“I have a right to know if William is my son.”
“And I have the right to protect him.”
She huffed, finished diapering Joseph and turned to face him. “So we’re back to where we started. Don’t get me wrong, William’s safety is important to me, too. But I’m just not convinced there are real issues here. I mean, if you’ve proven he’s not your biological son, then why would he still be a threat to Eric?”
“Because as you so succinctly put, I have the power and the money to doctor test results.”
“Did you?” she fired back.
“No.”
Another huff but not an indignant one. This one was from frustration. “You know the truth, don’t you?”
Best to go for the sarcastic approach again since she seemed to be very good at detecting lies. “I know many truths. Did you have one particular in mind?”
“The truth. About Joseph. Now, I want you to cut through all these evasive tactics and tell me what you know.”
Nick stood there staring at her, but he couldn’t stop the idea from dominating his thoughts. Meredith and he had been lovers. The timing was right. Plus, Meredith would have known about the danger of giving birth to his child.
“I’m still waiting for an answer,” Kelly reminded him several moments later.
But he barely heard the reminder. Because at the exact moment she was speaking, the baby caught onto the crib railings and pulled himself to a standing position. He wore denim overalls and white cotton shirt. Joseph turned his head in Nick’s direction, and just like that, their gazes connected.
Nick’s breath froze in his lungs.
Joseph’s face was round. Almost chubby. And he grinned. Just grinned. Showing his dimples.
Nick had seen photos of himself as a baby. But he didn’t need the actual photo to know there was a strong resemblance.
“Meredith was your friend,” Kelly continued. She scooped up the baby in her arms. “So you must have some idea of who Joseph’s father is.”
Yes.
Unfortunately, that idea wasn’t a good one to voice. To anyone. Not even her. Just the hint of it would ultimately put all of them in danger. But it was especially dangerous for the child she held.
His child.
The heir he couldn’t have.
Chapter Five
“Well?” Kelly prompted her visitor. He’d done it again—Nick had gone to la-la land while she was waiting for an answer to one of the most important questions she would ever ask.
He blew off her question and headed for the kitchen. “I need a drink of water.”
Before she could follow him, Nick opened several cabinet doors, located a glass and helped himself to some tap water. He certainly looked as if he needed it, too. And was it her imagination that he looked a little shell-shocked? Kelly didn’t let that prevent her from pressing for an answer.
“Do you know who Joseph’s father is?” she asked.
Nick set his now empty glass on the counter and looked her straight in the eye. “No.”
She frowned. “That’s scary, you know that?”
“What?”
“Lying while maintaining direct eye contact. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to do it, yet you managed it with surprising ease.”
Now he frowned. “Who says I’m lying?”
“Me.” Kelly planted a kiss on Joseph’s cheek. “Meredith trusted you enough to raise her son. I can’t believe she wouldn’t tell you who the father is.”
“Perhaps I’m keeping a confidence that Meredith asked me to keep.”
Kelly nodded and shifted Joseph to her left hip. She went closer to Nick. “Yes. I thought of that, even though I can’t imagine why a dying woman would want to keep something like that a secret.”
“She had her reasons, I’m sure.”
That was all he apparently intended to offer. It was a clear signal that her mini-interrogation was over. Well, it was over as far as he was concerned. Kelly made sure Nick noticed her frown when she walked past him on the way to the pantry. Too bad she didn’t give him a wide enough berth. Her left breast grazed him. Hardly enough for her to notice.
But she noticed.
It sent a strange, unwanted curl of heat through her body, that she quickly pushed aside.
Figuring he had a new playmate, Joseph reached for their guest, specifically the buttons on his white shirt. Kelly managed to step away before Joseph could latch on.
Her visitor certainly wasn’t exactly dressed like a wrangling cowboy, though she knew for a fact that he was a real rancher. He wore a black suit. A suit that fitted his butt, thighs and chest extremely well.
And she hated that she’d allowed herself to notice something like that.
The suit wasn’t exactly stodgy, either. It was as expensive as they came and it had a GQ look to it. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the throat and upper chest, and he wore it as naturally and easily as he had his tux. She figured he’d be equally at home in his cowboy clothes and had a minifantasy about how he’d look in jeans.
Hot, no doubt.
Kelly mentally kicked herself. Jeans fantasies. Mercy, she was definitely not thinking straight.
Nick followed her to the pantry, carrying his undeniable presence with him. Why did the kitchen suddenly seem so small?
She took out a jar of toddler food, grabbed a spoon and bib and was about to put Joseph in his high chair when the phone rang. Cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder, she gave Joseph an adjustment on her hip. He didn’t seem to like that because he fussed.
“Kelly?” It was Denny Spencer, and just from that one-word greeting, she could tell that he didn’t sound pleased. “Is Nick Lattimer there?”
Only because she wasn’t up to an argument—and there would be an argument—she considered lying. But in all likelihood, Denny had already seen Nick’s car. Hence the reason for the call.
“He’s here,” Kelly verified.
She met Nick’s granite, blue-gray gaze when she answered. He lifted his eyebrow. A question, of sorts. Kelly ignored him and turned away. However, she couldn’t ignore Denny. He immediately started to curse.
“Have you lost your mind?” Denny demanded.
“I just want the truth,” Kelly reminded him.
“Well, you won’t get that from Nick Lattimer. He’s doing
