Читать книгу Forever My Baby - Jacquelin Thomas, Jacquelin Thomas - Страница 11

Chapter 4

Garland hung up the telephone and then turned to Robyn. “I need to take a quick break. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

Once Garland sat down at her desk, she picked up the phone with trembling hands and dialed. “Trina, I just got off the phone with someone from the hospital,” Garland said as soon as her friend answered. “I have to meet with the chief of staff in a couple of hours.”

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know what this is about, Trina. Amya is my daughter.” Her daughter was her whole world. Not that unknown child somewhere, the one who might look like her, but this child—the one she’d nursed and diapered, whose toes she’d tickled and counted, the one who squeezed her hand.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Garland focused passionately on only one thought: Amya was hers. “It may turn out to be nothing.”

“Maybe they just want to reassure you that everything has been straightened out.”

“I hope so,” she replied.”

“Why don’t you let me go with you, Garland?” Trina offered again. “I’m sure this is nerve-racking. It certainly would be for me.”

“Maybe it might be a good idea to have you accompany me. I’m so nervous right now that I’m not sure I can even drive.”

“You don’t have to worry about driving, Garland. I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay,” she stated. “Thanks, Trina.”

Garland was grateful for her friend. This was not something she wanted to go through alone. She tried to keep a positive outlook. Perhaps the hospital was just being thorough. Maybe they wanted to reassure her that Amya was truly her daughter. Garland did not want to consider any other option. The thought made Garland sick to her stomach.

She checked her watch as she headed back to the sales floor. She said to Robyn, “I need to run out for a couple hours.”

Trina arrived ten minutes later.

* * *

When they pulled into the hospital parking lot in Charleston, Garland felt the onset of fear and the prickle of goose bumps on her skin. “Trina, I’m not sure I can do this.”

“You can,” her friend assured her. “I’ll be right beside you.”

She smiled at Trina. “I’m so glad that you insisted on coming with me. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here.”

Suddenly, Garland froze as her eyes met Ryker’s when she walked into the waiting area of the hospital chief’s office. “What is he doing here?” she whispered.

Trina followed her gaze. “Who is he?”

“Ryker DuGrandpre,” Garland responded, her voice full of dread. “Lord, I hope this isn’t about his little girl, too. She’s about Amya’s age.”

“Do you know him?”

She nodded. “He and my brother were best friends. He came to my store not too long ago with his daughter. Talk about the most adorable little girl.” As they approached Ryker, Garland noted how his dark eyes gave off a tortured dullness of disbelief.

When he switched all that intensity to her, she hesitated, half in anticipation, half in trepidation.

“Ryker...” Garland began. “Please tell me that you’re not here about the baby switching.”

Before he could respond, Trina offered him her hand and quickly interjected. “I’m Trina Mason. Garland is a close friend of mine.”

Ryker offered a polite smile. “I’m afraid I am, Garland,” he said. “And it’s nice to meet you, Miss Mason.”

Garland struggled to hold her composure. This surely could not be happening.

His eyebrows rose a fraction. “Your daughter was also born September eighth?”

“Yes.” Mixed feelings surged through her and Garland fought to control them.

They stared at each other across a sudden silence.

This was any parent’s worst nightmare and now she was forced to contend with a DuGrandpre, the very influential, wealthy elite of Charleston society.

As they entered the hospital chief’s office, her eyes swept the area, looking for Ryker’s wife. Surely, she would be there with him. Garland was curious about the woman he chose as a mate for life. A thread of jealousy snaked down her spine, but she quickly dismissed it.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Trina suggested, giving Garland a slight tug on the arm. “I’ll let them know you both are here.”

She nodded. “I think I will.” Garland feared she would pass out if she did not sit down right away.

Rigid, she sat in a nearby chair, fingers tensed in her lap and her eyes searching.

“Who are you looking for?” Trina asked in a whisper when she returned from the receptionist’s desk.

“His wife,” Garland responded. “Don’t you think it’s odd that she’s not here with him?”

“Maybe she is meeting him here or she didn’t want to come,” Trina replied, shrugging in nonchalance.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else in this situation,” she muttered.

Ryker was watching her from his nearby seat. Garland became increasingly uneasy under his scrutiny. She cleared her throat noisily. Her eyes then landed on him. She looked away hastily and then moved restlessly in her chair.

“I hate all this waiting.”

As soon as the words left her mouth,a young woman came out to get both her and Ryker.

“I’ll be right out here,” Trina promised.

Garland nodded. “Thanks,” she whispered as she rose to her feet.

Ryker waited for her near the door.

Inside the office, they sat side by side.

Two of the people in attendance were lawyers—they had that look about them, Garland decided. The other was the chief of staff.

The conversation began with a host of apologies to both her and Ryker.

“Why are we here?” Ryker asked, getting straight to the point.

Dr. Walter Rainey, the chief of staff, looked like a cornered animal. He straightened his tie for the fourth time since they had entered in his office. “As you may know, certain information has come to light that two baby girls born in this hospital on September eighth may have been switched.”

