Break In Two (31 page)

When he left the room, he walked over to the couch, where Gabby sat curled up under a blanket, her eyes were red from crying. He sat in the chair opposite her. Neither of them said anything for a moment.

Finally Cole spoke up, "It looks like something happened today. Anything I should know about?"

Gabriela looked up at him, "I had a talk with Claire. It didn't go well."

"I see," he answered quietly, "How did you think it would go?"

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head and looking down to inspect her fingernails. "I guess I hoped we would start to sort out this mess that I got us all into. I think Tomas and I should go home for good. We are in the way here."

Cole gave a big sigh, "So if something is hard, you just run away?"

"I can't stay here like this. Waiting all day for you to show up so you can spend an hour with our son before he goes to sleep. Constantly being around people who despise me. What kind of a life is this for me?"

"What did you expect?" Cole responded, sounding a little angrier than he intended, "Did you think you could show up with our son that you've kept hidden from me and I'd say, 'Oh that's okay, Gabby. No big deal. Let's get married right now!?!'"

Gabriela tucked her knees up to her chin and folded her arms around her legs. She rested her head on her knees and sobbed.

Cole softened his voice, "Look, we're all trying to adjust here. I'm trying to put Tomas first and you need to do the same. It's not about what you want or what I want. It's got to be all about him now."

"He needs happy parents. If me being here is making you miserable and I'm miserable too, it's no good for him."

"Just give it some time. You can't just cut and run whenever things don't go your way."

Gabriela shook her head, "I don't know. I can't see things getting any better, Cole. I want to go home. You can see Tomas as much as you like on the computer and whenever you want to visit. When he is older, he can stay here during his school breaks maybe. I think it would be best. Then you and Claire can go back to how things were, which is what I know you both want."

"Go back to how things were? You think I can just forget that I have a son and go on with my life? What kind of man do you think I am?" Cole raised his hands up in the air and then let them drop to his sides in exasperation. He exhaled sharply and then said in a very slow, even tone, "I will not be a stranger to my own child."

"Cole, I am giving you an out. Take it," she said, getting up and walking into her bedroom. She shut the door, ending the conversation.

Cole sat for a while, unsure of what to do. In the end, he got up and walked back to his cabin.

He found Claire sitting at the table with a far away look in her eyes. She was drinking a beer and had another empty bottle sitting beside her. She didn't look at him when he came in. She knew he had just been at Gabriela's and that he would have gotten her version of things by now.

He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a beer for himself, dropping into the chair opposite her. He took a long swig and then put it down, staring at her. Her face was expressionless. She seemed dead inside with no trace of the fun, vibrant woman she was.

"So, I hear you and Gabriela had a talk today."

Claire nodded slowly, "She came to find me at the restaurant. I'm not too sure what she wanted to accomplish, but I don't think she got it."

"Well, maybe don't worry about what she wants and start thinking about what I want. I want to be part of my son's life. Whatever you said to her made her want to up and leave, which is exactly what I asked you not to do," Cole gave her a hard stare as he spoke.

"So you're just going to trust her word without even having the consideration to ask me what happened? She is a manipulative liar, Cole. I cannot believe you don't see that!"

"I know she can be that way, but she's also scared. You have to try to put yourself in her shoes. She fucked up and she knows it. But look at her, she lost her fiancé, her parents won't have anything to do with her, she's raising a baby on her own, and now she's come thousands of miles from home only to find that I'm with someone else."

"So you're just completely on her side then. I'm so glad you can be sympathetic to
her
," Claire retorted, sarcasm oozing out of her pores. "Have you stopped to think what this whole situation is like for me? You seem to be forgetting that I had nothing to do with creating this shit show! I didn't fuck her and I didn't hide that I was having your baby from you either! I'm doing my best to keep it together here but of the three of us, I'm really the only one who doesn't get any say in what's going to happen next! Now you're accusing
me
of making things hard for
her
?!?"

"Look, I'm not trying to make you the villain, Claire, but I thought we agreed that we have to tread lightly with her right now. If she leaves with him, I'll never gain custody of him. I can't have you going off on her."

Claire's eyes met his now with an indignant rage, "So she tells you I've been mean to poor little old her and you
believe
it? That is rich, you know that? Rich. How
dare
you take her side over me without even having the courtesy of finding out what really happened!"

Claire stood up from the table and walked out of the kitchen, not really sure where she was going. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned back to him, "I just realized she got exactly what she wanted today. She wanted to get in between us and we both fell right into her trap. She's got you questioning me and me pissed right off at you."

"You know what, Claire? This is the last thing I need from you right now. Don't you think I have enough shit piled on my plate already? You need to scoop some more on?"

Claire snapped her head back, feeling like she had just been slapped in the face, "I'm not the one with the scoop, Cole. I've been the one trying to clear your plate for you. You're just too pigheaded to see it."

"I'm pigheaded? You're the one that won't believe that Tomas is my son! You're completely set on chasing them off before I can gain custody of him! That's why I knew I was making the right decision a few days ago."

Claire's heart felt like it stopped. Her voice became icy as she looked at him, "Exactly what decision are you talking about?"

"I went to see the lawyer to sign the admission of paternity forms. I knew it was only a matter of time before you two got fighting and she'd threaten to take off," Cole spoke in a low voice as he looked Claire in the eye.

Claire felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She stood silently for a few moments, reaching for the wall to steady herself. "You did what?" her voice was almost a whisper.

"It was the day after we were looking at the baby photos with my parents. I've been waiting for the right time to tell you. I was hoping you'd start to accept the reality that he is my son, but it hasn't happened so far. I knew that she would rub you the wrong way and that you'd say something to chase her off. I couldn't live with myself unless I knew I had done everything in my power to keep him here."

