Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (27 page)

Kimber

It broke Kimber’s heart when they had to draw Halden’s blood for the paternity test.  She hated to think that she put her son through even a few minutes of unnecessary pain because she had been too bent on revenge and too horny to think about using a condom when she’d had sex with Paul. 

But luckily it was over quickly and he quieted when she held him to her and was soon asleep after he had had his fill of her milk.  Luke had a funny expression on his face when he walked out from giving his blood and she felt dread in her heart.

“Are you okay Luke?”

“Yeah.  Let’s get out of here.  Anything remotely resembling a doctor’s office or a hospital turns my stomach.”

Kimber let out a relieved laugh.  “Okay.”

She put Halden in his car seat and they went to the car and returned home after retrieving Alexis from Bunny’s house.

Even though things were good in her house, that they had gone back to being the happily married couple they’d always been before the indiscretions had started and Luke was a wonderful father to both Alexis and Halden, Kimber knew that she would feel on edge until the results of the DNA test were in.

Paul

Paul felt strange having his blood drawn for a paternity test.  He had been screwed around on in high school,  and had not liked the feeling at all, especially when he’d ended up with an STD in the process, so he’d never imagined having to take a DNA test to determine if he was the father of a child.  Paul was not the kind man to have to take a DNA test, or at least he’d never imagined himself to be.

But he had certainly screwed up where his tryst with Kimber was concerned.  He didn’t think that he would truly be able to forgive himself for the pain that he had put his wife through until she had forgiven him.  He knew that she wanted to and sometimes thought that she missed him as much as he missed her, but he knew that Sierra was going to stand her ground and not let him come home until the test proved that he was not Halden’s father.  Paul didn’t blame Sierra, but it didn’t mean that it made the time without his wife and son hurt any less.

The days seemed endless to him as he waited for Kimber’s phone call to say that the results were in.  Nathan was growing so quickly that Paul felt like he had missed half of his son’s life.  He knew that he might have felt that way even if he were still living with his family since he worked so much, but it hurt to think that his indiscretion meant that he missed even more of seeing his son grow.

Sierra certainly wasn’t stingy when it came to visitation.  She let him take their son overnight or for a few hours every time he asked her.  He took Nathan as much as possible because he knew his wife worked hard and needed a break.  He knew that Sierra had tried to spend less money since he’d been living apart from them too.  It wasn’t as if she had ever spent excessive money, but he knew that she was budgeting even tighter while still making sure that Nathan had everything he needed and he loved her even more for it.

Sierra

Sierra felt a little like she wanted to crawl out of her skin as the days passed between the time Paul submitted his blood for the paternity test and when the results were in.  Every time she saw Paul she saw more hope on his face and it broke her heart a little.

She missed him so much.  She missed the way he smelled and the feel of his arms around her.  She missed the sound of his laughter because he could be so serious and it always sounded so beautiful.  She missed watching him care for their son, because he was such a wonderful father once he had let go of his insecurities over doing something wrong or not being a perfect father.

Her heart was filled with hope too, but she tried not to let herself feel it too much.  She’d always known that even if her husband had been dumb enough to have unprotected sex with Kimber around the time she got pregnant, that Luke was much more likely to be the baby’s father.  It had made her heart soar when Paul had told her that the baby had Luke’s eyes but she hadn’t been able to let him know that because she really didn’t think she could take it if their hopes were brought down even further on the unlikely chance that Halden belonged to her husband.

So she tried not to think about it too much, though it was always there at the back of her mind.  She put herself fully into taking care of the house that had always seemed too big to her but seemed even bigger without Paul to share it with her.  She marveled over her son.  She made casual inquiries about teaching jobs, because she wanted to go back to work.  She loved caring for her son, but she felt a calling to teach the children of others.

Still the days passed slowly as she waited for the call.  She had fought with herself over going with Paul to hear the results, but she had come to the decision that she wanted to be with him.  She wasn’t sure she could have taken the waiting anyway, and the part of her that was filled with the hope of getting her marriage back on track wanted to see his face when the announcement was made that the baby was Luke’s.  Her hormones wanted to be with him so that they could make love soon after too.

