CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Julian was excited to get to the room and see Kiara and the baby. The night before, she’d sent him to the hotel Anthony booked for their group. They’d all be staying in Coeur d’Alene until Kiara and TJ were discharged and able to go home.
He’d wanted to stay at the hospital with her, but Kiara had assured him that she’d be fine.
In the end, she’d convinced him that he needed a decent place to sleep, which wasn’t the hospital.
The hospital room she had was nice, with big windows and comfortable furniture, but it wasn’t really conducive to sleeping on, especially given his height.
Lucy had stayed at the hospital, so once Julian and Anthony got there, he’d send her to the hotel to sleep, and Anthony would take over the security duty.
It wasn’t a high-risk place security-wise, so Anthony could handle it on his own.
Elijah was also coming back with them and would act as a second set of eyes for Anthony.
“I’ll send Lucy out,” Julian said as the men reached the waiting room.
Anthony gave him a nod, then he and Elijah went to the chairs and sat down. Julian headed for Kiara’s room, eager to hear how the night had gone for them.
“Good morning,” Julian said as he stepped into the room.
Kiara was seated in one of the chairs at the table near the window, with the baby in her arms. Lucy was in the chair across from Kiara and got to her feet when she saw him.
“Good morning,” Kiara said with a smile.
Julian turned to Lucy. “You’re welcome to return to the hotel and get some rest.”
“Sounds good.” She looked over at Kiara. “I’ll see you later.”
Realizing that Kiara was nursing TJ, Julian sat down in the chair Lucy had vacated, rather than get close to the baby.
“How was your night?” he asked.
“It was okay,” she said. “I really don’t understand what people mean when they say they slept like a baby like it’s a good thing because this baby was awake every two hours to feed.”
“How is the feeding going?”
“The nurses seem to think it’s going well. They said his latch is good.” Kiara looked down at the baby and gently cupped his head. “I’m sore, but they say that’s normal.”
“Are you in a lot of pain overall?” Julian asked, not wanting to specifically name parts of her body.
“I’m in some pain, but the painkillers I’m taking keep it manageable.”
“You did such an incredible job,” Julian said. “I don’t think I would have done as well handling that level of pain.”
Kiara gave him a weary smile. “I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I didn’t really have a choice.”
“It sounds like Duncan and Elizabeth are going to come home in a few days, so Angela will likely come with them. They want to give you some time to adjust before they show up.”
“I appreciate that,” Kiara said. “I think we’re going to be discharged tomorrow.”
Julian noticed some papers on the table and leaned forward to look at them. Picking them up, he skimmed over what was written on the paper.
“Do we need to fill these out for his birth certificate?” Julian asked. “I can do that for you if you’d like.”
“I think we need to wait until after the test.”
Julian looked up at Kiara. “Test? Is something wrong with the baby?”
“No. Not that kind of test,” she said, then hesitated briefly. “The paternity test.”
Julian frowned. “We don’t need to do that. I believe that he’s mine.”
“I want the test,” Kiara said, her gaze dropping to the papers in Julian’s hands.
“Why? If I believe that he’s my son, why do we need the paternity test?”
“I just… I want it.”
Julian stared down at the papers, trying to figure out what to do. He would have thought that she’d be happy that he trusted her and believed what she said about what had happened. Her response didn’t make any sense.
“Is this a joke?” he asked, frustration rising inside him for some inexplicable reason.
Her insistence on having the test done just felt wrong.
Like the closeness he’d thought they were developing was all an illusion.
“Is the test going to show he’s not my son, and all of this will have been for nothing? ”
“No! Of course not,” Kiara said. “It’s not that. I just want the test done.”
Julian put the papers back on the table and got to his feet. His unreasonable frustration felt overwhelming, and he was afraid of what he might say.
“I’ll be back,” he said, his voice tight.
Walking out, he didn’t know where to go, so he ended up in the waiting room. Lucy wasn’t there, but both men got to their feet as he approached.
“Is everything okay?” Anthony asked, obviously reading his upset expression.
“No.”
Julian dropped into a chair. Elijah sat down beside him, while Anthony remained standing a few feet away.
“What happened?” Elijah asked. “You were only in there for a few minutes.”
“She told me she wants a paternity test,” he said. “I don’t understand why.”
