Diagnosis: Daddy. Gina Wilkins

about everything. Apparently, I’m even named as the father on the birth certificate.”

      “So you believe Alexis is your daughter.”

      She seemed to be trying to convince herself. He nodded, anyway. “If Brandy said she is, then I don’t seem to have any other choice. The lawyer—his name was Haskell. Art Haskell, I think. Anyway, he said it’s up to me what I want to do now, but I need to make a decision quickly. Brandy’s sister is giving me until Monday to decide whether to accept custody or to relinquish my parental rights so Alexis can be adopted by someone else.”

      “But you’ve already made up your mind.”

      He wasn’t surprised by her insight. Mia probably knew him better than anyone else in the world. “I have no other choice,” he said again. “She’s my daughter, Mia. I can’t just turn my back on her.”

      His daughter. The words felt alien on his tongue. Somewhere in Missouri was a six-year-old child with his DNA. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a photograph Haskell had given him. “This is Alexis.”

      He noted that Mia’s hand wasn’t quite steady when she took it. He could certainly understand that.

      She studied the picture for several long minutes, then looked up at him somberly. “She looks just like you.”

      He’d seen the resemblance immediately. Alexis looked like a feminized version of himself at the same age, down to the little dimple in her chin. “I know.”

      “She really is your daughter.”

      “I know.”

      Handing the photo back to him, she shook her head as if to clear it. “Okay, I understand why you feel an obligation to her. But are you sure you want to take responsibility for this child you’ve never met and who has never met you? That’s an enormous undertaking.”

      “Tell me about it,” he muttered. “At least most single dads have the advantage of being in the kid’s life from the beginning. I don’t know how she’s going to react to me. But what else can I do, Mia? Turn her over to the state? Would you be able to do that if it were your child?”

      She hesitated a moment, then shook her head. “Of course not. Nor would I expect you to. That’s just not who you are. It’s not going to be easy, Connor, but you know that.”

      “Yeah. I know.”

      “Still, I can’t bear the thought of your quitting medical school. Not now.”

      “I hate it, too,” he admitted glumly. “But what else can I do? You’ve seen how much of a time commitment it requires. There’s just no way I can handle that and raise a kid by my self.”

      “Isn’t there anyone else who can help you? Someone from your family?”

      “If my mom were still around, she’d be thrilled to help. She always wanted grandkids,” he said, sadness gripping his heart. But his mother had died of cancer. He still missed her every day.

      “My only surviving grandmother lives in Nebraska and is in poor health, so she’s not an option. My dad is a great guy, but he’d be no help. He’s been a traveling salesman my whole life. Still travels a great deal. His concept of fatherhood was to play with me when he was home on weekends. The day-to-day practicalities of parenthood were all on my mom’s shoulders. He’ll spoil Alexis rotten when he meets her, I imagine, but as for being any real help…”

      He shook his head. “I can’t afford to hire a full-time nanny, so that won’t work, either. Alexis will be in school during the day, but there are still evenings and weekends and holidays to deal with—hours I would have to spend studying to finish med school without flunking out. I just can’t—”

      “I’ll help you.”

      She had spoken quickly, as if on a sudden impulse, but her expression looked certain.

      He frowned. “How could you?”

      “I could move in with you,” she said, taking him completely by surprise again.

      “Platonically, of course,” she added, as if there were any doubt. “My job is ideal for raising kids. I work during her school hours. We’d only need child care for a couple of hours a day and you could manage that financially. Evenings and weekends, I’ll take care of her while you study. I’ll do the cooking, the housekeeping, the laundry. I don’t have a lot of experience with young children, but I’ve got nieces and nephews around that age. I’m sure I can manage.”

      “Why would you even consider this?” he asked, genuinely bewildered by the magnitude of her offer.

      She shrugged and he could almost see her mind working. “It could actually be beneficial for both of us. You know I’ve been saving money to start graduate school after teaching for another year or two. Not having to pay the lease on this apartment would go a long way toward those savings. Your place is paid for, and I’d trade child care for rent there. I’d help you with some expenses, of course, but it would still save me several hundred dollars a month to share your house.”

      It sounded to him as though she were trying to rationalize her impetuous offer. “It’s too much, Mia. I couldn’t ask—”

      “You didn’t ask,” she broke in to remind him. “I offered. Think about it. This could be a win-win situation for both of us. I’ve even thought about taking an evening job in a bookstore or something to earn a little extra for my grad school expenses. This would save my having to do that.”

      “Mia…”

      “Connor.” She rested her hands on his again, her eyes locking with his. “You are one of the best friends I’ve ever had. You’re a good, decent man who’ll make a wonderful doctor. The world needs doctors like you. It would break my heart if you had to walk away from that dream now because of a youthful indiscretion. Wouldn’t you do the same to help me achieve my dreams?”

      He wanted to believe he would do anything for Mia. She was such a good friend. Such a good person. Of course he wanted her to be happy. But what she offered was so overwhelming. So life-changing. Would he really be that unselfish?

      “Why don’t you think about it tonight?” she suggested, seeing the conflicting emotions on his face. “Don’t do anything rash without at least considering what I’ve suggested, will you? I think we can do this, Connor. I think we can work together to provide a home for Alexis while you finish medical school and while I work toward my own educational goals.”

      “I’ll think about it,” he agreed slowly. “But you need to do the same. You made an impulsive offer because you care about me, but you need to really consider what would be involved if you do this. Like you said, we don’t know this child. We don’t know what kind of raising she’s had, whether she’s been expected to follow rules or have respect for other people and their property. She could be a holy terror, for all we know. And you’re talking about spending every evening and weekend with her—what would that do to your social life?”

      She laughed. “You, of all people, should know that I don’t have that much of a social life to worry about. I’m hardly a party girl.”

      “What about the guy you went out with last night?”

      She shuddered, giving the gesture an extra touch of drama for emphasis. “If I never see that jerk again, I’ll be quite happy, thank you. If I’d had to move his hand off my bottom one more time, I might have gone ballistic. As it was, his life was hanging by a very thin thread. I gave Natalie a piece of my mind later for setting me up with such a creep, but she swore she didn’t know he was that bad.”

      The thought of some guy putting those moves on Mia made Connor’s blood boil. He told himself he’d have been as defensive on behalf of any of his women friends, and then tried to believe it. “You should have broken his fingers.”

      “I considered it. I think he finally realized I was edging toward violence. He looked a little nervous toward the end