Chapter 35

CHAPTER

35

Matt slept late. He lay for a few seconds with his eyes shut, thinking he felt more rested and more alive than he had since—He reached out to the other side of the bed, thinking not of Kim, but of Bree. Warm, wonderful, eccentric, sexy Bree, who had given him back his life.

He was alone. His outstretched hand touched something on her empty pillow. He opened his eyes and looked at the note.

We farm girls get up early. And I thought you might not want Vicki to find us like this.

That was nice. Can we do it again? XX

He closed his eyes and let his mind wander back over last night. The feel of Bree’s skin. The warmth of her lips, the way she laughed at his silly jokes. The way she held him tight and whispered his name. The sound of her breathing as she slept. Do it again? Yes. Tonight and every other night. He wanted nothing more than to have her beside him.

He smiled, folded the note and put it carefully in the drawer of his bedside table. He bounced out of bed and into the shower.

Carrying a cup of coffee and a piece of toast, he walked through to the real estate office. Before opening for business, he had two calls to make. One was to see how Vicki was and when she was coming home. And the other was to Bree.

He flicked his computer on as he walked past the desk. He sat down as the familiar photo of Kim and Vicki sprang instantly to life.

Kim. I know you’ll understand. I’ll never forget you. And I’ll make sure Vicki always remembers that her mother was someone very special. But I have to move on. It’s time.

With a few clicks, he placed the image in a different folder and replaced it with a photo of his daughter. The one with the alpaca.

As he opened the door, the door of a car parked outside opened and a man got out. An early customer perhaps?

‘Are you Matt Ambrose?’

Matt nodded politely. ‘Yes, that’s me. How can I help you?’

The man didn’t reply. He simply held out a manila envelope. It wasn’t very thick.

‘Thank—’ Before Matt could finish, the man simply got back in his car and started the engine.

As the vehicle pulled away, Matt returned to his desk, his heart sinking.

He sat down and placed the envelope on his desk, smoothing it with one hand. He knew where this had come from—the name on the envelope made that clear. And he didn’t think it would be good news. No-one paid a delivery driver to come all this way with good news.

At some point, he had to open it and read what was inside.

He reached for his phone and dialled Kelly.

‘Hi, Matt. I was just about to bring Vicki over. I wanted to check you were … up, first.’

He could hear the teasing in her voice. Another time he might have joined the fun, but not now.

‘Kelly, I’m sorry to ask this, but can you take her straight to school from there? With your kids.’

‘Sure, Matt.’ Kelly’s voice was bright. It was clear what she was thinking.

‘No … it’s not—something has come up and I think it would be better for Vicki if she was at school, rather than here.’

‘Sure.’ Kelly’s voice sobered. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘I hope so. Can I have a quick word with her?’

He heard some muffled sounds then his daughter’s happy voice. ‘Hi, Daddy. We played Kerplunk last night and I won.’

‘Good for you.’ Matt was suddenly struggling to keep his voice even. ‘I’ve got some work I have to do right now. It means I can’t come and get you. But Kelly is going to give you breakfast and take you to school, okay?’

‘Sure, Daddy.’

‘Okay. You be good for Kelly and I’ll see you later. I love you, honey.’

‘I love you too, Daddy.’

After ending the call, Matt picked up the envelope and tore it open. The lawyer’s letterhead was still as intimidating as it had been in the earlier letters. This one repeated some of the same claims, but there was one new thing. His hand clenched as the words seemed to leap off the page.

Question of paternity … Given the date of birth and the circumstance surrounding … The non-marital relationship …

And then the most shocking words of all: Seeking a court-mandated paternity test as part of a custody hearing.

His world shrank to that line and the horrible words written there. Matt wasn’t even sure if he was breathing as the words shouted at him from the expensive white paper.

Question of paternity

Paternity …

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there when his phone rang. He ignored it, but the caller was persistent. He finally dragged his eyes away from the paper and looked at the phone. Margaret Fuller.

He reached for it. ‘Hello, Ms Fuller.’

‘I have received a reply, Mr Ambrose.’

‘I know. It was delivered to me just now. By courier.’

‘I assume you’ve read it.’

‘Yes.’

‘So when I asked you if there was anything else, you didn’t think to mention this.’

‘It never occurred to me. Vicki is my daughter. There’s never been any question about that.’

‘Well, there is now.’

‘It’s not true.’

‘Let me ask you this, is there any possibility, however remote, that it is? And please be honest. At this point, lying will only make me unable to help you.’

Matt closed his eyes and let his mind go back to one of the best days of his life. He was twenty-three, footloose and happy that day he’d walked down to the park in Newcastle. The weather was warm and sunny, and the park was crowded with a food market and craft stalls raising money for charity. Feeling hungry, he’d stopped at the first stall, which was selling homemade sausage rolls. He’d stayed because of the smiling, dark-haired girl who took his money.

Matt had never believed in love at first sight. Lust, certainly—but not love. Until the moment he’d laid eyes on Kim and decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It was like a kick in the gut, but one he welcomed. And it had been the same for Kim. He’d stayed by the stall all day, eating more sausage rolls than was good for him and falling irrevocably and helplessly in love. At the time, Kim had been living with someone else, but that night she didn’t go home to him. When all her wares were sold, Matt had helped her pack the stall away and the two of them had driven to the beach, where they’d sat and talked until dawn. When the sun rose, he drove her back to her home, she packed her things and, by the evening, was living with Matt. From that day, they had never spent a night apart, except when first her pregnancy, and then her illness, had sent her to hospital.

‘So I guess it is technically possible,’ Matt said, concluding his story. ‘Vicki was born nine months later. But we never for one moment considered that she wasn’t my child.’

‘Is your name on her birth certificate?’

‘Yes. Of course it is.’

‘That’s good. It would be even better if you’d been married, but that’s not really an issue. The question is, would you be happy to undergo a paternity test? To clear this up.’

‘No. That would mean a blood test for Vicki too. I won’t put her through that.’

‘I understand, but you need to be aware that if Mrs Holden gets a court order and you refuse, the court is likely to rule against you.’

‘What? No! They can’t take my daughter off me.’

‘Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves here. Do you know the man Kim was with before you?’

‘No. I guess she mentioned his name back then, but I don’t remember.’

‘And he’s never been involved with Vicki?’

‘No.’

There was silence down the line.

Just when Matt was ready to explode, Margaret spoke again.

‘This threat has a little more substance. I would suggest we push the idea of mediation in an attempt to keep it out of court. Let me work on that.’

‘They can’t take Vicki away from me, can they?’ His voice shook as he confessed his deepest fear.

‘I think that’s unlikely, but if a paternity test showed that you were not Vicki’s biological father, that would certainly impact any court hearing.’

Matt couldn’t speak as his whole world began crumbling around him.

‘In the meantime,’ Margaret spoke into the silence, ‘make sure neither you nor Vicki has any contact with Kim’s parents. We don’t want anything else to muddy the waters.’

Matt put the phone back on his desk and dropped his face into his hands.