Chapter 22

The woman walked into the shop, her belly plump with child. Her hair was cropped short but perfectly primped. Her features glowed, and she commanded an air of arrogance. Beauty was a word not kind enough for her delicate features. She stepped towards Chloe's desk and tapped the bell, waiting to be served.

Chloe spun around in her seat, her mouth slightly agape. "Can----can I help you?" she asked, a little unsure looking into the woman's steely gray eyes.

"Yes. Could you tell me if Brady Black is in?"

"Yes, he's in the back working on one of the cars."

"Figures," the woman said, rolling her eyes.

Just behind her, a stunning man walked in, carrying a small child in his arms. He was tall, with a strong frame to him. His eyes were a bright, captivating blue. His brown hair was tousled about carelessly. He smiled at Chloe and sat down on one of the nearby chairs.

"Wait here!" the woman told him as she proceeded to go into the garage.

"Miss, you can't go back there," Chloe attempted to explain.

"Don't worry about it. Brady and I are old friends."

That's when it hit her. She knew this woman seemed eerily familiar when she walked into her office. The man cuddled the child in his arms as she began to stir awake. Her eyes opened to reveal the same bright blue eyes. He took off her bonnet to reveal flocks of blonde ringlets. The little girl struggled to turn around in his arms. He set her down on the chair next to him and helped her off with her jacket.

"That's better, isn't it?" he smiled, lightly brushing her hair out of her face.

The girl nodded in response and clapped her hands together. Chloe waved to the gorgeous child. She hid her face behind the man's back, a little shyly, then looked back at Chloe and smiled.

"She's adorable," Chloe commented.

"Thanks."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Brady peered inside the hood of a car, fiddling with the engine. When he felt an arm on his shoulder, he turned around. He nearly fell backwards when he saw the woman before him.

"It's been a long time, Brady," she said coldly.

"What do you want?" he seethed bitterly.

"Is that any way to greet me?"

"Look, just tell me why you're here, and quit all this phony shit."

"I have some news."

"And?"

"I wanted you to hear it from me before anyone else told you."

"Gee, I feel so privileged. Now, why don't you just tell me so I can get back to what I was doing?"

"As you can see, I'm going to be a mother."

Brady looked down at her bulging stomach, shocked that he hadn't noticed. He was trying to keep his cool, trying to remain distant. The truth was she looked amazing, and he couldn't help but still be affected by her. "Congratulations. Do you know who the father is?" Brady drawled sarcastically.

"Now, that was not very nice. I know I deserved it, but I've changed, Brady."

"I've heard that before."

"This time it's true. Ever since we broke up, there's only been one man in my life."

"Yeah, and who is this lucky guy?" he asked, still keeping with the sarcastic tone that worked so well with her.

"It's Tyler, Brady."

"Tyler?"

"I'm sorry. I know this must hurt you. I thought you knew. I love him, Brady. More than I ever thought I was capable of. I'm not the same person I was. Knowing Tyler has changed me."

"You love him? Do you even know what love is?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't love you like that, Brady. But you have to admit we had problems. You were never around. You couldn't confide in me. There were times I thought of you as a stranger. I still love you, Brady, just not the same way."

"And have you been faithful?"

"Yes. Ever since we broke up, it's been Tyler and no one else. He started working for my father. We bought a house, moved in together; and now we want to start a family. Brady, back then it was me that flirted with him. I was the one that tempted him. You've spent all this time angry, and you have every right to be. But I just wanted you to know how much guilt he feels. When we broke up, he lost something too. You stopped talking to him, and Jared won't even return his phone calls. I didn't want it to happen, Brady, but we fell in love."

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you that. I wanted to. I really did," Brady said, his voice laced with emotion breaking away from the sarcastic tone he had become accustomed to.

"I know," she said, letting a tear roll down her check. "But Brady, there's something you have to know. I've never told Tyler this, but I can't hide it from him any longer. You have a right to know."

"A right to know what?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tyler picked up the young child and brought her towards Chloe's desk.

"How old is she?" Chloe asked.

"She's almost two. Aren't you?" he said, tickling her tummy while she roared with laughter.

"Aww, how cute. What's your name, little angel?" Chloe asked, taking her hand.

The girl attempted to say her name. "Kayla." Tyler helped her pronounce it.

"What a beautiful name."