“So you’re upset she wants the paternity test? You don’t want it?”
“I believe that she told the truth about what happened between us,” Julian said. “I believe TJ is my son. I don’t need a paternity test to prove that, and I just don’t understand why she’s insisting on one. It doesn’t make any sense. I want it to make sense. To understand why she wants this.”
“And she hasn’t explained her reasoning?” Elijah asked.
Julian shook his head. “She just kept saying she wants it.”
“Why is it a big deal that she wants the test?”
Julian sat in silence for a minute, trying to get a handle on his frustration. “I guess I thought we were getting closer. To me, that means that we shouldn’t need the paternity test. Her wanting this test makes it seem like she doesn’t feel the same way.”
He leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees as he dragged his fingers through his hair. Julian knew he was overreacting. He knew he was being unreasonable.
“So your reaction has more to do with what having the test done represents between the two of you than actually having the test done.”
“Yeah.” Julian sighed heavily. “I guess so.”
“I think you need to just let her get the test done,” Elijah advised.
“Given what you’ve told me, she’s probably dealing with some uncertainty right now.
The marriage was only supposed to last until after the baby was born, right?
So maybe she’s just trying to protect her son.
If you go on to have another family, she’ll want to make sure that legally, you’ve taken responsibility for TJ. ”
Something inside Julian recoiled at Elijah’s words. He didn’t want another family. He wanted the one he already had.
“I need to apologize and get this sorted out,” he said.
“Yes, you do,” Elijah agreed. “Let me pray with you before you go back and talk to her.”
Julian hadn’t even thought about praying regarding the situation. He still needed to get used to that being an option for him.
Bowing his head, he felt Elijah’s hand on his back.
“Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today asking for wisdom for Julian as he and Kiara make this decision about the test. I pray that you will be with them both as they talk, that their communication will be clear so that there is no misunderstanding. In Jesus’ name.”
Julian lifted his head and glanced over at Elijah. “Thank you.”
Elijah smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Pushing to his feet, Julian ran a hand through his hair to make sure it wasn’t standing up in all directions. He felt strangely nervous about approaching Kiara, but Elijah was right. They needed to talk this through, and he needed to apologize.
When he returned to the room, Kiara was back in her bed, the baby sleeping in the curve of her arm. She looked up and watched him approach her with wary eyes.
He pulled a chair over to the bed. Lowering himself into it, he let out a sigh.
Looking at her, he tried to smile reassuringly.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did to you saying you still wanted to go ahead with the paternity test. I want you to know that I believe you that TJ is mine.
I don’t need the test to tell me that. However, if it’s what you want…
if it’s what you need, I’ll make arrangements for it. ”
He was still hoping that she’d agree that they didn’t need it, but she didn’t. This time, however, he managed to keep his emotions under control.
“Can we go ahead and fill out the birth certificate information, though?” Julian asked. “Or do we have to wait for the results?”
Kiara stared at him for a long moment, then she nodded. “The nurse said it would be easier if we had it completed before we left the hospital, even though they can’t insist that we do it.”
Julian got up and went to the table. He sat down in front of the papers he’d left there earlier. But before he did anything else, he made a phone call to his lawyer to have him arrange for someone to come to the hospital and take the samples for the test.
“Hopefully, we’ll get someone here this afternoon,” Julian said as he hung up. “But let’s get this filled out.”
It didn’t take too long, and in the process, he discovered some new information.
“Your birthday is coming up,” Julian observed as he wrote the date in the space provided. “Did they name you Kiara Noelle because you were born in December?”
“I assume so,” she said. “But I don’t know for sure because I last talked to my parents when I was eight, and at that age, I didn’t know that Noelle was associated with Christmas.
All I knew was that I didn’t get very much for my birthday because it was so close to Christmas.
Plus, I only heard my middle name when I was in trouble, so it wasn’t a positive thing. ”
As he continued to fill out the form, Julian wondered what he could do to make her birthday special for her that year.
“When is your birthday?” Kiara asked.
Julian looked up and said, “February.”
“Valentine’s Day?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Unfortunately.”
“Seriously?” she asked with a grin.
“Yes. Seriously.”
“We didn’t celebrate your birthday earlier this year, though.”