Chapter 11
“Apparently, a simple lawyer meeting requires my entire family.”
Zane
My knee bounces up and down as I sit in the lawyer’s waiting room.
“You okay?” Eli asks.
“Fine.”
He nods at my knee. “Fine?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” I admit.
He frowns. “You still want to give Adele back to her mom?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” I run a hand through my hair and pull on the ends. The bite of pain doesn’t help to calm any of the thoughts whizzing through my brain at breakneck speed.
He places a hand on my thigh to stop my knee from bouncing. “Which is why we’re here. In case you decide to keep Adele, you should know your options.”
“We don’t know Adele’s mine. I mean…” I glance around the waiting room to ensure no one can overhear us, but we’re the only people here. “I don’t remember Daisy.”
“Not a flicker of recognition?”
“None. And I’m not exactly father material.”
He scowls. “Why not?”
He has to ask? “I didn’t grow up with a dad.”
His scowl deepens.
“It’s different for you. You were sixteen when Dad left. I was eleven.”
“Mr. Raider?” the secretary calls. “Follow me.”
I stand and push the baby stroller down the hallway as I follow the secretary. She shows me into a small meeting room.
“Have a seat. Ms. Kline will be with you in a moment.”
Eli and I sit next to each other but I last less than ten seconds before I spring to my feet and begin pacing around the room.
I don’t know what I’m doing here. I don’t know what I’m doing, period.
I’m supposed to be in Argentina by now. Not at a lawyer’s office in Smuggler’s Rest discussing paternity and custody.
The door opens and a woman I vaguely recognize enters. “Mr. Raider?” she greets.
Eli chuckles. “Mr. Raider? I remember when you used to call him Mr. Poopy Pants.”
I growl. “I am not Mr. Poopy Pants.”
The woman snorts. “Not anymore.”
I study her. I should know who she is. Smuggler’s Rest isn’t very big, and since I’ve lived here my entire life, I know most people. Although I do enjoy traveling as often as I can.
“Siena. I was in Jaxon’s class.”
Phew. This isn’t another woman I’ve slept with and don’t remember. I might be a player, but I’m not an asshole.
We shake hands before she settles in a chair on the opposite side of the table. She opens a notebook. “My secretary said this was a paternity matter. I’m surprised you came to me, Eli. Don’t you usually use those fancy attorneys in New York when a woman claims you’re the father of her child?”
“It’s not for me.” Eli waves toward me. “Zane’s the one with the problem.”
I frown. Adele isn’t a problem. An inconvenience? Maybe. But a problem? No way. She’s an innocent baby.
Siena’s eyes widen but she clears her throat and wipes the surprise from her face. “Is this your baby?”
“I don’t know.”
Her brows lift, but to her credit, she doesn’t throw any personal questions my way. “Explain, please.”
“A woman dropped her off at my house last week. She claimed I’m the dad and took off.”
“And who is this woman?”
“She said her name is Daisy.”
“I have my private investigators searching for her,” Eli adds.
“And you came to me to make this situation legal?” Kind of? I don’t know. Luckily, she doesn’t wait for a response before continuing. “Have you done a paternity test yet?”
“I made an appointment for him at the lab,” Eli answers.
Siena nods in approval. “Good. Home paternity tests aren’t admissible in court.”
Admissible in court? Crap. Is this a court matter?
“Once we have the results of the test, we can file for custody.”
“File for custody?” I squeak. I clear my throat and try again. “File for custody?”
Siena’s brow wrinkles. “It’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To ensure you have custody of your baby?”
“I don’t know if she is my baby.” My stomach sours. The words feel like a betrayal. It’s true, though. I don’t know if Adele is mine.
I glance at her sleeping in the stroller. She might not be mine, but I can’t abandon her. I’m not an asshole. I refuse to be my dad.
“Don’t worry. There is precedent for a person receiving custody without being the biological parent to the child. It’ll be a more difficult path to wander, but we’ll cross that bridge when we know about the child’s paternity.”
