Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [70]
Anyone with a lick of sense knew he hadn’t married Margaret for love. Apparently Margaret knew it, too. And this was the kicker—it didn’t seem to matter to her. She’d been blinded by hormones, Hassie suspected. Poor thing. However, Hassie had to admit she’d seen a softening in Margaret since her marriage.
“Lots of changes…” Leta was saying.
Distracted from her thoughts, Hassie paused, wondering what she’d missed.
“Changes in Margaret and for that matter Matt, too,” Leta went on.
“Change isn’t always bad, you know.”
Leta’s smile said she agreed. “In their case, I think it’s for the better. Those two actually seem happy. I would never have believed it, but I’m delighted.”
Hassie was pleased for them, too, and hoped that whatever they’d found would last.
If ever there was a time Matt Eilers needed a drink, it was now. He stepped into the Doctors’ Clinic for the scheduled blood test that would dictate his future and claimed a seat in the waiting room. The collar of his shirt felt like a noose around his neck and his hands sweated with the agony of the unknown. He hadn’t come by choice, that was for damn sure. He’d been ordered here by the court.
A number of people sat in the waiting room, most of whom he didn’t recognize. Thank God. The last thing he wanted was for Margaret to get wind of this. He’d taken a chair as far removed from the others as possible. He felt so worried that he was sick to his stomach. He removed his hat and, for something to do, rotated the brim while he waited for his name to be called.
Under normal circumstances, Matt wasn’t a praying man, but today he was. He’d willingly fall to his knees before the Almighty if this blood test proved he wasn’t the father of Sheryl’s baby.
Needless to say, he hadn’t mentioned the paternity suit to Margaret. Hell and damnation, he couldn’t tell his wife of only a few months that he might have gotten another woman pregnant. Seeing how Margaret had reacted to Sheryl’s phone calls, Matt didn’t want to even think what she’d say or do if he told her about the pregnancy. He gripped his hat tightly and prayed like never before.
Okay, so he’d slept with Sheryl, but he wasn’t fool enough to believe he was the only one. And, yes, there’d been a time or two when they’d been careless about birth control. That made him feel both weak and stupid. Sheryl had a reputation—and not just for being an easy lay. He knew about her opportunistic and frivolous lawsuits, her willingness to lie and manipulate others. More fool he for ever getting involved with her.
“Matt Eilers.”
At the sound of his name, Matt nearly stumbled out of his chair in his eagerness to get this over with.
“Hello, Mr. Eilers.” The nurse greeted him cordially, leading him to a small cubicle at the end of the hallway. She motioned for him to take a chair. “I understand you’re here for a court-ordered blood test.”
“Yes.” Matt nodded for good measure. “Isn’t this a bit unusual? I thought the normal procedure was to wait until after the baby’s born to determine paternity?”
“Generally, yes,” the nurse informed him. “It can be decided early, but for the baby’s sake, that’s not recommended. It causes a risk to the pregnancy.” Frowning, she glanced down and read over the court document. “Apparently, in this case, the mother insisted paternity be determined right away and went against the advice of her physician.”
It was already clear that Sheryl was bent on getting revenge—and money—as quickly and efficiently as possible. It was equally clear that the well-being of her baby was not her priority here. Matt swallowed hard and tensed.
“If you’ll roll up your sleeve?”
He did as instructed.
The procedure took only a minute. The nurse then taped a piece of gauze to the inside of his elbow, and Matt rolled down his sleeve, refastening