Page 4 of Sharing Forever in Hope Creek (Hope Creek #2)

‘No. No. ’ There was tension in every line of her body.

‘I didn’t want to be a mother, but now I’m going to be, I’m …

I’m coming to terms with it.’ Both her hands went up to press against her temples for a few heartbeats as she appeared to be gathering herself.

‘I’ll keep working in Melbourne for as long as possible, then I’ll move back to Hope Creek and I’ll stay here at the homestead initially before I move out on my own. ’

If he was the father, she wouldn’t be on her own.

‘I want a DNA test.’

She wrapped her arms over her chest as she considered his bald demand. ‘That’s understandable.’

‘You agree then?’

The grandfather clock ticked loudly a few times before she tilted her chin and said, ‘I didn’t ever expect to see you again.

This was a meeting against all the odds so as far as I’m concerned, if you find this all too abhorrent, you can walk away right now and pretend you know nothing about the baby. ’

Her reassurance should’ve provided the perfect antidote to the toxic cocktail of emotions swirling within him, yet every word pummelled at him like giant fists leaving him feeling bruised and bloodied.

Abhorrent?

God knew that shocked was too weak a word for his reaction to her claim, but … finding it abhorrent ?

To view the arrival of a baby—even an unplanned baby—as abhorrent would be monstrous and he was no monster. And to pretend he didn’t know about it …?

‘I’ve never walked away from my responsibilities, Callie, so if this baby is mine, I’m not going to walk away.’

‘But—?’ She blinked at him in genuine confusion. ‘I don’t see how this is going to work. I’ll be living in Hope Creek and … I don’t even know where you live— and we don’t even know each other.’

Contrarily, everything in him railed at her casual dismissal from this baby’s life and he only realised his hands had clenched at his sides when he felt pain shooting up into his shoulders.

Forcing himself to relax and remain calm, he asserted, ‘If the DNA test confirms I am the father, then two of us are responsible for this. We can sort out the logistics if it comes to that, and there’ll be time to get to know one another, but understand that I would do the right thing and accept equal responsibility. ’

Heaven help the poor kid.

What a start to life to be an unplanned conception—a result of a one-night stand for a man and woman who’d never wanted to be parents. The realisation made his guts hollow out and he tasted the bile as it rose from his stomach and scalded his throat.

As much as he’d never wanted children, if it was a fait accompli, he swore that he would change his mindset.

No child of his would ever feel unwanted or unloved the way he’d felt when he’d been growing up.

Callie walked a couple of paces to the window and he watched as she looked out at the front yard, only barely illuminated by the fading light of the day.

When she turned back to him, she said, ‘Provided the DNA test is non-invasive, I don’t have any objection to it.

But understand that I don’t expect anything from you. ’

Her agreement was given so freely that he felt like a heel for not trusting her, but common sense demanded he didn’t waver. ‘There’s a non-invasive test that provides ninety-nine per cent accuracy. It involves testing blood from both of us.’

Her eyes widened then immediately narrowed. ‘How do you know so much about it? Have you done this before?’

‘Yes.’ Hearing the air whoosh out of her lungs, he was quick to defend himself.

‘Once.’ If she didn’t hear it from him, she’d probably hear it from Mitch.

‘I was twenty-three and I’d just finished my master’s degree.

The woman I was dating fell pregnant and claimed the child was mine.

A paternity test proved conclusively that I wasn’t the father. ’

That Sasha had been sleeping with at least one other guy while they’d been in—what he’d thought was—an exclusive relationship had been one more emotional trauma he’d had to deal with. One more betrayal.

He watched as Callie bit on her lower lip while she processed his words. ‘Is that why you were so worried about the … the torn condom?’

He nodded, remembering he’d been annoyed, then concerned, when they’d discovered the accident.

‘You’re really close to Mitch, right?’ she asked a bit hesitantly.

‘Yes.’ He knew exactly what she was asking. ‘I know Kade isn’t his biological son.’

‘Deanna is a case in point that some women set out to deceive men about paternity,’ she acknowledged. ‘Obviously you’ve had personal experience with … your girlfriend. But I’m not one of those women.’

Despite trying to activate all his defence mechanisms, he struggled to hold on to his cynicism because there was something innately honest about Callie.

Damn it.

Most who knew Jack would say that control was his middle name, yet the moment he’d met Callie he’d lost his general sense of control.

The second he’d seen her, there’d been a magnetic pull and he’d wanted to meet her.