Claire scoffed, "So
I'm
the bad guy here? She gets pregnant, doesn't bother to tell you, shows up out of nowhere, you make this decision without telling me, you've been lying to me for days and now you're pinning it all on me!? This is fucking unbelievable!" Claire was screaming now, tears pouring down her cheeks. She was completely full of rage and a deep sense of betrayal.

Cole raised his voice so he could be heard over her, "I'm sorry Claire, but I have to do what's right for my son. I just couldn't risk waiting for you to come around."

"What happened to 'we're in this together, Claire? We'll get through this if we stick together? Trust me, Claire. I'll never lie to you'!"

"Believe me, I am sorry," he said, in a quiet, even tone, "But Tomas has to be my first priority now. If you can't understand that, we've got an even bigger problem than I thought."

"No Cole, the bigger problem started when you started
lying
to me," Claire said, suddenly growing numb with the shock of what she had just learned.

"I didn't mean to keep it from you. I was just waiting for the right time to talk to you about it."

"You didn't mean to keep it from me?" she shook her head with disgust, "That's
exactly
what you meant to do. You either choose to tell me what you're doing or you chose to hide it from me. That's not a fucking accident. It's a choice!" Claire raised her voice again, looking at him with complete distain for the first time in their relationship.

"I had no choice, Claire. I'll do whatever it takes to protect my son."

Claire pointed her finger at Cole, "That is such bullshit. I will
never
agree that you had to lie to me! What would I have done about it if I had known? Physically restrained you from going to the lawyer!?!"

Cole exhaled sharply, "Alright, just calm down, Claire."

"Do NOT tell me to calm down. You know what? You can try to spin it however you want to make yourself the hero, but I am sure as shit not the villain here! I'm just the sucker who fell in love with you and got screwed over!"

Claire started to walk up the stairs and then turned and came back down again to yell some more. "You know what else? These past days have been an absolute hell for me! I've been doing my best to stay calm and not to add any pressure on you but inside I'm dying here! She is my worst fucking nightmare come to life! She has your son! Your son, Cole!! Forget how drop-dead sexy she is. How the fuck can I compete with the mother of your child?!? And within days of her arriving, you've started lying to me on top of all that!"

Cole yelled back, "This isn't about you Claire! It's about a little boy who needs both his parents in his life!"

He stood up and walked over to the counter, grabbing his keys, "You know what? You're acting exactly like Gabriela right now. She can't see past the nose on her face either!"

"Fuck you!" she screamed. She watched as he stormed past her to the front door, "And just where the hell do you think you are going?" Claire yelled.

"Out. I've had enough of selfish women for one day," he growled, slamming the door behind him as he left.

Claire sat down hard on the bottom of the stairs when he left, tears welling up in her eyes. She sat there sobbing for a long time. Tears of fear, indignation and anger poured out of her as she hugged her knees. Otis walked over and licked her face, wagging his tail. Claire leaned her head on him as she cried.

When she couldn't cry any longer, Claire finally stood and walked up the stairs, her body heavy and her mind shutting down. Exhaustion overwhelmed her as she laid down in their bed without bothering to get undressed. She pulled the covers over her head and closed her eyes. Her head pounded and she needed to rest before she could face what would come next. The clock beside the bed read 9:45 pm as she fell immediately to sleep.

*              *              *

Claire woke at 2 am, needing to pee. She sat up and slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed, sitting for a moment to get her balance. She felt sickeningly too hot, having slept in her sweater and jeans too long. Her head was still hurting from all the crying she had done. Turning, she saw that Cole had not come to bed yet. She got up and quietly made her way to the bathroom.

After she came out, she walked downstairs, feeling the walls with her hands to help guide her through the darkness. She could see the outline of Cole's body lying on the couch. She walked over and sat on the end of the coffee table nearest his head. She could see his face faintly in the moonlight. His eyes were open and his face was expressionless.

"Does she know?"

Cole sighed, "I needed her to sign the form."

"I see," Claire said, "Does she know you've been keeping this from me?"

Cole sat up and faced her, "I told her I would need to find the right time to tell you, so I asked her not to say anything."

Claire let out a long sigh. "Wow," she whispered, more to herself than to him, "the hits just keep on coming."

She got up and started toward the stairs.

"Claire?" Cole called out quietly.

She didn't answer him but continued up to bed. Cole didn't follow her, knowing that trying to chase her with an apology right now would be a mistake. There was nothing he could say that would ease the sting of humiliation and betrayal that she must be feeling. They both lay awake, separated by far more than the physical space between them.

*              *              *

Claire didn't go back to sleep that night. She tossed and turned, knowing that she had to leave. If within one week, Cole and Gabriela were already keeping a secret from her, what would be next? It wouldn't take long before Gabriela would erase completely the pain of the betrayal that Cole had suffered. Maybe Cole's willingness to believe that Tomas was his son was a sign that deep down he had wished she would come back to him. He had violated Claire's trust and she wasn't going to look the other way this time and allow herself to be made a fool again, like she had with Antonio.

At five in the morning, she emailed a colleague of hers from Seattle, a chef named Peter. He was an excellent cook and loved to move around, always looking for a new adventure. She told him of the ranch and her need to leave right away, asking if he might be interested in taking over for her.

She then found a flight to London that would leave in two days. After that, she got dressed and quietly left for the restaurant to get an early start on the day's work.

Cole had fallen asleep around 3 am and didn't hear her tapping away on her keyboard upstairs or the door close behind her when she left. He woke after four hours of sleep with a sick feeling in his gut, knowing how badly he had screwed up. He had a horrible feeling that he had just dealt the final blow to his relationship with Claire.