"Can you say ''thank you?''" Tyler asked the pint-sized little girl.

"Thank you," Kayla answered.

"That was her mother then that needed to talk to Brady?"

"Yes, it was," Tyler said quietly.

"Mama," the tot chanted. "Mama, mama."

"She'll be back in a minute," he soothed.

"Down...down," Kayla commanded.

"Okay, okay." Tyler bent down and put the girl on the ground. Chloe came from around her desk and bent down next to the Kayla. "Would you mind watching her for a minute, while I get some juice from the car?"

"Not a problem."

Tyler walked out the door and grabbed the baby bag while Chloe played with Kayla on the ground. Tyler handed her a juice box and then resumed talking to Chloe.

"So, I see your wife is pregnant. Do you know what you're having?"

Tyler's face got a little red. "She's not my wife," he said, a bit flustered. "But we're having a boy."

"You must be so happy."

"I am." He beamed. Both Tyler and Chloe crouched down so they were at Kayla's level.

Not a minute later, Kayla took off running into the garage. She could see her mother talking to another tall man. Running up to Lisa, she grabbed onto her legs and held on tight. She was followed in by Tyler and Chloe.

Brady just stared down at the little tyke, not sure of what to say or what to do.

"I thought I told you to wait out there," Lisa said, turning to Tyler in an accusing voice.

"It was my fault really," Chloe spoke up. "We were playing on the ground, and she wandered in here. I'm really sorry."

"No, it was my fault," Tyler apologized, picking her up. "I should have been watching."

Still mesmerized by the small blonde child in front of him, Brady barely heard the conversation around him.

"Here, let me take her before she gets hurt. There's a lot of dangerous equipment in here." Tyler nodded and handed her over to Chloe. She walked out of the room, turning to look back at a stunned Brady.

"Brady, is there anywhere else we could go to talk?"

"Let's go to my office. But he'll have to stay out here," Brady seethed.

"Brady...I……" Tyler attempted to reason with him but cut off his protests, knowing he wouldn't get through.

They walked into the office, and Brady slammed the door behind them. "You had no right bringing him here."

"Brady, I didn't mean for this to happen. I went about this the wrong way. I just didn't know how to tell you without him finding out. I couldn't get a babysitter, and Tyler wanted to come."

"Look, would you just tell me what this is all about and who that little girl was?"

"She's my daughter, and she's the reason I'm here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she may be yours, Brady."

"What? And you're just now telling me?" Brady questioned, a mix of anger, confusion and something undescribable painting his voice.

"It was too hard before."

"And what, now it's easy?"

"No, but I'm pregnant again; and before Tyler and I can move on, I need to close this chapter in my life. I need to know for sure."

"What does Tyler think?"

"He doesn't know anything about it. He's always thought he was the father. I told him we stopped sleeping together months before he and I ever hooked up."

"So you lied to him?"

"I had to. He loves her so much."

"What about me? I could have loved her too. God, do you even know what you've done, keeping me away from my own child? I didn't even know she existed until now," Brady seethed, crossing the room, going back and forth in rapid succession.

"I know, Brady. And if she turns out to be your daughter, I will spend the rest of my life ashamed of what I've done. But if she's not, I know I made the right decision. We're a family, Brady. I don't want to take that away from Tyler...or Kayla, unless I have to, unless I have no other choice."

"Kayla? Is that her name?"

Lisa nodded.

"She's beautiful," he whispered, halting. A familiar moisture came to his eyes while he stood there trying to come to terms with everything that had just been laid on him. "Look, I need to know now if I'm her father, so what do we need to do?" Brady asked, meeting Lisa's eyes.

"There'll be a paternity test. They take a cheek swab. It's painless."

"And they do the same to her?"

"Yes."

"I want to do it as soon as possible. I need to know."

"I understand."

"Lisa, why couldn't it have been us? Wasn't I good enough for you?" Brady asked quietly, almost to himself.

"We just weren't right for each other. You thought you loved me. You tried so hard to, but I'm not really sure you ever really did. We're so different, Brady. We just couldn't relate. You needed more than I could give you, and I needed you to be around all the time. I needed to feel loved, and I wanted to love you,"" Lisa reasoned.

"I guess I always knew..." he trailed off.

"I'm sorry, Brady," Lisa said, for whatever it was worth.