Kimber

Kimber hung up the phone.  Her heart was pounding in her chest.  She was almost 100% positive that Halden belonged to Luke anyway, but she knew that the results of the DNA test confirming it would make them all feel so much better.  The results were in.

She looked at Luke who was playing a game in the living room with Alexis.  “They’re in.  I guess I need to call Paul.”

Luke looked up at her.  “Yeah.  How long do you think it will take them to get everything together and come down here?  They live a ways away don’t they?”

“Yeah.  Eighteen hours or something like that.  Do you think Sierra will want to come with him?”

Luke shrugged.  “I would think so.  We’ll leave the kids with Mom and Dad when we go in.  Or we can leave them with your Mom I guess.”

“Your parents are fine.  I’ll have to make sure to pump plenty of milk for him.”

Kimber went into the living room.  Halden was asleep in the bassinet.  She brushed a kiss against his forehead.  She moved to her daughter.  “I’ll be right back baby girl.  Then maybe I can play with you and Daddy huh?”

“Where are you going Mom?”

“Mommy needs to make a phone call.”

“Oh.  Okay.”

Alexis turned back to the game board in front of her.  She concentrated so hard.  The look on her face reminded Kimber so much of Luke.

Luke squeezed her hand.  “It’s gonna be good news babe.  I can feel it.”

“I hope so.  Do you think we should take Paul and Sierra out to lunch afterwards?  I mean, we’ll definitely need to talk if the results don’t turn out the way we all hope they will, but I thought it might be nice either way.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Daddy it’s your turn.”

“Yes princess.”

Kimber took one more look at her much loved family and then left the room with her cell phone in hand.

She took a deep breath and then let it out as she dialed Paul’s number.  She was worried that he was at work and she’d be disturbing him, but she wanted to tell him as soon as possible.  He picked up on the second ring.

“Hello.”

“Hi Paul.  It’s Kimber.”

“Hi.  Um, did the results come back?”

“They did.  I don’t know how long it will take you to get everything worked out so that you can come down here, but I’ll let the office know and we’ll go in whenever it’s good for you.  Is Sierra coming with you?”

“She fought with herself over it, but she finally decided that she does want to be there.”

“Okay.  Luke and I would like to take you out to lunch or dinner or whatever that day.  If Halden is yours, we’ll need to talk and if he’s Luke’s it will be nice to feel like everything has closure.”

“Yeah.  I feel like shit for hoping that he’s Luke’s, but we all know that it would be so much better if he is.”

“I know.  I guess I’ll let you go now.  Call me when you have everything figured out.”

“I will.  Take care Kimber.  Thanks for letting me know.”

“Bye Paul.”

“Bye Kimber.”

Paul called her back that evening and told her that he and Sierra would be able to be in town the next Monday.  It was four days away.  Kimber was sure that the days were going to feel like years as they passed, but she was glad that he had been able to work everything out with his vacation and she knew that it definitely could have taken longer.

She let Luke know.  The next morning, she called the facility that had handled their test results and made an appointment for them to come in Monday afternoon.  They made plans to drop Alexis and Halden off with Luke’s parents Monday morning.

The time did feel like it passed slowly, but by the time they were on their way to actually hear the results, Kimber felt like she wanted to run away.  Luke had been so good to her and he acted the exact same way towards Halden that he did Alexis, but Kimber was still afraid that everything would take a turn for the worse if the results didn’t say that Halden was Luke’s son.

Luke pulled to a stop in the parking lot.  Paul and Sierra were standing next to Paul’s car.  Paul saw them and waved.  Luke squeezed Kimber’s hand. 

“Babe are you okay?”

“I am so nervous.  Oh Luke, what if we’ve gotten our hopes up and Paul and Sierra’s hopes up and Halden turns out to be Paul’s son?  I don’t think I can take that.”

