“Diablo,” she said. “Relax.”
If the situation hadn’t been so tense, I probably would have laughed when Diablo looked at her and cocked his head to the side as if to say, “Are you serious?”
“Diablo,” she repeated.
He huffed and made a noise that sounded like a grumble before he walked over to his blanket beside the couch and laid down, all while keeping his eyes on me. He obviously knew I was the reason Daphne was upset, and he was not happy about it.
“I’m really sorry, Daphne,” I said again.
She shrugged. “Maybe I overreacted.”
“No, you didn’t. You thought I was having a baby with another woman and keeping it from you. I’m just glad you called your dad instead of leaving on your own.”
“I’m not an idiot,” she said defensively.
“I know you’re not. But people don’t always make the best decisions when emotions are heightened.”
“Like secretly deciding to buy a baby for twenty-five grand.”
“Yes, exactly like that.”
“So, that guy at the diner—how did he know you were connected to Tawny?”
“Because I introduced myself to him the last time she overdosed and told him I’d kill him if he continued selling drugs to her. Then I beat the piss out of him to prove my point.”
“You thought that would work?”
“It worked with the four dealers before him. Apparently, this one is a special kind of stupid, as we saw today.”
“Do you think he is the biological father?”
“I have no idea. It won’t matter if he is. He’s in no position to fight me for custody, and I’d bet he could easily be persuaded to sign over his rights.”
“You’ve really thought about this,” she said.
“Yes, and no. I’ve thought about problems that could arise, like the biological father contesting the adoption, but I’ve tried not to think about the actual adoption too much. There’s a lot that could happen between now and then.”
“You mean her losing the baby?” she asked gently.
“That, or her dying. She was in really bad shape at the hospital, and she hadn’t even gone through withdrawals yet. There’s also nothing stopping her from leaving rehab. She can walk out the door, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I just have to hope the promise of twenty-five thousand dollars will be enough to keep her there.”
“Have you talked to her since she was admitted to rehab?”
I shook my head. “No, she wanted it added to the contract that there would be no contact between the two of us. I have full access to anything regarding the baby, which isn’t much this early in the pregnancy, but I can only get minimal information about her. They’ll tell me if she’s having a good day or a bad day, but that’s about it,” I said and changed the subject to what I really wanted to talk about. “Look, I understand why you came to the conclusion you did, but I want you to know I’m not a cheater. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a serious relationship, but I’ve never cheated on anyone.”
“I should’ve just asked you about her.”
“No, I should’ve told you about her, especially when I knew things were changing between us. You have a right to know that the person you’re getting involved with is going to be a parent.”
“I guess we both could have handled things differently,” she said and took a seat on the couch. She’d slowly been making her way into the living room as we’d been talking.
I probably should have waited, but I had to know. “Do you still want to leave?”
“I didn’t everwantto leave.”
“Let me try again. Will you stay?”
“On one condition.”