Then, even though they hadn’t been able to have much of a conversation over the noise of the music at the nightclub, he’d instantly liked her.

Really liked her. Been charmed by her. Nothing had mattered except getting to know her—then taking her to his bed and getting to know her in the most intimate ways possible.

‘There’s no need for a fetal blood sample?’ Her question interrupted his thoughts.

‘No. You’re over nine weeks pregnant so the pathologists can sequence and analyse cell-free fetal DNA that’s extracted from your blood. It’s simple. If we go straight to a laboratory, we can have the results in one to two working days.’

‘We can go to the pathology lab in Lancaster tomorrow,’ she offered.

‘Yes.’ They’d go tomorrow and do the necessary test. He’d be a total fool not to do it—to take her on trust alone—yet the longer he spent with Callie the more his gut instinct told him he was going to be a father.

It’d taken her twenty-eight years to sleep with someone. He doubted she’d gone from virgin to vamp in such a short period of time—unless … Maybe she had enjoyed the experience so much she’d been keen to keep exploring her sexuality?

He slammed the door on that thought, unwilling to go there.

Callie swayed.

‘Callie?’ He rushed to her side and steered her back from the window to sit in the chesterfield armchair. The instant he touched her, his heart felt as though it’d been kick-started by electric paddles.

‘I’m okay.’ But her slender fingers trembled as she raised a hand to push back a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail.

‘Just a bit … light-headed.’ Once she was seated, she looked up at him.

‘I’m sorry you found out like this. It’s been a shock to see you again, so I know you must be reeling. ’

‘That’s putting it mildly.’ But then, she must’ve been shocked too when she discovered the unplanned pregnancy.

He believed it hadn’t been planned.

The instant mutual attraction between them—the powerful, pounding sexual pulse—had been undeniable and impossible not to act upon.

It was still palpable. Even now, as he should be trying to come to terms with her news, he wanted to kiss her and breathe in her sigh as he felt her lips opening beneath his.

He backed away from her before he acted on his desires.

‘Jack, I—’

‘I went back to the nightclub the following few weekends hoping you’d show up.’ His confession was made before he realised he was speaking.

His father’s voice chastised him. Never reveal your weaknesses, son.

‘You did?’

The genie was out of the bottle. Pointless to deny it now. ‘I wanted to see you again.’

‘I don’t usually go to nightclubs.’

He believed it.

Seeing Callie in her home, surrounded by a welcoming and what seemed to be a very down-to-earth family, he could credit she was every bit a country girl. She was naturally lovely without the fake veneer of sophistication that he was used to seeing in so many women he met.

Callie was gorgeous with her sleek brown hair and doe-brown eyes that a man could lose himself in, but it wasn’t merely her physical appearance that had drawn him to her. Her entire natural manner and openness had been part of her attractiveness.

In a world where he’d grown increasingly cynical, Callie had been like a breath of fresh air.

‘You said you’re planning to raise the … baby … here in Hope Creek?’

‘Yes.’ Lifting her hands to her cheeks she patted them gently as if she was trying to jolt herself into reality. ‘I can’t believe you’re the Jack that Mitch has been talking about.’

Had Mitch referred to Callie and Morgan, Jack may have wondered whether Stella’s sister could be the woman who’d bewitched him because Callie wasn’t a common name. But Mitch had only ever mentioned ‘Stella’s sisters’.

‘Callie—’ Jack paced towards her then stopped and ran a hand down the back of his neck. Noting her pallor he asked belatedly, ‘Are you well?’

She gave a short, humourless laugh. ‘Some days I’ve been sick from the second I wake up all the way through to mid-afternoon, but right now I think my head is swimming out of sheer shock.’

He felt an irrational stab of guilt she’d been going through morning sickness by herself. ‘I have a sister who’s had a child but she lives in Sydney so I don’t really know a lot about it.’

‘Where do you live?’ she asked.

‘Brisbane.’

He forced himself to sit down in the chair opposite her, then ran his palms over his face before he looked at her.

Beautiful Callie.

Vulnerable Callie.

He wanted to take her in his arms, cradle her against him and tell her everything would be okay, but the reality was that this was a mess.

If she hadn’t snuck off from his hotel suite, they sure as hell would’ve exchanged full names and contact details. He’d wanted to spend time getting to know her better, but that didn’t mean he’d wanted her to have his baby!

If the paternity test confirmed it, he’d have to accept it and deal with it.

You’ll deal with it.