Chapter Four
Siobhan kept her eyes on her son, but through her peripheral vision, she saw Brian storming out the back door of the store—it was the only word for it, really.
He definitely stormed. Lisa trotted after him and eventually caught him by the arm.
Their exchange of words looked intense, and then they looked toward the gathered family.
Brian looked at Oliver, and Lisa looked directly at her.
The last thing Siobhan wanted right now was a big scene in front of Oliver—or the rest of them, for that matter—so she stood and started toward her son.
“Oliver, Mommy forgot something. Let’s go up to the store while they’re still up there.”
“Nora and I can keep an eye on him,” Ellie said. “So you can…”
When her words died away and several people shifted in their chairs, Siobhan realized most of them knew something was going on. She didn’t want people whispering all week, so the best thing to do was meet it head-on.
“Thanks.” She smiled at her son and then headed across the grass toward the store.
When they saw her coming, Lisa let go of Brian’s arm and said something Siobhan couldn’t hear.
Then Brian turned back toward the store while his parents gave her tight smiles and headed back to the others.
Because she knew everybody present was probably watching her, she didn’t hesitate before stepping through the door Brian had left open.
He didn’t wait to see if she followed, but walked straight to one of the leather chairs and dropped into it.
When she closed the door, maybe giving it a little more oomph than she intended so it was almost a slam, he looked up at her.
There wasn’t a hint of softness or warmth in that look, and she shivered.
She could deny everything. So what if Oliver had blue eyes.
Millions of people did. She could look Brian in the eye and tell him Oliver was her son.
Technically, at least, that was the truth.
A denial probably wouldn’t be enough, though.
If the entire family wasn’t in one place, the facial expressions and mannerisms wouldn’t make the resemblance so obvious.
Surrounded by them, though, it was hard to deny he was one of them.
Leaving wasn’t an option. Steph might feel as if a second maid of honor bailing was some kind of a sign she shouldn’t get married, even though there were plenty of women in her family who could step in.
And even if Brian suspected Siobhan was running from a mess of Kelly’s making, he might not care. Based on how quickly he turned on his wife, he wasn’t exactly a devoted family man. He’d been awful to Kelly, and she’d referenced his temper more than once. Maybe he didn’t want a son.
But Kelly had lied.
Siobhan pressed her lips together, dismissing the thought with one sharp shake of her head.
She couldn’t deny her sister had lied about who Oliver’s father was, but she couldn’t really blame her sister for not wanting to be tied to Brian Kowalski for the rest of her life.
Not if he’d ever looked at her the way he was looking at Siobhan right now.
She sat in the other chair so she was facing him, but she had no idea what to say. This wasn’t the kind of conversation she’d ever imagined herself having, and the words to get it started wouldn’t come to her.
Brian didn’t seem to know what to say, either. He’d inhale slightly, as though about to speak, but then his jaw would clench and nothing.
The silence grew so oppressive it was almost a physical weight crushing her. “The answer to the question you haven’t asked is I don’t know.”
His face didn’t soften, but his broad shoulders dropped and he sighed. After an endless moment, he shook his head before flopping back in the chair and staring at the ceiling.
Siobhan was silent, waiting. And when he leaned forward again, she got a glimpse of his raw emotions before he got control of his face again. Confusion. Anger. Overwhelmed.
“I don’t even know the right questions to ask. You don’t know what?”
“I don’t actually know who Oliver’s biological father is.”
He considered her words for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed. “Who actually gave birth to him?”
“Kelly.” Just one word—her sister’s name—and Siobhan knew it was going to change everything. But she wasn’t going to lie. Not about this.
Brian dropped his face into his hands, elbows rested on his knees. Judging by the rise and fall of his shoulders, he was taking long and slow deep breaths, and Siobhan wasn’t sure if he was trying to control his emotions or his temper.
I’m scared of him, Siobhan.
“How old is he?” Brian asked as he lifted his head. He didn’t look happy, of course, but he didn’t look angry or dangerous.
“Twenty-two months. He’ll be two in October.”
She let him do the math himself, and when the color drained from his face, she knew he’d done it. “We were still married when Oliver was conceived.”
