Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [178]
Alex stared at him for a long moment. "You never said -- how did Melanie die?"
"She had ovarian cancer. She didn't find out until the very end. She was only in the hospital a week before she died. I met with her at the request of a social worker. Melanie was very concerned for Jessie's future. I did try to find you, but Melanie thought you might be in Sacramento."
"That's where we lived together. I spent my senior year in high school there while my dad did a photo spread of the state legislature in action." Alex didn't know why he was explaining, except that it helped to prolong what he knew was coming.
"Yes, well, it took me a while to find you. By then it was too late for Melanie to ask you herself."
"There was a time when I would have gladly been that child's father. Thirteen years ago to be exact. But now I'm building a business -- Top Flight Athletic Shoes. I travel a lot. I have commitments on my time. Jessica should go to someone who can give her a home."
"I'm well aware of your situation, Mr. Carrigan. I did a background check on you."
"What the hell for?"
"I told Ms. Kane I wouldn't feel comfortable sending Jessica to a man, even if he was the father, who hadn't bothered to pay child support or maintain contact with Jessica over the years."
"This is unbelievable." Alex shook his head in amazement that the conversation continued despite his innocence. "I didn't pay child support because I wasn't the father. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Ms. Kane did say that she hadn't wanted you to support her," Mr. Monroe conceded.
"Thank God for that. So what did you find out about me?"
The attorney sent him a steady look. "Your athletic footwear business is very successful. You employ over three hundred people in San Francisco and throughout the country. You mingle with sports celebrities on a frequent basis. You are considered to be a very eligible bachelor, although you aren't known for long-term romantic relationships. You don't appear to smoke or do drugs, and you run several miles a day, probably to balance the enormous amount of junk food you put into your system."
"Very good. Did you find out what brand of toothpaste I use?"
"I didn't consider it necessary."
"You only considered it necessary to invade my privacy."
"For the child's sake, yes. Let me give you the bottom line, Mr. Carrigan. In the eyes of the law, unless proven otherwise, you are Jessica's father and thereby required to support her. Now, if you wish to put her up for adoption, I must tell you that twelve-year-old girls are not very adoptable. Jessica will more than likely end up in the foster care system until she's eighteen. Then she'll be on her own. Of course, she may run away before then. She's not unfamiliar with life on the street. She and her mother were homeless most of this past year."
Homeless? Melanie with the beautiful brown eyes and the big dreams had ended up living on the streets with her baby? He felt a sudden thrust of guilt. But Melanie had made her choice. She'd picked a life without him.
"I'm not her father," he said one last time, knowing even as he said the words that it was futile to protest. "I'll take a DNA test to prove that."
"DNA tests take time, but that's certainly your prerogative. In the meantime, you may wish to pursue Eddie Saunders. If he is in fact Jessica's father, perhaps he'll want her. In fact, I can recommend an excellent private investigator."
"I'll bet."
"Until then Jessica needs a home."
He thought for a long moment. Once again, Melanie wanted him to care for her baby until the real father showed up.
How could he do that again?
How could he not?
"Fine. I'll take Jessie, until we find her real father." It would be okay. He'd get Gloria to come more often, and his grandfather would be there, too, he thought dismally, suddenly realizing how crowded his simple life had become.
"Good." Mr. Monroe opened the door to his office. "Jessie? Mr. Carrigan has agreed to take care of you."
Jessie shrugged. "Whatever." She got up from the chair and sauntered over