Chapter Six
Siobhan waited until she heard Brian’s footsteps crunching on the gravel road before she sank onto the dinette bench and dropped her face into her hands. The look on that man’s face when he held Oliver for the first time was seared into her memory—probably forever.
There were so many emotions running through her, she couldn’t even begin to process any of them.
It was obvious Brian wasn’t the kind of man who would walk away from his child.
She’d never had to share Oliver with anybody, but she was going to have to now, and she didn’t know how. She didn’t want to.
And she was so angry with Kelly. Not only because she’d put Siobhan and Oliver in this position, but because she’d robbed Brian of the opportunity to be a father.
Even though everything would be different if Kelly hadn’t lied—Siobhan probably wouldn’t be Oliver’s mother—she couldn’t help being upset on Brian’s behalf.
Maybe he hadn’t been the greatest of husbands—according to Kelly, anyway—but he didn’t deserve to be erased from his child’s life.
She was sad. She was scared. Confused. Unsure of what to do next.
Part of her still wanted to put her son in the car, drive home and lock themselves in their apartment.
But it wouldn’t stop the inevitable. And while Steph could find yet another stand-in maid of honor, if the family was saddened to have met Oliver only to have him whisked away so abruptly, that could put a damper on the entire wedding week.
Siobhan pushed herself to her feet and poured herself a cup of water, which she downed half of in one shot. What she needed to do was sleep on it. First, though, she needed to get her son into bed.
It was probably being away from home that did it, but Oliver didn’t sleep through getting cleaned up and changed as she’d hoped.
He was cranky and kept trying to push her away, but she was finally able to get him into his pajamas and tucked into bed.
She only made it halfway through his book before he fell back to sleep.
Once Oliver was softly snoring, Siobhan slid out of the bed and went to the other end of the camper to sit at the dinette with her phone.
She pulled up Robin’s name in her contacts and hit the button to call her, desperate to talk to possibly the only person in her life who would one hundred percent take her side.
“Please tell me you’re having fun,” Robin said in lieu of hello.
“That’s not exactly the word I’d use.” Siobhan kept her voice low. Even though there weren’t any campers super close to hers, people could be walking around and she wasn’t sure how soundproof campers were. Probably not very. “You might want to get comfortable.”
“I’m wearing a tank top and men’s boxers, I have cupcake frosting on my phone, and my TV’s paused with a very attractive duke about to slide his hand up under his lady love’s dress, so I’m not sure it’s possible to be more comfortable.”
“So you’re sitting down, then?”
“What’s going on, Siobhan? You just got there today. How bad can it be already?”
She choked down the hysterical giggle that bubbled up in her throat. “Well, there’s a good chance Brian Kowalski is actually Oliver’s biological father.”
“What the— Dammit. Hold on a sec.” There were rustling sounds, punctuated by Robin muttering curses, and then she was back.
Siobhan could tell by the sound quality her friend had put her earbuds in.
“Sorry. You made me drop my cupcake and it has blue frosting and I know better because the blue food coloring stains everything. But what? How is that even possible? Brian being his father, I mean. Who cares about cupcakes? And why do you even think that?”
When her friend finally stopped and took a breath, Siobhan filled her in on everything that had happened since her arrival at Birch Brook Campground. Robin listened intently, her gasps the only interruption, until she got it all out.
“You can’t really be sure, though,” Robin said when she was caught up. “I mean, Kowalskis aren’t the only people with dark hair and blue eyes.”
“Trust me, I tried that defense. But Robin…you’d have to see it. I swear, he’s like a little Brian clone. The test is just going to confirm what’s already obvious to everybody here, even though I’m not going to admit that to them.”
“You could refuse to allow the paternity test, you know. You’re his mother and people can’t just go around sticking swabs in your kid’s mouth whenever they want. They need your permission.”
“I thought of that, but I feel like he has a strong enough case to get a court order.” Siobhan sighed. “And then, if I make it adversarial, what happens when he can prove he’s Oliver’s father and Kelly lied on the adoption papers? Robin, if I fight him, I might lose.”
“You’re legally his mother. They can’t just take him away.”