“The easiest way for me to think of it babe was that I would be like his stepfather.  It’s a little different if you want to get real technical.  We were technically separated when it happened and it’s much easier for me to think of it that way.  I know that I had an affair while we were most certainly not separated, but it helps me breathe a little better to think that you not only just had sex with Paul, but you did it while we were separated.  We will get through this if Halden is Paul’s son.  I hope and pray that he’s not because I want so badly for that boy to be mine.  He’s already stolen my heart.  I look at his face and see my eyes, but the heart sees what it wants to sometimes.  Let’s go inside honey.”

Luke squeezed her hand again and then got out of the car.  They were in her car since it definitely had more room for the kids, but she had been too nervous to drive. 

He opened her door and gave her his hand.  She stepped out and he shut the door.  He embraced her.  She held on to him, breathing in his scent, feeling tears prick her eyes.

Paul cleared his throat behind them.  “Sorry to interrupt, but I guess we should probably get inside.”

Kimber pulled away from Luke and ended up looking straight into not Paul’s eyes but Sierra’s.  The pretty woman gave her a half smile, though it looked to Kimber to be very forced.

Luke twined his fingers through hers and they all walked together towards the door.  He dropped her hand long enough to hold the door for everyone and then took her hand again.  They walked to the counter and Luke announced who they were and what they were there for.  The woman behind the desk nodded and said that someone would be with them in a few minutes.

Luke led her back to the group of chairs where Sierra and Paul were sitting.  It bugged her a little that Luke chose to sit beside Sierra when there were two open chairs on Paul’s left, but she forced it out of her mind and put her head on his shoulder and tried not to think about anything.

The minutes until someone called their names seemed to be everlasting.  She felt nauseous when she followed Luke down a long hall and into an office.

They all sat down and the man behind the desk introduced himself.  Kimber’s heart leapt to her throat when he opened the folder in front of him.  She almost wasn’t sure that she believed her own ears when he announced that the father of Halden Elijah Stone was Lucas Stone. 

She couldn’t speak.  She felt like she was walking around in a dreamlike state when Luke thanked the man and held out his hand to her to help her to her feet.  She stumbled a little and her face felt like it was on fire when they left the office.  She looked at Sierra and Paul and saw that Sierra was crying.  Paul’s eyes were filled with tears too. 

The walk back to her car made her feel like she might have a little bit of an idea what it felt like to be released from prison.  Luke put his arms around her.  She let her tears flow then.  He held her, saying nothing.

He pulled back several minutes later and she pulled a travel pack of tissues out of her purse.  She wiped her face and blew her nose.  Paul and Sierra were standing next to Paul’s car, looking uncomfortable.

Luke cleared his throat.  “We’d like to take you out to lunch.”

Sierra bit her lip.  “Um.”  She turned to her husband.  “What do you think Paul?”

He smiled.  “I am so relieved right now, I feel like getting drunk.”

Luke chuckled.  “A drink might be in order too.  There’s a nice Italian place a few blocks away.  My treat.”

Sierra nodded.  “Okay.”  Her eyes met Kimber’s but she quickly looked away.

They got into the car and Luke drove them to the restaurant.

Luke

When Luke heard the confirmation that Halden was his son, he wanted to jump up and down and scream his head off.  He didn’t think he’d ever been so relieved in his whole life.  Kimber still looked like she was going to throw up, but he knew that she must feel the same overwhelming feeling of happiness that he did.

Sierra and Paul had agreed to go out to lunch with them, so they drove to the restaurant where he and Kimber had had their first date.  Luke had the offhanded thought as he followed them into the restaurant that Sierra was even more beautiful than he remembered her, but she was clutching Paul’s arm like she never wanted to let go.  Luke pushed all thoughts of the attractiveness of his ex-lover out of his mind as they waited to be seated.

The talk was stilted at first.  Paul seemed even more uncomfortable than Sierra did.  He felt pretty uncomfortable himself, but he knew that they all needed to walk away from this thing clean.  Everything had to be put to rest for once and for all between him and Sierra and Kimber and Paul.

Once everyone besides Kimber had had a glass of wine it got a little easier.  They talked about their kids and Paul’s job, Luke’s songwriting and Kimber’s store.  It still was nowhere near the most relaxed meal, but by the end, Luke was sure that they all felt better and hoped that there would no longer be anything that felt like it was finished between them.