“Barely, but technically yes.”
The anger came now, tinting his face and neck red. “You helped her take my son away from me.”
“No. She told me you two fought all the time and you hadn’t slept together for months. She was already hooking up with Steve and I—I believed her.” She paused, taking a breath. “And for the record, I still don’t know for a fact who Oliver’s father is.”
“We will as soon as I can manage it,” he vowed. “Why do you have him?”
“When Oliver was three months old, they decided they didn’t want to be parents anymore and told me that either I adopted him or they were surrendering him.”
“Surrendering him.” The flush faded and he swiped his hand over his mouth. “So you legally adopted him. But that guy signed the papers. He lied. They both lied.”
“I don’t know if he thought he was Oliver’s biological father or not. She probably lied to him, too, especially if she planned to stay with him. But I thought he was.” It was important to Siobhan that he knew that.
His phone chimed and she’d usually be annoyed by him responding to it while they were talking, but she was thankful for the interruption.
A glass of water would be nice, but at least she got a respite from being pinned by Brian’s intense blue gaze.
Whatever was on his screen made him close his eyes for a solid five count, and then he held the phone out toward her.
She frowned, but he gave her a go-ahead gesture with his head, so she took it. On the screen was a text from his mom.
This is always in the favorites album in my phone.
And there was an old photo of four young boys.
It had the grainy look of an older print photo that Lisa had taken a picture of with her phone, but Siobhan got the message.
Not only were the Kowalski genes so strong that they were basically a stamp on Brian and his brothers, but if Oliver was digitally added, he’d look like he belonged. The resemblance really was uncanny.
Despite the heat in the room, Siobhan was shivering, and after handing his phone back to him, she crossed her arms and tucked her hands under her arms. Part of her wanted to walk out, but she wasn’t sure her legs would support her.
“I didn’t see it until you smiled at him up on the hill,” she said quietly.
“He just had a growth spurt and part of it was his face changing and losing some of the baby fat so he looks like a little boy now and I haven’t seen you in a long time and I’ve certainly never seen you smile at me like that, so I just didn’t see it.
” She realized she was babbling and forced herself back on track.
“I know this is hard for you, but you also need to know that I’m his mother and I’m not conceding a damn thing without a paternity test.”
“Five bucks says my mother’s already got the instructions for how to do that loaded on her phone.”
Siobhan closed her eyes briefly, and then sighed. “Zero chance we keep this between us, I guess.”
“Since half my family knew before I did, no, there’s no chance.”
“Great.”
“My parents accused me of causing the divorce by having an affair with you,” he told her, and the underlying tremor in his voice made it hard for her to swallow.
“I’m sorry this is happening, Brian. Maybe I should go. I know Steph will be devastated, but I’m sure one of her cousins can stand in for me. I think it’s important that there be boundaries until we know for sure, one way or the other.”
He looked at her for a long time, his expression unreadable, before he spoke in a low voice. “No. I don’t want you to go.”
* * *
Brian had no idea what the right thing to do was in this situation, but he was sure of one thing—he didn’t want Oliver to leave the campground. And keeping the boy around meant he had to convince Siobhan to stay.
He’d known this week was going to be tough, but he didn’t think it was going to turn his entire life upside down.
Maybe. There was a chance this was all a strange coincidence and the test results would come back proving his ex-wife had a baby with some guy she’d cheated on him with and then his former sister-in-law had adopted him.
He couldn’t let himself get attached, just to have his emotional rug yanked out from under him again.
It was already too late, though. He knew Oliver was his son as surely as he knew Mike and Lisa were his parents.
“I know we’re all blown away right now,” he said, “but Steph’s getting married and she’s so excited about this wedding. She’d be crushed if you left.”
“I’m sorry it’ll be hard for Steph, but I don’t want to be here.”
Even though he’d spent the last several years nurturing a serious dislike for this woman, Brian tried to put himself in her place. He imagined what it would feel like if he had a child and when he showed up at a campground, an entire family tried to claim that child as their own.
He and his kid would be out of there so fast he’d probably leave a cartoon puff of air behind him and half his tire tread out on Route 3 from peeling out of the campground.