Break In Two (39 page)

"I saw you with Trey tonight. Do you want to tell me what that was about or should I ask him?"

Gabriela looked Mary straight in the eye, trying to appear utterly confused by the question, "I have no idea what you think is going on. We said hello. He asked about Tomas for a minute. There is nothing to know."

Mary snorted in disgust, picking up her coat. "Okay, Gabriela, if that's how you want to play it, I'm sure my nephew will be more forthcoming."

With that she turned and walked out the door. Mary marched back to the restaurant, a woman on a mission. She had never liked Gabriela and now she knew she was right not to trust her. Every instinct she had told her that her suspicions were about to be proven correct. Even though she hadn't gotten Gabriela to admit anything, Trey could be lead to believe that she knew. She didn't want to hurt her nephew, but if she was right, he had betrayed her son in the worst way and he needed to accept responsibility for it. There was no way she was going to allow her son to saddle himself with a lying, cheating woman for the rest of his life.

Mary took a deep breath and tried to look calm as she walked back into the restaurant. She spotted Cole sitting with Trey and Dustin on one of the couches by the fireplace. Cole and Dustin seemed relaxed and were sharing a laugh, while Trey was staring into the fire as though lost in thought.

Mary walked up behind the couch and put her hand on Trey's shoulder, bending down to his ear, "I know everything, Trey. Come to the kitchen with me. We need to have a talk."

She could feel his body stiffen under her hand and when he turned, his red face and wild eyes told her all she needed to know. Cole and Dustin stopped talking and were watching them, both looking confused. Mary decided to have them come along.

"Cole and Dustin, can you help Trey and I in the kitchen for a minute?"

The four walked through the door to the back, finding the kitchen empty. Mary turned and took a deep breath, staring at Trey for a moment before she spoke. Dustin and Cole leaned against the counter opposite her and exchanged glances. Trey stood close to the door, keeping his eyes aimed at the floor.

"Dustin, I thought you better be here in case we need you. Trey, you better tell Cole what he needs to know."

Trey took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before speaking. His entire body felt weak as he looked up at his cousin and spoke, "Cole, I don't know how to say this, but there is a chance that Tomas might not be your son."

Cole swallowed hard, glaring at him. His voice came out as a growl, "And just how would you know that, Trey?"

Trey's reply came out in a quiet, strained voice, "Because he might be mine."

Cole stared at him, rage filling his brain like a heavy fog. Betrayal. Lies. Losing Claire. Now the threat of losing Tomas. His veins coursed with red hot anger as he clenched his fists, staring at his younger cousin - the boy he had taken under his wing to learn to ride and rope and fight. The cousin he had given a job to and cared for had fucked his girlfriend and pretended it never happened. Bitter disappointment. Rage.

Trey looked up with a mixture of fear and guilt in his eyes, "I'm so sorry, Cole. I'm so sorry. It happened one time right before she went back to Brazil. We were both very drunk. I swear I had no idea about the baby until I got home today! I would have told you sooner if I had known."

Cole crossed the kitchen in one swift move, grabbing him by the shirt and shoving him to the ground. He pinned him to the floor with a knee on his chest and had one arm pulled back, ready to strike a vicious blow at Trey's face. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear his mother and Dustin shouting at him to stop. Cole looked at Trey's face, he was wincing with his eyes closed. He couldn't bring himself to punch him. He let go of Trey's shirt and got up with disdain, as though being near him made him want to wretch. He didn't notice his Aunt Fern walk into the kitchen, having heard the commotion.

"You little piece of shit," he swore under his breath, "Get the fuck off my ranch before I beat you 'til you're dead."

Cole walked away, rubbing his face with his hand. He stormed out the backdoor of the kitchen. A garbage can near the backdoor took the hit that was meant for Trey, cutting his knuckles badly as he punched it.

"Fuck!" he shouted. He shoved the can to the ground and then continued on to his cabin.

He looked over at Gabriela's place as he passed by. A fleeting thought went through his mind of going over to order her off the ranch too, but he thought better of it. He knew he was too angry to keep his voice down and he wouldn't want to scare Tomas. He went back to his cabin instead, slamming the door behind him so hard the walls shook. Otis scooted over to his bed with his tail between his legs and laid down instead of greeting him.

Mary watched him from the backdoor of the kitchen, feeling sick to her stomach. She held onto the frame of the door to steady her body. Her son was in so much pain, having been betrayed by Gabriela and his own cousin. He had lost the love of his life and now might be about to lose a boy that he had started to love as his son. She felt no pleasure in revealing Gabriela for the liar she was or in finding out her own nephew was of such low character. For the moment, she only felt a hint of the relief that was to come from having the truth exposed.

The next morning, Cole walked over to Gabriela's just as he had done for weeks. She had insisted that he stop knocking, so he just walked in. Gabriela was already dressed and waiting for him in full makeup to hide the dark circles under her eyes. She had been awake all night but could think of no way to spin this so that she wouldn't come out sounding awful.