When he had paid and they were all out in the parking lot, he gave Sierra a hug.  He saw that Paul gave him a dirty look, but Sierra gave her husband an even dirtier one and held him tighter.  When he let her go, he knew that he would never hold her in his arms again and realized that he was okay with that.

“Take care Sie.”

She smiled.  “You too.  Tell Alexis I said ‘hi.’”

“I will.” He turned to Paul.  “Take care of her.  She deserves to be treated well.”

Paul cleared his throat, and to Luke he still looked a little uncomfortable.  “I will.  I know.   Best of luck with everything guys.”

“You too.  Drive safely.”

“Always.”  Paul took Sierra’s hand and they walked away.

Luke turned to Kimber.  “I think I hear our bedroom calling our names.”

Kimber smiled.  “Me too.”

Luke kissed her slow and easy.  “There’s nothing like a beautiful wife that’s been given the okay by the doc to start having sex again.  And an empty house.  I love those babies and I am truly thanking my lucky stars that they are both mine by blood, but damn is it gonna be nice to have them tucked away with Grandma and Grandpa for the night.”  He leaned over and murmured a suggestive comment into her ear.

Kimber raised an eyebrow at his suggestion.  “You think so huh?”

He grinned.  “Oh yeah I do.”

He took her hand briefly and then opened the car door for her.  The drive back to their house seemed to take forever.  He felt like there was a fire burning inside of him that was being fueled by his sex drive.

There was no talk as they unlocked the door and went into the house.  They retreated to the bedroom and their clothes were soon on the floor beside the bed.

Luke pressed his beautiful wife gently back to the bed and kissed her.  He let all his passion out into the kiss.  He wanted her to feel the way he felt for her now more than ever. 

She pulled back.  “I love you Luke.  Thank you for sticking by me through this whole crazy mess that I got us into.”

“I got us into this mess.  You and Paul just ended it.  I admit that you probably could have gone about it with a little more thought put into it and saved us all a lot of headaches, but none of that matters now babe.  It might suck to explain all of this to Alexis and Halden when they’re old enough to understand, but you know what?  I think they’re going to look at us and shrug because we are still going to be married and going even stronger by then.  I love you Kimber.  Now let me show you how much.  I meant what I whispered into your ear earlier.”  He winked at her.

“Mmm, it sounds good to me.”

She gave him one last kiss.  Then he took his time and tasted every inch of her body on his tongue.  He brought her to orgasm with his mouth and then entered her slowly with his manhood.  She kept her eyes locked on his as he moved above her, a mixture of passion, love and contentment on her face.

He captured her mouth with his when he came to orgasm, and then moved off of her and let out a contented sigh. 

“You know babe, before I met you, I used to worry that I’d never be able to stay married to a woman for long because the sex is supposed to change after you get married.”

“Uh huh.”

“Yeah, so I was gonna marry Sierra, and I was ready to settle down when I met you, but I really did worry that the passion would die down.  But it has never died down between us.  I know it was a little weird after my affair for a while, but before we knew it our sex life was back to normal.  It’s pretty damned special to be able to make love to your best friend and not hate each other in the morning too.”

Kimber wrinkled her nose at him.  “You’re a goof Luke.”

“I mean it babe.  You’re my best friend and you will always be my absolute favorite lover.  You know you’re happy with your sex life when the only woman you dream about making love to is your wife.”

“Oh Luke.”

“Do you dream about having sex with other guys?”

“No.”

“I can tell by the look on your face that you do, but it’s okay.  I love you Kimber.”

“I love you Luke.”

He took her hand and then took her into his arms.  He was truly content with his life.  There had been times when he’d wondered if Kimber’s secret would have been better left unsaid especially since Halden was his son, but he knew that her honesty had only made their marriage stronger.  He was proud to call Kimber his wife.   There was no other woman in the world he would rather grow old with.  And the fact that they had gotten through his affair and her one night stand with Paul and the questioned paternity of Halden, told Luke that their marriage could weather anything that life chose to throw at it.