“We are well aware of this situation,” Ryker stated. “I’ll ask again. What is it that you want from us?”

“We are asking that parents agree to DNA testing to determine whether this was, indeed, what happened.”

“Dr. Rainey, what I’d like to know is how the hospital staff is really so incompetent as to make a mistake like this? I was under the impression that babies were tagged with a wristband immediately after birth.”

Garland gripped the edge of her chair as panic whipped around the perimeter of her anger. How could they screw up like this? Didn’t they understand the preventable angst caused in this unfortunate situation?

Before Dr. Rainey could respond, Ryker added, “What about the other baby girls born that day?”

“They have all been tested and match,” Dr. Rainey interjected. “Miss Warner’s daughter was born within ten minutes of your daughter’s birth.”

“Have you considered that the nurse simply assumed that she made a mistake?” Ryker inquired. “When my wife had the heart attack, I know things got a bit hectic, so maybe the nurse isn’t really sure what happened that day.”

Garland glanced at Ryker, noting his pained expression. His wife had had a heart attack during her delivery. From the look on his face, she could only assume that she had not survived. She wanted to reach over and offer him comfort but decided it was not what he needed now.

“Yes, we have considered this and it is the outcome that we hope for,” the chief of staff stated. “However, in order to be sure, we would like to test your daughters.”

“I’m not interested in having a DNA test done,” Garland blurted out, her emotions out of control. “Amya is my biological daughter and I know it.”

“Miss Warner, I’m very sorry for having to put you and Mr. DuGrandpre through this, but the only way that we can clear this up is through DNA,” Dr. Rainey explained. “We are only following up on the possibility that the babies were in fact switched.”

“He’s right,” Ryker stated. “We need to know for sure.”

“You have doubts?” she asked.

“No, I don’t,” he responded. “Kai is my daughter and I’m absolutely sure of it. I just want this over and done with.”

“I can’t believe this is happening...” Garland muttered. “My baby was with me the entire time I was in the hospital.”

“According to the notes, there was a point when she was taken to the nursery,” Rainey said.

Garland thought about his words. “The nurse took her out of the room shortly after she was born, but it was only for a little while.” She glanced over at Ryker. “It wasn’t that long.”

“I know how unsettling this is, Garland, but as soon as we get the results of the DNA tests, our lives can return to normal,” Ryker told her.

She gave a slight nod. “This is crazy. I know that my daughter is my child. I’m surprised that you don’t feel the same way.”

“Regardless of how I feel, we need to know the truth.”

After the appointments were set for the DNA testing, Garland and Ryker walked out of the office together.

“Ryker, I had no idea about your wife,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“It happened so quickly,” he said. “She never even got to see our daughter. At least she was spared this situation.”

Trina walked over to them in haste. “You okay?” she asked Garland.

“They want to do DNA tests on our daughters.”

“Are they saying that they were switched?”

“The hospital is hoping to prove that they were not,” Ryker stated. “I suppose they hope to avoid any lawsuits over this situation.”

“I don’t think there will be any lawsuits coming from us,” Garland said. “We have the right children.”

Ryker agreed. “After the tests, we all can put this behind us.”

“It’s nice seeing you again, although I wish it were on better terms,” she told him.

“After this is over, we’ll go out for drinks and laugh about this.”

Garland smiled. “Absolutely.”

Ryker nodded and walked off in the opposite direction.

Once inside the car, Garland said, “I remember seeing a photo in the newspaper of a little boy screaming and reaching for the only parents he’d ever known while the biological father carried him away. Only now when I think about that picture, I see Amya being ripped out of my arms.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Trina assured her. “You know Ryker DuGrandpre. Do you think he’d do something like that to you? Parker’s little sister?”

Garland began to shake. She could hear herself gasping and panting for air.

Trina reached over and took her hand. “Relax, sweetie. Slow down your breathing.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I can’t deal with this,” Garland whispered. “What if I’m wrong about Amya? What if it turns out that she’s Ryker’s daughter?”

“Then it would mean that he has been raising your little girl,” Trina reminded her.

“Why did that nurse have to stir up this trouble? We were all fine before this.”

* * *

In her shop the next day, Garland decided that she must be in shock. She felt strange, cold and frightened.

That feeling stayed with her even as she picked up Amya from preschool. Garland relished having her daughter in her arms.

Later in the evening, Garland crept down the hall to Amya’s bedroom and hovered over her daughter’s tiny frame. Under a pink and white lace comforter, Amya slept peacefully. She could just make out her face in the glow from the nightlight.

Garland closed her eyes on a soft agonized exhalation.

* * *

Ryker stole a peek at the clock and muttered a curse. He had left the office later than he’d planned and if traffic did not pick up, he was going to be late picking up Kai. He closed his eyes for a moment. If only he knew what he was doing. If only Angela were alive to help him raise their daughter.

