Page 42 of Coyote
The icy feeling in my chest thawed in an instant and I felt like I could breathe freely again. Glancing over at Nessa who was sitting on the floor playing with Ruby, I had that thought again that maybe she could be mine. I turned my attention back to Callie as she continued her long, drawn-out story.
“Reggie invited me to lunch. He said that he had a proposal for me. I’ll admit that I was curious to know more about what was going on with the one and only woman my kid brother ever truly loved.”
“So, you agreed to meet up with him, right?” I guessed.
She nodded. “Against Breaker’s better judgement I did meet him for lunch. I had been half expecting some kind of weirdness to ensue. Come to find out Reggie is a very charming and down to earth man who genuinely seemed to have Bethany’s wellbeing at heart. We got to talking and I told him that I thought you’d never really gotten over losing her. It became obvious that the two of you were star crossed lovers who just needed a little push in the right direction to sort yourselves out, so we conspired to make that happen.”
While she was talking, my mind traveled back to that day in the car where we were talking about decor for my new business, and she brought up the importance of getting the word out. She seemed to have a flyer handy from a company that did events planning, it all made sense now.
“Now, I know you’re going to be mad about this, but I agreed to create a situation that drew the two of you together, but I drew the line there, I told him that I wouldn’t actively force the issue. My reasoning was that Reggie and I might not have all the facts.”
“So, your plan was to get us to meet up and work on a joint project to see if we would end up starting something on our own. Am I understanding you correctly?” I somehow managed to keep the unbridled glee from my voice.
My sister wrung her hands in her lap, glancing from me to Nessa and back again. “Yes. I swear that I wouldn’t ever do anything to truly manipulate you in any way. You and I have been through a lot together with that damned cult back in the day. I know better than anyone to mess with another person’s mind or cross their personal boundaries.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
Callie took a deep breath and continued, “I knew you weren’t going to be happy about any interference on our part in your personal life and that anything to do with Bethany was off limits in your view. It’s just that, well there was more than just you and Bethany involved.”
A gnawing sensation crawled forward from the back of my mind. She was talking about Nessa. Instinctively, my gaze went to the little girl who was playing, oblivious to our conversation. “What’s this got to do with Nessa? Is her father trying to get back into Bethany’s life?”
My sister made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. “God, you are so damned clueless.”
Breaker’s exasperated voice interjected, “You’re a freakin’ idiot for not seeing what’s right in front of your eyes, literally.”
Both Callie and Breaker were gazing at Nessa pointedly. She was giggling away as Ruby wriggled on her back. The likeness was unmistakable, there was no denying that she was the spitting image of my sister as a child.
“You really think there is a chance that Nessa is mine, right?”
Callie nodded, “That’s what Reggie thought as well. He didn’t tell me exactly why he was so convinced, but he seemed earnest enough. I thought it over and couldn’t really see a downside to bringing the two of you together. Either nothing would come of it, or there would still be a spark that drew the two of you together. Either way you’d get an opportunity to be eyes on with this child that Reggie was convinced was yours.”
“She looks just like you when you were her age. Our family photograph album is stuffed full of pictures of us growing up. That’s how I know.”
Callie choked up a bit and nodded rather than responding verbally.
I mentioned the family trait she carried. “She has dimples, like we do.”
My sister frowned. “I’m also convinced she’s closer to three years old. Her speech and development are more advanced, there are specific milestones that kids are expected to reach at particular ages. Did you ask Bethany her age?”
I shrugged, “Sure, she said she was two, all little kids act the same to me. To be honest I couldn’t tell the difference between a two-year-old and a three-year-old.” I said that, but as I watched Nessa, I was starting to notice things about what she liked and how she acted—and I felt certain that if things worked out with her mom, then I’d notice those milestones that Callie talked about.
Breaker broke into our conversation again. “That still sounds like a lot of circumstantial evidence if you ask me.”
My good friend wasn’t wrong about that, but the part they didn’t know was it probably was all just a coincidence because of the timeline. “Sorry to disappoint you, but Bethany told me she got pregnant after she left Griffinsford. And we were using birth control the whole time. Although I would love to be Nessa’s father, the odds are not in my favor.”
Callie seemed disappointed. But it was Breaker who stated the obvious, “Does it really matter if she’s your biological child or not? You’re head over heels in love with her mother and she seems to have taken a real shine to you.”
As I thought it over, I realized I was already imagining us as a nice little family with Bethany and Nessa. I really didn’t care who Nessa’s father was.
“You know I don’t like anyone fucking around in my life but I’m going to give you a pass on this one because, one, it worked and two, I feel like your heart was in the right place and you were careful not to cross the line into manipulating us.”
Relief registered on my sister’s face but when she glanced down at Nessa she snorted a laugh, “If you’re gunning for the open father position in Nessa’s life, you’re gonna have to step up your game.”
When I looked down to see what she was talking about, I saw Nessa looking like she was about to take a bite out of Ruby’s kibble.
“Leave it, Nessa, that’s Ruby’s!” The little girl giggled and handed Ruby the morsel. I turned back to Callie, “Yeah, I’m still on my daddy learning curve.”
Breaker and Callie chuckled at the absurdity of my new situation.