“Her name is Adele.”
The words slip out before I can stop them. I can’t help it. Adele isn’t ‘the baby’. She’s Adele. A cranky baby who sleeps all day but never at night. Who has the cutest toothless smile I’ve ever seen.
The door bursts open and Mom barges inside. Followed by my brothers Kai, Miles, Rhett, and Jaxon.
“I’m sorry,” the secretary says as she rushes in after them. “I tried to stop them.”
“Stop me?” Mom glares at her. “They’re discussing my grandchild. I should be here.”
“Perhaps, but why am I here?” Jaxon lifts his glasses to pinch his nose.
Miles elbows him. “We’re here to support our brother.”
“Couldn’t we support him while working?”
Kai rolls his eyes. “You really don’t understand how this brother supporting brother thing works, do you?”
“I don’t understand how standing behind him while he has a meeting with an attorney is supporting him.”
Siena giggles. “Jaxon Raider, you haven’t changed a bit since high school.”
“Incorrect. I have gained ten pounds, have several university degrees, and I’m married.”
“You’re married? And I thought the shocking news of the day was Zane having a baby.”
Miles barks out a laugh. “How is it shocking that Zane has a baby?”
Mom purses her lips. “Miles Raider, behave.”
Miles bats his eyelashes at her. “I am behaving. It’s not my fault Zane is a player.”
Mom sighs. “Yes, well…”
Silence falls. Uncomfortable silence during which I question every decision I’ve ever made in my life. Am I the asshole? Should I have been more careful? More discreet?
“Should I get more chairs or ring security?” the receptionist asks.
Siena sighs. “No need for security. Besides, the Raider brothers probably know all the security people on Smuggler’s Hideaway anyway.”
“Only those who attend Mermaid Karaoke,” Miles claims and I groan.
Referring to Mermaid Karaoke – when single women descend on the island in search of love – is not helping me make the case of being an upstanding citizen who can care for a baby.
There I go again. Worrying about Adele’s future. Her future isn’t my concern to worry about.
“We’re good,” Rhett claims before pulling out a chair for Mom. “No more chairs needed.” He sits in the only other available chair while Jaxon, Miles, and Kai lean against the wall.
The receptionist waits for Siena’s nod before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her.
“Now,” Mom says. “How are we going to ensure baby Adele stays in the Raider family?”
My heart warms at how fierce Mom’s words are. She doesn’t know if Adele is mine, but she doesn’t care. She’s going to include this child in our family no matter what.
How could anyone abandon this woman? She’s beautiful, loyal, and funny. But my dad did abandon her. And I carry his genes in me.
“We need to prove she’s Zane’s child before we can begin.”
Mom scoffs at Siena. “Have you seen her eyes? Adele has the Raider blue eyes.”
Siena purses her lips. “I’m afraid judges don’t accept eye color as proof of paternity.”
“What proof do they accept?”
“A paternity test.”
Mom looks to me. “When are you doing one?”
“I already scheduled it for tomorrow,” Eli answers.
Mom nods. “Okay. That’s settled. What next?”
“If Adele is Zane’s child, we—”
“When,” Mom corrects. “When we prove Adele is Zane’s child.”
The lawyer sighs. I bet she didn’t expect to be confronted by all six of the Raider brothers this morning. It’s a good thing Eli’s a billionaire or she’d probably run from the room screaming. Although, she’s a smuggler. Smugglers are made of stern stuff.
“After we receive the paternity test results, we can begin with filing for custody.”
“I assume custody won’t be an issue since the mother abandoned her child.”
I squeeze Mom’s hand. She’s a strong woman, but discussing how someone abandoned her child will bring up her own past of dealing with a man abandoning his children.
She pats my hand. “Don’t you worry, Zane. We’ll figure this all out.”
She’s going to be mighty disappointed in me if I decide not to fight for custody of Adele. But isn’t it better to let her mother raise her, than for her to be raised by a man who shouldn’t be a father?