Siobhan wasn’t so sure of that, and she definitely wasn’t sure enough to risk a court battle. “I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.”
“Do you want me to come up there? I can tell my job I’m sick or something and be there…um, sometime in the middle of the night, I guess.”
Siobhan laughed, even though she knew Robin was serious. “No, you don’t need to come up. I appreciate the offer, but I’ll get through this.”
“If you get a bad vibe, just come home. We’ll pack up what we need and go on the run with Oliver and we’ll find a small town to hide in somewhere out west. We can pretend we’re sisters and open a bakery or something and nobody will ever find us.”
Siobhan laughed, and then smothered it with her hand so she wouldn’t wake her son. “Nobody who knows us will ever think to look for us in the back of a bakery, that’s for sure. Our only cupcake skills are eating them and smearing the frosting all over the place.”
“I swear, I’m as bad as Oliver sometimes.” There was a long pause. “But I was only half joking. You know I’ve got you, right?”
“I know.”
“You don’t think he would try to go on the run, do you?”
There was one sharp jolt of terror, but she was able to laugh it off.
“No, he wouldn’t do that. This is a big, close family and he might be a jerk, but they’re nice people.
I’m very confident if he even hinted at something like that, they’d set him straight.
I mean, they’re going to take Brian’s side, of course, but they wouldn’t support him doing something like that. ”
“I should probably stop dumping my tendency toward high drama all over you.”
Siobhan sighed. “I feel like I’m the one living in high drama right now.”
“If it gets to be too much, just come home. We’ll hire a lawyer and let her handle it.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Okay. Try to get some sleep and call me tomorrow.”
Getting some sleep was much easier said than done. She couldn’t really toss and turn without disturbing her son, but spent a lot of time staring at the ceiling. Finally, she slept, but it was fitful and her mind was filled with flashes of blue eyes.
Siobhan wasn’t surprised Oliver woke up earlier than usual.
They were in a strange bed and the sun was hitting the side of the camper like a spotlight.
Even though she’d struggled to fall asleep, the brightness of the camper and emotional restlessness had woken her just a few minutes before her son stirred.
She was already looking forward to an afternoon nap, whether it was here or at home. Several hours of thinking about it in the dark hadn’t made up her mind one way or the other.
Oliver blinked at her and then his mouth curved into a sleepy smile. “Swim in the pool today, Mommy?”
“Yes, honey. Later we’ll swim in the pool.”
It didn’t mean she’d decided. They could have breakfast and then play outside. Toward the middle of the day, Oliver could spend some time in the pool. They could have lunch, and then hit the road.
“And the playground?” he asked, so excited he was bouncing on his butt on the mattress.
“And the playground, too.”
As she grabbed the diaper bag, Siobhan knew she wasn’t going anywhere. At least not today. She didn’t want to rush her child through his adventure and then go back to their apartment, where she’d probably spend the rest of her time off pacing the floor, worrying about what was to come.
If she stayed, she could enjoy a week off with her son. And for better or worse, most of the people in the campground were going to be a part of Oliver’s life, one way or another. Staying and getting to know them would be in everybody’s best interest.
Her phone chimed, and she picked it up to see a text from Steph.
We’re doing a buffet-style breakfast and you’re welcome to join us, of course.
Since she’d come to terms with the fact that she was going to see the week out, she should probably embrace her maid of honor duties.
But she and Oliver enjoyed their breakfast. Maybe it was only oatmeal or scrambled eggs and cut-up fruit, but her boy was definitely a morning person.
Siobhan always protected their mornings together before she had to drop him at daycare and head to work.
We’re about to eat, actually, but we’ll be out soon to visit for a bit before Oliver goes in the pool. It’s all he’ll talk about.
She hoped that was enough to signal she was staying without having an entire conversation about it.
“What flavor do you want today?” she asked Oliver once they’d gone through their morning routine.
“Apple!”
It was his favorite. Apple cinnamon instant oatmeal with sliced apples on the side. “At least you’re predictable, little man.”
And Oliver laughed and clapped, even though he had no idea what she was talking about.
* * *
Brian’s first thought when he opened his eyes was Oliver. His second was pushing Stella’s face out of his because her morning breath was not a great way to start his day.