Destined to Be a Dad. Christyne Butler

that contained the DNA test we had done just after Casey was born.”

      “April twelfth, a week after your birthday.”

      She looked up when he said that. “Yes.”

      “She told me. That was nine months after we’d last—after you returned home.”

      “Yes.”

      “Almost nine months to the day, if memory serves.”

      “Yes.”

      “Missy, why didn’t you tell me?” Tired of her one-word answers, Liam leaned forward, bracing his forearms against his knees, his fingers laced tight around the glass. “I know things ended badly, but as soon as you knew you were pregnant you should’ve gotten in touch with me.”

      “I wanted to, but I didn’t... I didn’t know if I had the right to.”

      “The right?” Now he was really confused. “What does that mean?”

      “Oh, Liam, I was such a mess when I left Destiny all those years ago.” She set her glass on the table, stood and then walked to the porch railing, keeping her back to him. “You and I had that terrible row. All my plans and dreams were gone. I was angry and lonely and...”

      “And?” He prompted when her voice faded.

      Her shoulders rose and fell as she pulled in another deep breath before turning to face him, her arms tight across her middle. “And I spent the night with my old boyfriend. The lad I was seeing before I came to America. Before you.”

      The fine Kentucky whiskey now burned in his gut. “Stanley.” The name popped out of his mouth before he could think to stop it.

      “Stanford. His name was Stanford Dobbs.”

      He vaguely remembered her telling him all those years ago about a college guy she’d been dating back in London. Hearing his full name—with the same surname as Missy and Casey—had him taking another long swallow of liquid courage. “And this happened soon after you got back that summer?”

      She jerked her head in a quick nod, the affirmation tearing at his insides. How crazy was that?

      “The following week,” she said softly. “It...it was only that one time. After that, I knew I had to pull myself together, get my life back on track. Get back into school. Get over you.”

      To hear her speak calmly about sleeping with someone else so soon after they—after she returned, despite all the time that had passed, bugged Liam more than he wanted to admit.

      Leaning back in his chair, he offered her a casual salute with his glass, his knuckles white. “Well, that was a step in the right direction.”

      She bit hard at her bottom lip, and then continued. “I didn’t realize I was pregnant until almost Halloween.”

      Now it all made sense. “And you didn’t know who the father was.”

      “No, I didn’t.” She returned his stare, unflinching. “It took me another month to find the courage to tell Stanford...and my parents. They, of course, expected a hasty wedding, but when I told them that there was no way to be sure—”

      “Boy, that must’ve made Stan a bit upset.”

      Up went that delicate chin again. “Stanford still wanted to marry me. He said he didn’t care if the child was his or not.”

      Okay, Liam should feel like a louse right about now, but the fire burning in his gut had now spread throughout his body. “That was big of him.”

      “We had to wait until Casey was born before a DNA test could be done. Before we knew for certain who was—”

      “But you knew you were pregnant the previous fall.” Liam shot to his feet. “You knew there was a chance—why didn’t you at least let me know that the baby might be mine?”

      “Oh, Liam, you were on the other side of the world, living your dream. You’d made your decision to be a professional cowboy that summer, and you continued right on with your rodeo competitions after I left. By the time I knew I was pregnant, you were well on your way to earning a spot at grand finals, finishing second your first time there!”

       She knew that?

      She must’ve read the shock on his face. “Yes, I knew, thanks to Suzy McIntyre. The girl whose family I stayed with while I was here in Destiny? She told me all about your big achievement in a letter that arrived just after the new year.”

      “Wait—you got a letter?” The memory returned so strong he dropped back to the chair. “From Suzy?”

      “Believe me, no one was more surprised than I to see it in the post.”

      “That was the only letter you got?”

      “Oh, one was more than enough.” Missy’s voice rose as she paced back and forth in front of him. “Not only did she send me a newspaper clipping of you being a rodeo star, but she also went on about how you and your bride were settling in here in Destiny afterward.”

      Liam closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He hadn’t thought about that stupid and reckless decision in a long time. “She told you I had gotten married?”

      “Yes! Six months after I left.”

      The pain in Missy’s voice surprised him. He looked at her again. “It didn’t last. Six or seven—it was over by the spring.”

      “Well, I didn’t want to upset the newlyweds unless I had to, so I waited until my daughter was born that same spring.” Missy returned to the seating area and grabbed her glass. “When the test results came back that Stanford was a match...we married a month later.”

      The only sound was the low chirping of crickets now that the sun had set. And there was a distant thunder that could only be the fireworks from the rodeo. It was then that Liam noticed the outside lights on the porch, pathway and the model homes situated in front of the main house had come on automatically, casting muted pockets of yellow glowing here and there, but the end of the porch where they sat was dark.

      So dark that he couldn’t see Missy’s face clearly.

      He rose again. Lighting candles on the dresser, he brought back a few and placed them in the center of the table in time to catch the shaking of the glass in her hand.

      “I was nineteen years old, a mother, a wife...trying to go to school, to live up to my parents’ expectations...to Stanford’s.” Missy finished the last of her wine. “It wasn’t easy.”

      He was sure it wasn’t. At nineteen he’d been concentrating on rodeoing full-time and working for his father, attached to nothing but his horse and trailer. Not even his so-called marriage had rated any importance. One of the reasons it’d ended so quickly.

      How long had Missy and Stanford been married? Were they still?

      Liam’s gaze went to her left hand clutching the glass. No ring. Did that mean anything? “Casey never mentioned her father today.”

      “Stanford died in a car accident when she was five years old. Before that we were—he traveled a lot. For business. She barely remembers him.”

      So, she hadn’t remarried in the decade since? He tucked away that question, not wanting to go there. “You started to tell me about test results. I’m guessing you’re referring to the ones that said Stanford was a match.”

      “Yes, but what I found in the dark corners of my father’s desk were two test results,” Missy said, reaching for an oversize leather tote. She tilted it toward the light and rummaged around inside, pulling out some paperwork and thrusting it at him. “The one he showed me all those years ago and the real test. The one that stated Stanford was not a match. This, of course, meant you were—are—Casey’s father.”

      Liam took the papers, but kept his eyes on her. “I’m guessing this is what