Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [83]
“Mr. Eilers?”
“Yes…thank you.” He stood and followed her inside as she led him past the cubicles to the physician’s private office.
He was pacing when the harried doctor walked in. “I understand you have a problem,” he snapped.
“I was told,” Matt said, his own voice raised, “that I’d get the results of my blood test a week ago. I’ve heard nothing. As you might well understand, I’m anxious to know the verdict.”
“You haven’t received notification?” He flipped open the chart.
“Not a word.”
“Ah.” Dr. Kaplan glanced up. “The results were sent to the court. They’ll send you notification soon. It’s our policy—”
“Tell me.” Matt wasn’t willing to wait until he was contacted by an attorney. He needed to know if he’d fathered Sheryl’s baby. He’d come this far and wouldn’t retreat now.
“Mr. Eilers—”
“Either you tell me or—”
“All right, all right.”
The physician must have recognized that Matt was frustrated, stressed out and damn near sick with worry.
Sitting down at his desk, Dr. Kaplan pushed up his glasses and read through the report.
“Well?” Matt demanded in a growl.
“The test is positive. You’re the child’s father.”
It was as though Matt had suddenly been tackled from behind. His legs simply went out from under him and he slumped into a chair. If there hadn’t been a cushioned seat to catch him, he would have fallen to the floor. “There isn’t any chance of a mistake?”
“None.”
The shock was almost immediately replaced with a numbness that quickly spread to his extremities. He’d always thought that if and when he ever learned he was going to be a father it would be a joyous moment. Instead, he felt a sense of impending doom. His life as he knew it was about to change drastically—and not for the better.
He should have realized the happiness he’d found with Margaret wouldn’t last. Nothing this good ever did. Dear God, how was he going to tell his wife?
“Mr. Eilers?”
He looked up and noticed that Dr. Kaplan was standing beside him.
“Thank you for letting me know.” He managed a hoarse whisper and staggered out of the chair. When he walked outside, the cold air hit his face but he was only distantly aware of it. Sheryl was having his baby.
After leaving the Doctors’ Clinic, Matt sat in his truck, hands clenching the steering wheel while he mulled over what to do next. Obviously he had to tell Margaret. His wife wasn’t going to take this news well and he couldn’t blame her. Briefly he considered hiding the truth from her until he was better able to deal with it. Until they were better able, he amended.
The numbness started to dissolve, replaced with an anger that began to build in the pit of his stomach. Sheryl had purposely gotten pregnant. Nothing would convince him otherwise. She was the one who’d suggested he marry Margaret, then obtain a divorce and marry her. He cringed every time he thought about that ridiculous scheme. He remembered that when he’d teasingly asked Sheryl why he should leave a wealthy wife to marry her, she’d claimed she had ways of bringing him back.
She had ways, all right. Getting pregnant was the trick she’d held up her sleeve. She planned to use this child as a weapon against him. He clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached. A child.
It became clear to him that he had no choice but to tell Margaret and the sooner the better. If he didn’t, Sheryl would take great delight in doing it for him. The woman wanted to make as much trouble for him as she could. What was the old expression about a woman scorned? He had to protect his marriage from Sheryl’s fury, and that meant, first and foremost, telling Margaret the truth.
Decision made, he closed his eyes, wondering how he’d ever find the strength to face her with this news. Two minutes later, he was out of the truck and inside 3 OF A KIND. This task required the kind of courage only hard liquor provided.
“What can I do for you?” Buffalo Bob asked as Matt approached the bar.
“Give me a shot of whiskey.”
“Ice?”
“No.” He needed fortification—the courage weak men found in the bottom of a bottle.
Bob