Break In Two (29 page)

"So you're just going to jump right in and accept that she's telling the truth after everything she's done?" Claire asked. "That's insane, Cole! How can you even consider that? What if he's not your child and you're saddling yourself with the two of them for the rest of your life when it's got nothing to do with you?"

Cole put his hands up, palms open, "Whoa, take a minute to think about what I've just said. I know it's hard to digest, but it's the logical thing to do. We have got to stick together here, Claire, or we are going to be in real trouble."

"Well, you know what else will cause trouble? Trusting her word about anything! I'm telling you this is a bad idea."

"It's easy for you to say," Cole raised his voice a little. "I'm sure you would love it if that baby wasn't mine! Part of me would love it too. I could be rid of Gabriela forever and you and I could pick up where we were yesterday morning. But the reality is that he
is
my son and I have to fight to keep him here with me. I can't push her away and then never see him again. I just can't. He belongs here with his dad. If I let him grow up with her and her horrible family, what kind of man does that make me, Claire?"

"Well you certainly don't want to be the kind who ruins his own life accepting responsibility for some other man's child!"

"He's not going to ruin my life, Claire! He's an innocent baby for God's sake!"

"Yeah, a baby that comes with a real piece of work for a mother! You CANNOT trust her. Don't be so naive!" Claire stormed up the stairs, leaving her toast in the toaster and her coffee untouched. She got dressed in her running clothes and walked down the stairs and out the door without a word.

Claire didn't see the sunrise lighting the top of the mountain as she ran. It was a cold morning, but she hardly noticed the wind on her face or how her hands were icy as she propelled herself forward with increasing force. She ran as fast as she could hoping to release some of the rage she felt at Gabriela and at Cole. How could he let this happen? How could he have loved such a person before her? She stopped when she reached the end of the path, breathing so hard she felt like she might vomit. She leaned her hands on her knees, allowing herself to cry for a long time, tears spilling on the path. When she was ready, she jogged back toward the cabin, trying to center herself and come up with a plan for how to handle this. When she got back to the cabin, Cole was gone. It was still so early that she figured he must have gone down to the barn or to his office.

By the time she was in the shower, Claire decided the only thing she could do was to play a supportive role for Cole right now. She would try to be logical and think of how she would want him to handle it if the roles were reversed. She would only push him away with her anger, so she needed to find a way to keep those feelings in check. Underneath that anger was fear. If she could remind herself that she was scared, she could stay calm and convey that feeling to Cole instead. Fear wouldn't push him away, it would pull him toward her. He had such a strong protective nature and she needed to trust that he would never want to hurt her.

When Claire was dressed and had dried her hair, she went to find Cole. She found him in the barn with little Tomas in his arms. He was standing in front of Dudley and Tomas was touching the large horse's face and squealing with laughter when Dudley would lick his fingers. Claire watched them for a few minutes, her heart breaking, wishing that he was her little boy instead of Gabriela's.

She walked up beside them, "I'm amazed that he isn't scared. Dudley's so huge compared to him."

"I know, right?" Cole replied, "He's a brave little guy I think."

Claire swallowed to push down the lump in her throat, "I'm sorry about this morning, Cole. I'm really tired and really, really scared."

Cole gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I'm sorry too. Neither of us slept last night and this whole thing is a shock. We'll have to muddle our way through together, okay?"

The moment was interrupted by a voice behind them.

"Oh there are my boys!" Gabriela walked across the barn as though it was a catwalk, her gaze set on Cole. She wore a tight white turtleneck sweater and fitted jeans tucked into tall brown leather riding boots. Her hair was pulled back into a high pony tail that swung behind her as she strode over to them. Claire felt suddenly very plain in her favourite navy v-neck sweater and her boot cut jeans.

Gabriela acted as though Claire didn't exist. "Thank you, meu amor. To shower without worrying about our son was absolutely delicious!"

Claire cleared her throat, "Good morning, Gabriela. I'm Claire. I don't think we've officially met," she said, extending her hand.

Gabriela glanced her up and down and then gave her a weak little handshake, "Oh yes. I saw you yesterday but you were all covered in mud so I did not recognize you today. Are you one of the ranch hands?"

Cole spoke up, "Claire is my girlfriend and she's the executive chef for the ranch as well."

"Oh, how nice of you to give your girlfriend a job," she replied with amusement.

"I had the job first. My goodness, you look amazing for someone who just travelled so far with a baby."

Gabriela gave her a phoney smile, "Oh, she's sweet, Cole. I can see why you like her."

"Come here, my little angel," she said, holding her hands out for Tomas. Cole handed him over to her. "Did you like Dudley? He's a nice horse, isn't he?" she asked the baby.

"He really likes him. He's pretty brave," Cole said.

"Just like his daddy," Gabriela smiled from her son and back to Cole. "I'm going to go feed him now. He also has his daddy's appetite." She waved Tomas's little hand at Cole, "Bye-bye Daddy!"

