* * *
Brandt had called it. The morning was as awkward as he’d predicted. Shane had dealt with the middle of the night wakeup on his own and was bleary eyed as Brandt stepped around him to get his coffee. The appointment was at eight, but the early summer sun had long been up. Which Brandt knew because he’d been up, too. Forget the rare chance to sleep in. His brain had churned all night with thoughts of the paternity test results and that kiss. Not to mention the way the two things intersected. He wasn’t sure he’d blame Shane if he chose to head out rather than stay on.
“You still want the car after the lawyer?” he asked before taking a sip of coffee, bracing himself for both the bitterness and Shane’s possible rejection of the offer.
“If it’s not too much trouble.” Shane set his own cup in the sink, then walked over to where the baby was lying in her swing. “Better to have too much formula than to run out in the middle of the night.”
“Word. Get two of those canisters.” Brandt went in search of his boots by the door while Shane scooped up the baby and moved her to her car seat.
“Will do. You’ll need to tell me what time to pick you up.” Shane’s voice was still stilted, weirdly formal, and he was giving Brandt enough physical space to park a 747 in.
“Nah. Never know exactly when we’ll finish up.” Having Shane pick him up felt almost too domestic. The car sharing was only practical, but someone waiting on him...that was maybe too weird in a week of strange occurrences. “I’ll snag a ride with Hartman or another jumper who lives outside of town.”
“Okay.” Still hanging far back, Shane grabbed the baby’s bags. “I packed the bottles and the diaper bag already.”
“Thanks. She looks cute.” He followed Shane’s lead and gave him far more room than needed as they exited the house. The little diva did look extra adorable in one of the playful sleepers they’d picked out for her, and for once, she was awake and happy.
“You were right.” Shane snapped the car seat into its holder in the back of Shane’s SUV. “She’s an excellent dragon.”
“Yup.” But was she his dragon? His kid? That truly was the question, and thinking on it kept Brandt quiet the whole way to the lawyer’s office. They had to park down the street, and Brandt grabbed the baby in her car seat before Shane could try again to get the bags and the baby both.
“You want me to wait out here with her?” Shane asked as they entered the law firm offices.
“Nah. This affects you almost as much as me.” He waved Shane ahead of him as Cameron came out to greet them and lead them back to her office.
“Morning!” She gave them a bright smile before picking up her tablet. “Have you checked your email yet or you want me to be the one to click?”
Brandt had filled out the paperwork with the paternity testing lab so that both he and Cameron got notified of the results. And he supposed he could have logged on first thing that morning, put an end to all the suspense, but part of him had held back.
“You do it.” He sat forward in his chair, hands on his knees. A shudder raced through him before he could pull it under control. The air had that certain stillness to it that big moments always brought. His life was about to change forever, either way. His stomach churned and he had to study the carpet, not look at either Shane on the couch or Cameron at her desk.
“The result was definitive that you are not excluded as the father.” Cameron looked up from the tablet as Brandt struggled to make sense of what she’d said.
“What does that mean?” His heart hammered. This was always much more dramatic on those reality TV legal shows.
“Scientifically speaking, that means that the probability of paternity is 99.99% or higher.”
“Ah.” He made a noise of understanding even as his head buzzed like he’d taken a hard landing parachuting. Paternity. That meant father. Dad. He was a dad. And he’d kind of known, but that was different than knowing like this. Ninety-nine percent or whatever certainty.
“And legally, that means that the court will likely consider you the father and not allow attempts to change the birth certificate to say otherwise. If state agencies get involved at some point, they too are likely to see the result as definitive of paternity.”
“Wow.” He worked his jaw, up and down, side to side. The father. Him.
“Do you want a moment?” Cameron tilted her head, eyes full of concern. Over at the couch, Shane’s expression was much harder to read, eyes shuttered, shoulders tense.