a partner in one of Houston’s top-notch law firms. He just might be willing to assist her with a pro bono attorney. Before she could begin to smile about her prospects, Ryla remembered that Jonathan was Noel’s frat brother and would probably have more allegiance to his frat than to a business associate. Nevertheless she got on the phone and called the cleanup crew to ensure that they would take extra care with his cleanup. It never hurt to put the best foot forward. Because for all she knew, Noel and Jonathan might not be all that close anymore.
After hanging up with the cleanup crew, she dialed her best friend, Danetta Windham. Danetta was still a newlywed. Ryla figured that calling her at ten at night was surely going to annoy Marshall. But she couldn’t worry about that right now. She needed help.
The phone rang four times before a giggling Danetta picked up. “Hey, Ryla, what’s up?”
When she heard her friend’s voice, it was as if a dam broke and tears began flowing down her lovely face. “I—I’m sorry to bother you so late, Danetta.”
The laughter left Danetta’s voice. “Are you all right, Ryla? It sounds like you’re crying.”
“Noel wants to get an attorney and he wants a DNA test.”
“Whoa, hold up. Are you talking about Jaylen’s father?”
“Y-yes.”
“When did all of this happen? The last I knew, you still hadn’t spoken to him.”
Wiping tears from her face, Ryla said, “All of that changed tonight. I ran into him at the party I was hosting for one of his frat brothers. And then he followed me home.”
“You invited him back to your house after the event?”
Ryla frowned into the phone as if her friend wasn’t keeping up, and she needed to be moving much faster than this. “No, of course I didn’t. I tried to run from him again, but he followed me and then forced his way into my house. And now he’s threatening me with lawyers and a DNA test. I still can’t believe he wants a DNA test. Can you believe that?” Ryla was speaking fast, but not fast enough not to notice that Danetta hadn’t responded to her question.
“Danetta, did you hear me?”
“Which part, hon. I’m trying to wrap my mind around all of what you’ve been telling me,” Danetta said.
“About the DNA test. He claims that I could have gotten pregnant when I went home for Thanksgiving or Christmas break.”
“Well, Ryla, you did expect this, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t expect this. Noel Jaylen Carter is the only man I have been with like that, and for him to suggest that I just casually sleep around is appalling.”
Trying to sound reasonable, Danetta said, “If I was in his shoes, and had just been told that I have a daughter after no communication with the mother for seven years, I’d ask for a DNA test, because you just never know.”
“Well, I know. And he is out of his mind if he thinks that I’m going to consent to having my daughter’s mouth swabbed just so he can be convinced of something that should be obvious.”
“I’m trying not to roll my eyes at you Ryla.”
This conversation was confusing Ryla. Danetta was supposed to be on her side. “Huh? Why do you want to roll your eyes at me and not at Noel? He’s the one being unreasonable.”
“Ryla, you kept his child from him for seven years.”
Now Ryla rolled her eyes. “Why does everybody keep harping on that?” Ryla understood that what she had done to Noel was wrong and a very big deal. But her snarky defense mechanism kept showing up, even when she knew there was no place for being snarky in this conversation.
“Okay, so, I can tell that you’re not going to listen to a word I have to say because you’re already getting defensive,” Danetta said, and then added, “But if anything is going to get through to you tonight, let it be this.... You owe that man an apology, and you need to do whatever you have to in order to make things right so that Jaylen can have both her mother and father in her life from this point on.”
Ryla took in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. “I hear you. And I’m sorry about trying to be funny at a time like this. I know this isn’t an easy situation for any of us.”
“Ryla, girl, what are you going to do?”
Danetta sounded concerned, and Ryla appreciated that. “I guess I’m going to go along to get along, like you suggested. But if he tries to bring lawyers into this so he can steal my kid away from me, I’m going to need help finding an attorney. Do you know of anyone that might be able to help me?”
“If I don’t, I’m sure Marshall does. Hopefully, it won’t come to that, but if it does you know that we’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, girl. I hope I don’t have to call in this favor, but it’s good to know that I can get an attorney if I need to.” Ryla was a bit calmer by the time she and Danetta hung up.
Jaylen was spending the night at her mom’s, so she didn’t have to leave the house again tonight. Exhausted, Ryla threw her pajamas on without even thinking about showering first. She jumped in the bed, and before fear could overtake her mind about Noel meeting his daughter for the first time, she imagined the smile that would surely be on Jaylen’s face tomorrow and then calmly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 3
“I need a drink,” Noel told his brother, Donald, as they sat in his library. Donald pastored a church in Houston, and whenever Noel was in the city he bunked with him.
Donald leaned back in his chair and studied his younger brother. When he spoke, his words were measured. “How does a man of purpose sabotage his own future?”
Noel shook a finger at him. “Not now, Donald. Please save the philosophy for a man who hasn’t just been told that he has a seven-year-old daughter that he knows nothing about.”
Shaking his head, Donald said, “I remember meeting Ryla when the two of you were an item in college. She seemed like a very nice young lady.”
“Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving. But I guess I was just too blinded by her beauty to notice the deception that lurked beneath.” Noel pulled himself out of his seat and stood in front of the window, looking out at the other houses that surrounded his brother’s spacious home. Just as his brother’s home was filled with a wife and three kids, Noel imagined that children ran the halls of most of the rest of the suburban homes out here also.
And for the first time in his adult life, Noel realized that although his house was larger than many in this suburb, his brother and the neighbors around him had homes with families residing within. Every time Noel entered his own house, the echo of emptiness welcomed him.
He turned back to his brother, weariness showing in his eyes. “What am I going to do, Donald? How can I go back there tomorrow and meet a child that I’m not really sure belongs to me?”
“But I thought you told me that you and Ryla were in a monogamous relationship?”
Noel jabbed