He did not like to ask his mother for help. It provided her with the opportunity to point out all of the reasons he should move back home.

Five minutes later Ryker pulled up in front of the Cobblestone Day School, considered the best school and day care in Charleston. Angela had chosen it when she was pregnant. They had toured the school together.

“Isn’t this perfect?” she had asked him, her eyes sparkling with pleasure.

In that moment, Ryker glimpsed a vision of the little girl who had become the center of his life—the little girl with the same joy as her mommy. She was happy and filled with giggles. Pain stabbed at him, prompting Ryker to rub his chest. He had never once considered any other day care for Kai. He had vowed to raise their daughter as Angela would have wanted.

Ryker rushed into the building and walked briskly to his daughter’s classroom. As soon as he entered, Kai erupted to her feet and into his arms.

“Dayee.”

“I’m here, baby. Daddy’s here.”

“Wanna go home,” she mumbled against his shoulder.

He kissed her cheek. “We’re going home right now.”

Ryker spoke with her teacher, inquiring about Kai’s day. “I see she had an accident,” he said, noticing that she was not wearing the same outfit he had dressed her in that morning.

“She did, but she’s doing much better about letting us know when she needs to potty. This happened when she was on the playground. She was playing and waited too late.”

“Wanna go home,” Kai repeated.

Her teacher patted her gently on the back. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kai.”

“Morrow.”

They settled into his car, and Ryker was grateful for the distraction of merging traffic. The weather had been clear upon his arrival to the school, but it was now misting rain.

Minutes later, there was a steady drizzle and the swishing sound of the windshield wipers filled the vehicle.

Ryker thought back on his relief that Kai no longer held on to him and screamed when he dropped her off in the mornings. He had felt like the worst parent in the world when her teacher had to pry his daughter’s fingers off him.

That vision haunted him now. Would Garland do the same thing—pry Kai’s fingers and haul her away, leaving him with the image of his daughter’s tear-streaked face, her eyes desperate and pleading, leaving him only with a memory that would haunt him for the rest of his days?

He could not let that happen. He would not let it happen, Ryker vowed.

Ryker drove straight into the garage. Kai did not stir when he turned off the engine and opened the door to get out. She had fallen asleep during the short ride home, apparently worn out by her eight-hour day at the school. Stomach knotted with tension, he bolted out of the car and rounded the SUV to get his daughter out of her car seat.

He carried his sleepy daughter into the house and placed her on the sofa. Ryker tickled her to try waking her up.

“Top it,” Kai moaned.

A look of tenderness leaped into his eyes and his chest clenched tight around his heart as he looked at her.

Outside, the skies opened up and began to release a load of rain. Ryker was grateful to have made it home before the storm.

He attempted once more to wake Kai up.

“Nooo,” she complained.

“Honey, don’t you want to eat dinner?”

Kai rewarded him with a nod.

“How about spaghetti?” Ryker suggested.

“Ghetti,” she whispered.

He picked her up and carried her to the bathroom to wash her face. “Let’s get you freshened up for dinner.”

Kai looked up at him and smiled. “Dayee...”

He planted a kiss on her forehead.

Ryker recalled the day Kai was born. The truth was that he had not even looked at her after she was delivered via emergency C-section. He had been holding Angela’s hand, pleading with her not to leave him, willing her to live.

It had soon become evident that she needed to be hooked up to machines to sustain her life. Ryker had refused to leave her side. Angela had lain there in the hospital bed for two days, her beautiful eyes closed, breasts rising and falling with the hissing of the respirator. When doctors had offered no hope of her recovery, Ryker and his in-laws had agreed that she should be taken off the machines.

Kai had been a day old when he’d finally held her in his arms. He’d brought her in to meet her mother, although Angela had been unaware. They had decided on a name long before she had been born, so Ryker had honored his late wife’s request.

He recalled that the infant had showed no resemblance to her mother, much to his relief and disappointment. There were days when it was a blessing that he did not see his beloved Angela every time he looked at Kai. Then it hit Ryker—Garland’s little girl might possess Angela’s bright smile and big personality. He then released a low groan.

But nobody was going to take Kai from him. Not even Garland. Parker had entrusted him to look after his sister before he took his last breath, but Ryker was not going to let her take his daughter from him.

* * *

Ryker had no idea how long he’d been sitting in his car watching Garland. She was outside her shop talking to a customer. He could hardly take his eyes off her, especially the warm sienna color of her hair.

A chill snaked down his spine.

It was the same color as Kai’s curly tresses. The first time he and Garland had met, her hair had been shoulder-length and she’d worn it in its natural wavy state. Now, she wore it short in a pixie-style cut.

His late wife’s hair had been dark brown, whereas his own was black. It seemed strange, but he had never given much thought to the color of his daughter’s hair before now. Ryker shook off his suspicions. All this talk about a baby switch was beginning to get to him.

He got out of the car when it looked like Garland’s conversation was winding down.