Cole stood in the small entry way for a long moment staring at her before he said anything. Tomas crawled over to him with his big grin. Cole scooped him up in his arms and kissed him on the cheek. His heart ached realizing that he wouldn't be able to do this much longer. Even if Tomas was his son, there was no chance that he and Gabriela could start over now. She would run back home to Brazil as soon as she could.

Cole got right down to business, "I want to get the genetic testing done today. Trey and I can both provide samples so it'll be quicker to determine who is the real father. We should be able to know within the week. In the meantime, I'll continue to pick Tomas up in the mornings to take him back to my place to play before work and I'll come in the evenings to put him to bed. I'd appreciate it if you don't talk to me unless it's absolutely necessary. It won't do any good."

Gabriela nodded her head, her heart sinking, tears rolling down her cheeks. Cole dressed Tomas in his little red snowsuit without looking at Gabriela again. She sat at the kitchen table,
sobbing quietly into her hand.

Just as Cole and Tomas were about to leave, she spoke up, "Cole, for what it's worth, I'm so sorry."

"It's worth nothing to me." With that he closed the door.

*
              *              *

The next few days seemed to drag on forever as they waited for the test results. It was less than one week until Christmas and by the time Tomas had his first visit from Santa, they would all know who his father was. Cole wasn't sure what to hope for. If Tomas wasn't his son, he would finally have Gabriela out of his life for good and he might have a chance to get Claire back, but he would have to grieve losing this little baby that he had grown to love so much in such a short period of time. He would worry about Tomas, knowing that his cousin Trey was too young and immature to be a good father. He also wouldn't want such a selfish, dishonest pair of people to have the privilege of raising this little boy and teaching him their messed-up version of right from wrong.

Things were extremely tense around the ranch. Cole's mom and her sister, Fern, were fighting, Dustin was extremely uncomfortable around Cole when he came into work and Trey had stayed away from the ranch completely. Trey and Cole had met at the lab four days earlier to have the testing done. Cole would not look at him and said nothing while they were there. Trey knew Cole well enough to know that there was no point in trying to talk to his cousin. It would be a long time before Cole would be ready to hear anything he had to say.

Cole had spoken with his lawyer about the new developments, finding out that even though he had accepted legal responsibility for Tomas, that it could easily be undone. It would have been much harder if Tomas was older and Cole had taken on the role of father for more than a few weeks.

*              *              *

Ben and Alicia came into Cole's office on Friday morning, finding him doing payroll.

"Hey Cole, how are you?" Alicia asked.

Cole looked up and put his pen down on his desk, "Alright, I guess. I keep waiting for the email to come. Could be any time now. How are you feeling?"

"Wishing this baby would just come already. I am so sick of being pregnant," she replied, easing herself into a chair.

"I bet. Three weeks max?"

"Apparently. So have you figured out what you are going to do if Tomas isn't your son?"

"You mean about Claire?" Cole said, leaning back in his chair and sighing.

"Yes," Alicia nodded.

"I can't even let myself think about that yet. I don't know what to hope for. I want Tomas to be my son, but I also want to drop everything and go get Claire."

"And would a part of you like Gabriela to fall off the face of the earth?" Ben asked.

"Yup. That wouldn't be so bad either. Trey too for all I care," Cole said bitterly.

"You have every right to be angry, Cole," Ben replied, shaking his head, "What they did was unforgivable."

"Especially Gabriela. Coming back here with Tomas and outright lying about there being any other possible fathers, breaking you and Claire up, the whole time knowing that he could be Trey's son." Alicia shook her head with disgust.

"What I don't get is how she thought she could get away with it," Cole replied.

"Have you asked her that?"

Cole scoffed and shook his head, "No, there's no point. She'll just say whatever she thinks will make her sound like a victim in all of this. She's a manipulative liar," Cole sighed. "I just can't believe I didn't listen to Claire. She tried to warn me, but I just pushed her away, trying to give Gabriela the benefit of the doubt. On top of that, I lied to her. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. Now Claire is gone and honestly I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to see me again."

"Don't give up, Cole. It's only been a few weeks since she left. Claire loves you and once she knows what happened, she'll come back," Alicia replied.

"I don't know if she will, Alicia. In the meantime, I just have to sit and wait for the email to come from the lab to let me know if I'm a father or not."

*              *              *

Later that afternoon, Cole was out in the barn brushing Dudley. It was cold and he could see his breath as he quietly stroked the large horse's black hair, a ritual that both Dudley and Cole found soothing. Cole's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He stood still for a moment and took a deep breath, putting the brush down. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his cell phone and swiped the screen to see what the message was. It was from the lab. Cole sat down on the stool in the stall and opened the attachment.