"Kayla," he whispered, rolling the name around in his head. He could have a young daughter, and her name was Kayla. The resemblance was there. She had the same blonde hair, the same blue eyes. But then again, Tyler was fair as a child, and his eyes were just as blue. Brady seemed to be struggling more with it as he stood there.

"Would you like to spend some time with her? I know we don't know if she's yours yet, but would you like to get to know her a little bit?" Lisa asked, still concerned about Brady, despite her actions and the callous attitude she had when they were together.

"I'd like that a lot." He smiled, wiping the tears that had escaped his eyes.

"Tyler and I are going out for dinner tomorrow night. I could let you watch her for a few hours if you'd like. Do you still live at the same apartment?"

"Yeah, I do. Is that a problem?"

"It's just that I don't want Tyler to know that you're the one watching her. I don't want him to know anything about this entire paternity thing, unless..."

"Unless I am her father?"

"Yes. Do you have anyone that would be willing to let you use their place? What about Jared?"

"No, I really don't want to bother him. I want this to stay between us. Jared hates you enough. I wouldn't want to give him more reasons to despise Tyler or you."

"Is there anyone else?"

Brady peered out of his office window. Through it, he could see Chloe holding the baby in her arms. It looked so natural. Almost like his future. "Yeah, there's someone else."

"Who?"

"Chloe."

"Who's that?"

"The girl at the front desk is Chloe. She's my secretary.""

"She'd be willing to let you spend some time with Kayla at her place?"

"I think so."

"Are you two involved?" Lisa pried, wanting to find the woman who was able to tame Brady Black.

"It's complicated," he sighed. Lisa had trampled in, once again destroying the life he had built for himself. She had no right to know who Chloe was or what she meant to him.

"I'll bring her by around six, six-thirty. Just have Chloe answer the door, so Tyler won't see you."

"Will he allow a stranger to look after her though?"

"She seems to be good with kids. He''s out there with her now. I'm sure it will be okay."

"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me," he said softly, bending down to give her a hug.

"I'm sorry," Lisa told him, as her eyes misted with tears. "I never meant to hurt you like this." Then she walked out of the room, leaving Brady to stand there, a million thoughts swirling in his head.

Moments later, Chloe knocked on his open door and then walked in. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he told her quietly.

"So that was Lisa?"

"Yes, it was."

"So...what did she want?"

"I don't even know where to start." Brady let out a long breath, running his fingers through his hair.

"How about from the beginning?"

"It's just I'm still in shock. I thought she was out of my life for good, and then she comes here and springs this on me."

"Springs what? She doesn't want you back, does she?" Chloe asked, growing anxious. She could see the tears in his eyes and knew whatever Lisa had told him, it had been big news.

"No, nothing like that. She told me that I may be Kayla's father," he croaked, turning his back on Chloe. There it was, the truth. It sounded so weird coming from him. In the span of half an hour, his whole life had changed. He could be the father to a beautiful little girl. It would change everything in his life.

Chloe stood there in shock. She could barely breathe. Now that she thought about it the child was fair-headed compared to her parents. It could be Brady's child, but what would that mean for her? Would Brady and Lisa get back together and leave Chloe out in the cold? She couldn't imagine what Brady's thoughts were. She knew he had to be confused and shocked. Chloe walked closer to him, lightly pressing her hand on his back. "You never knew……I mean you didn't know she was pregnant?"

"After that day, I didn't want to see her or Tyler. Chloe, if I had known, I would have been there. You have to believe me," he said, turning to face her. "I never would have abandoned my own child," Brady confessed, his voice breaking.

"I know," Chloe soothed, taking him in her arms. "It's not your fault. You didn't know."

"I should have known, Chloe. I should have been there."

"You couldn't have known. Stop blaming yourself. Where do you go from here?"

"I need to see her. I want to know her. I want to be there for her in every way that my parent's weren't. Chloe, I need your help."

"Sure. Whatever you need me to do, I'll be there."

"She's lying to him?"

"She doesn't want him to know. I just want to see my child, and if this is the way she wants it, I have to go along with it."

"You can bring her to my place. You're not alone, Brady. I'm here for you and Kayla, if you'll let me."

"I...Thank you. You're amazing." Brady stroked her cheek gently, looking straight into her eyes.

Chloe lifted her hand to his face and thumbed away his falling tears.