It was all Claire could do not to roll her eyes. She and Cole watched them depart, Gabriela's ass and pony tail swaying behind her.

"She's not going to make this easy, is she?" Cole said.

"I guess not. She came all this way for a reason and I'm in the way of her getting what she wants."

"Well too bad for her," Cole said, giving Claire a big kiss on the lips, "because you're my girl and that's not going to change."

*              *              *

A little while later at the restaurant, Claire got a text from Alicia. It was her day off and she invited Claire to come by for a coffee after breakfast service was over.

At nine-thirty Claire knocked gently on Alicia and Ben's door. She was surprised when Ben opened the door.

"Hi Ben. I came to have a coffee with Alicia."

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Of course not," Claire smiled at him. She would have loved having him for a brother-in-law, but she doubted that would happen now.

Alicia was sitting at their kitchen table, setting out three plates and putting cinnamon buns on them, while Ben poured coffees. Claire flopped down into a chair across from Alicia.

Alicia looked over at her friend, "Holy shit, Claire! I can't believe that bitch is back."

"I can't either. This is just a fucking nightmare," Claire said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

Ben grabbed a box of tissues and placed it down in front of her, along with her coffee.

"I'm sorry," Claire said, blowing her nose. "I'm just a complete wreck. Neither of us slept last night and we had a huge fight about her this morning. I have no fucking clue what to do here."

"Neither do we," Alicia said, "But we're pretty sure Mary will. Ben called her last night. They are on their way back from Arizona as we speak."

Claire's eyes widened with surprise, "What?!? What will Cole say?"

"He might be pissed at first, but he'll get over it," Ben shrugged, "Mom could always see through Gabriela's bullshit so the sooner she gets here the better."

"In the meantime, maybe you could call your sister for some advice. She went to law school here in the states, right?" Alicia asked.

"Yes she did, but I can't get a hold of her. She's on a vacation in Bali with Ted right now. I won't be able to reach her for another week."

"Well, we can ask around to see if we can get a recommendation for a good family lawyer around here," Ben said.

"Thank you but Cole said he was going to find someone first thing this morning," Claire had a sip of her coffee. "I can't believe you called Mary and Jake. How did they take it?"

"My dad didn't say much, he seemed shocked and worried for the two of you. My mom, on the other hand had a lot to say - none of it nice. She never liked Gabriela and she doesn't sound at all convinced that this is even Cole's child."

"I'm not either," Claire said, "but Cole seems so certain of it. This is my absolute worst nightmare. She came into the barn this morning - looking gorgeous, of course - and treated me like a bug she could just squash into the ground. It was humiliating actually. And if that's what is in store for me, I don't know how long I'll be able to handle it."

"Hang in there, Claire," Alicia said. "We're all on your side and Cole's no dummy. He knows what she is about."

"I know he does, but he's also a good man. He'll want to raise his son and she comes with the package unfortunately," Claire said, sighing heavily.

"You have nothing to worry about," Ben said, "I know my brother better than anyone. He'd never leave you for her. He's completely in love with you and if that even is his son, he'll find a way to make it work."

Claire gave him a worried look, "I hope you're right, Ben. He was in love with her once too and now they have a child together."

*              *              *

That afternoon, as Tomas napped, Gabriela paced the tiny living room of the cabin nervously. She knew that Cole would show up soon and that he would have a lot of questions for her. She had spent weeks imagining how the whole conversation would go and now that it was about to happen, she felt sick with worry. She had known there was a chance that Cole would have moved on with another woman and was extremely annoyed to find out that he had indeed done that. Claire's presence complicated things for Gabriela at a time when she desperately needed things to go smoothly. She could sense that Claire would be easily driven off though by the way that she had fled when she first saw Gabriela and the baby. She was obviously insecure and Gabriela knew exactly how to play on those insecurities. She would do whatever she had to do in order to give Tomas a proper family with a good father. The trick would be to make sure that Cole wouldn't see that she was intentionally running Claire off.

That evening, just after she got Tomas to bed for the night, Gabriela heard the knock she had been waiting for. She smoothed her hair and took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Cole," she smiled warmly, "Come in."

"Is this a good time?" Cole asked, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.

"I came all this way to be with you, Cole. It will always be the good time. I am sure you have many questions for me," she replied, sitting down on the couch.

"That I do," Cole said, planting himself on a chair opposite her. "Obviously I can't understand why you kept all of this from me the whole time. Didn't you think you should pick up the phone and tell me that I was about to be a father?"

"The horrible truth is that I didn't know until he was born that he was definitely yours. I wasn't going to call you until I knew for sure," Gabriela said, looking Cole in the face, her eyes filled with regret.

"When I got back to Brazil, Evandro was waiting for me at the airport. I found out that my parents had set it all up to get me home. Both families were intent on us getting married. He made all sorts of promises and declared his love to me and told me how much he regretted being so inattentive before. I believed him. I wanted the life he was offering - full of excitement and luxury. I was so stupid, a little girl chasing an easy life."