Luc #2
I can’t let that one pass without a look, and she smirks when our eyes finally meet. “This one wasn’t routine,” I add. “What do you know about Addison Dempsey?”
Her eyes grow wide. “I know she walked away from her family as soon as she turned eighteen. Her grandmother is controlling and all about their family vineyard, and Addison just up and left. She paid for school on her own, and now, she’s working as an artist. She does gorgeous watercolors of the local landscape, and she’s quite in demand right now. She has a lot of talent.”
“So she’s not involved with the family drama?”
“No way.” She points to a beautiful watercolor in her living room. It’s an egret on the lake. “She painted that.”
I feel my eyebrows rise. “Really? That’s incredible.”
Elise shakes her head. “She has so much talent, and her grandmother would rather she be like her cousins and focus on doing her bidding on behalf of Black Bear Vineyard and the Dempsey family.” She pauses for a moment. “Why do you ask?”
“I met her in May when I was here to ink the deal with Hutchinson.” I lean back in my chair, the wood creaking. “Seems she’s pregnant, and there’s a possibility,” I say, choosing the word carefully, “that I could be the father of her child.”
Elise’s expression doesn’t change. If she’s surprised, she doesn’t show it. “A possibility,” she repeats.
“Yes. And there’s also a possibility,” I continue, “that I’m not.”
“Which one are you hoping for?” she asks.
I hesitate only a moment. “The second.”
No matter how much I’ve thought about her, I don’t know Addison at all, didn’t know her real name until today. I’ve barely finished my residency, which put my life on hold, and I’m ready to have some freedom. A baby would mean settling down and losing all the fun. But I can’t say that out loud.
Elise studies me. “And how do you feel about that?”
“I did really like her, what I know of her after one evening,” I say. “But it would certainly make things simpler if it wasn’t mine.”
Elise nods slowly. “You’ve always liked structure.”
“I know.”
“And distance,” she says quietly.
I don’t argue. There’s no point.
“But if you are the father of her child, you’ll want your life and your plan to change, don’t you think?”
I stare out at the wisp of clouds in the sky and nod.
She’s right. The tools I’ve always relied on don’t fit this situation.
I’m used to responsibility coming with authority.
I don’t know how to handle a situation where something could be expected of me, but I’m not the one making the decisions.
This is different, and I don’t have a clear way to deal with it.
“And you should also consider what doing the right thing looks like if this kid isn’t yours.” She watches, attentive but holding back.
“I don’t get to decide that,” I say. “Whether it’s mine or not.”
Elise’s brow creases slightly.
“A lot is up in the air, but for now, I can’t act like I have a place there just because I might,” I tell her, things falling into place as I speak. “And I can’t walk away just because that would be easier.”
Elise nods once.
“Until I know for sure, I don’t get to step into her decisions,” I continue.
“I don’t get reassurance. I don’t get full access.
And I don’t get to add my uncertainty to everything she’s already dealing with.
” I stop and think for a moment. “I don’t even get to take charge if I am the father.
It’s not like this was planned. I won’t use professionalism as an excuse.
And I won’t use concern as a reason to cross boundaries either.
I want to be responsible, but I need all the facts first.”
Elise exhales quietly. “That’s restraint,” she says. “Not absence.”
I nod. “That’s what I’m trying to hold on to.”
Elise pats my hand, and then rises to take her glass to the kitchen.
Kingston comes out dressed in joggers and a hoodie with an overnight bag.
“I overheard enough to put it together,” he says, looking between us.
“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything,” he assures me.
“But regardless of whether you’re the father of Addison’s baby, she’s really sweet and a very talented painter. She’s worth getting to know.”
The panic I feel must cross my face because he lifts a hand slightly.
“I’m not inserting myself,” he adds. “Just saying what I see.”
I nod. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Kevin is going to drop me at the airport,” he continues, turning toward Elise. “I’ll call you before we take off.”
“I can give you a ride to the airport,” I offer. “I should really get going.”
He shakes his head. “Not necessary. I’ll take the helicopter down, but thank you. I wish I’d known I was going back. We could have saved you two hours on the road.”
“That’s okay,” I tell him. “I need some time to think.”
I thank him for dinner and wish him safe travels before I return to the front room to find my shoes and give Kingston and Elise a minute before I head out myself.
“She’s worth getting to know” repeats in my mind.
After a minute, Elise appears and gives me a hug. “Our family isn’t big, so I’m sure glad you’re here. If you get lonely at my dad’s, come back. We have a fantastic guest room, and I fly back and forth daily.”
“Thank you.” She opens the door, and I step out onto the porch. “And I’ll keep you posted on the other thing.”
“Whatever you want,” Elise says, hand on the doorframe. “You don’t owe us updates or explanations.”
“I know.”
Her eyes hold mine. “But you’re not good at pretending something isn’t happening.”
“I think I’m about to learn,” I say with a laugh.
I step out into the night, air cool against my skin. The lake is quiet, the dark stretched smooth and unbroken beyond the trees. I pause at the bottom of the steps, hands in my pockets, letting the quiet settle.
I get in the car and start the engine, the headlights cutting a clean path down the drive. I need to find out if the baby’s mine. That doesn’t feel like something I have to avoid now. It feels like a necessary action. Of course, it is.
I hope Addison will accept that.