He scanned the report quickly, finding the paragraph he was looking for:

"
Cole Mitchell is excluded as the biological father of Tomas Cole Ferriera. This means that Cole Mitchell cannot be the father of Tomas Cole Ferriera because the analysis shows that they do not share a paternity relationship.

Trey Johnson is not excluded as the biological father of Tomas Cole Ferriera. This means that Trey Johnson is considered to be the father of Tomas Cole Ferriera because the analysis shows that they do share a paternity relationship
."

He let out a long exhale, relieved to know the truth at last. He sat for a long time staring at the words and reliving the past six weeks in his mind. He realized how many dreams of fatherhood had already crept into his brain - teaching him to ride a horse, taking him fishing and camping, playing catch. None of these things would happen now and it hurt like hell to lose that.

*              *              *

Gabriela sat on the couch with her laptop on the coffee table, watching Tomas play with some blocks. She was completely numb. She had read the results over and over in the last hour, letting the tears flow. Whatever flicker of hope she had that she and Cole would spend their lives together had now been extinguished. She had gambled and lost. The father of her child was little more than a boy himself, someone she had never loved and never would. She placed the computer on her lap and began searching for a flight back home. If she was very lucky, she would be home in time for Christmas with her family. She doubted Trey would fight her on it.

*              *              *

Trey sat alone at a table in the back corner of a bar. He had been at the gym when the email came. He got showered and dressed, then walked across the street to have a stiff drink. He was a father. He would forever have a reminder of how he had betrayed his cousin. Trey had no idea what to do. He had no money and wouldn't be welcome to work at the ranch anymore. He doubted he would be able to finish school now. A feeling of nausea washed over him as he stared at the results again on the screen of his phone. After a half an hour, he put some cash on the table and walked out, leaving his drink untouched.

*              *              *

Cole walked back to his office. He sat at his desk and forwarded the email from the DNA testing lab to his lawyer, along with instructions to file to have him removed as the legal father of Tomas. He sat staring out the window, thinking about Claire. He wouldn't be able to go anywhere until after the Christmas holidays were over. They were fully booked over the next two weeks and he couldn't leave Ben and Alicia right now, in case she had the baby early.

He looked at the clock to see what time it was. It would be the middle of the night for Claire. He wanted so badly to call her and tell her the news. They could start over and this time, nothing and no one would be able to get in their way.

He locked up his office and walked over to Gabriela's cabin. He wasn't going to just disappear from Tomas's life. This time when he reached the door, he knocked. As Gabriela opened it, Cole was taken by surprise to see that Trey was already there, playing with Tomas. His heart dropped as he walked in.

"I guess we have a few things to sort out," Cole said, taking off his boots and coat.

Gabriela nodded and sat down on the couch. Trey looked up at Cole with fear behind his eyes as he watched Cole cross the room and sit on an armchair. Tomas crawled over and used Cole's pant leg to pull himself up. He lifted the baby onto his lap and gave him a little peck on the head.

Cole spoke first, "I've emailed my lawyer to have me removed as Tomas's legal father. Trey, I can send you his info so you can go through him to have yourself added if that's what you want to do. He said it would be quicker and cheaper for you than starting over with a new lawyer."

"Thank you, Cole," Trey said quietly, "I'd appreciate that."

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it to make sure you don't try to skip out on Tomas."

Trey nodded, saying nothing.

Gabriela looked from one man to the other, "I have decided to go back to Brazil. I came here looking to make a family for him, but it isn't going to happen. Trey, you need to go to school, not raise a family right now. Maybe you can come and see him sometime soon."

Trey nodded his head, "Okay. You're probably better off with your family than me. I'd like to send you some money when I can. It won't be much for now, but eventually it might be something. I do want him to know me though, Gabriela. Can we manage that?"

Gabriela looked at him, relieved that he wasn't going to make it difficult for her to go home. "Yes, Trey. Definitely he will know you. You can spend as much time as you like here in the next two days before we will leave. It will actually help me get all my preparations done." She gave him a sad little smile, feeling sorry for him.

"Well, that settles it then," Cole said, standing up and pressing his face to Tomas's little cheek, feeling it's softness against his skin.

"Here buddy, go see your dad," Cole said, handing Tomas to Trey. Trey held him awkwardly as he squirmed around in his arms.

Gabriela watched the scene unfold, her dreams dissolving in an instant, "How can you not yell at us, Cole?"

He looked over at her, "What would the point be? You both know what you've done. I just hope you can raise him to have higher morals than either of you have. Do that for me." He put his boots and coat on and walked out the door with a lump in his throat.

He walked straight over to Ben and Alicia's cabin to give them the news. The pair sat quietly while he told them what had just unfolded. He blinked back tears for a moment and sighed, looking over at Alicia's tummy, "Well, at least I'll have a little niece or nephew to spoil soon."

"You're going to be a terrific father someday, Cole," Alicia said. "And it will be with the right woman, which will make the whole thing that much better."