well. Maybe he wasn’t like Paul, after all.

Two
    A n hour later Caryn was holding her breath as she waited for her son to say something. Anything.
    â€œI don’t want to meet him,” Kevin muttered at last.
    He pushed away from the kitchen table and stalked to the window overlooking their tiny backyard. Caryn sat quietly, giving him time to let the idea of James Paladin settle. She’d had a week’s advantage on him in that regard, but she was by no means calm or accepting, either.
    She’d explained everything she knew—that Paul had chosen James specifically as the sperm donor, that they’d entered into a written agreement which stated that the resulting child, if there was one, would have the right to contact James upon turning