The Doctor's Baby Read Online Free PDF Page B

wife had died?”
    “I knew Kevin back in residency.” David’s eyes never left hers. “It’s been a long time since I’ve spoken to him. Celeste must have been still alive the last time we talked.”
    “I don’t know. That seems—”
    “You still don’t believe me.” David rose and paced the room, frustration written all over his face. “Ask anyone. Ask Lexi or Dr. Fisher. They’ll confirm that what I’ve told you is true.”
    A cold chill stole over July. Relief that she hadn’tslept with a married man was miniscule compared to the stark realization that the tables had turned. She was now the one who needed to apologize. She’d told David to his face that Adam wasn’t his son. Not just once. Many times.
    Tell him you’re sorry. Tell him you made a mistake. He’ll understand. You thought he was married.
    July opened her mouth but the words wouldn’t come. Her heart pounded hard and fast in her head, making it impossible for her to think, much less form a coherent sentence.
    “July.” David’s voice, soft but insistent, broke through the maelstrom in her head. “Will you consent to the test?”
    She tried to speak but settled for a jerky nod.
    “The test is easy.” Though his tone was professional, she could hear the undercurrent of excitement and relief in his voice. “A simple buccal swab. One to Adam’s cheek, one to yours.”
    “Mine?” Her voice broke on the word.
    “It’s recommended,” he said quickly. “But if you don’t want—”
    “No problem.” July took a glass of water from the tray table and chugged it past her dry throat. “Just give me a call when—”
    “We can do it now.” He pulled two vials from his pocket along with an official-looking paper. “But first I need your signature.”
    The room closed around her neck like a noose. She took the paper from his hand and sweat trickled down her back. “Once we do this, how long before you get the results?”
    “Three to five days.”
    The noose tightened.
    July pretended to study the consent form but the words blurred. After a moment, she folded the paper in half and dropped it into her purse.
    “What are you doing?” Confusion blanketed his face. “You said you’d do it.”
    Though her heart now beat like a trapped butterfly in her chest, she somehow managed a nonchalant air. “I’m sure you understand wanting to read a legal document. I’ll be in Jackson Hole for at least another month. We’ll definitely do the test before I leave.”
    “Why wait so long?” His brows pulled together. “It doesn’t take a month to read the authorization.”
    “Because I know what the answer will be, and I’m in no hurry.” Because I need to tell you the truth before you get the results.
    “But you’ll have it done before you leave.”
    “Absolutely.” July wished she could bring herself to tell him the test wasn’t needed. After all, he was the only one she’d been with in over three years. But every time she tried to bring the words forth, tentacles of fear slipped around her, squeezing out the air.
    She would tell David. In her own time. In her own way. But it had to be soon. Before the DNA test. Before he became even more suspicious. Before he found out the truth on his own….
     
    David left July’s room, feeling more unsettled than when he’d walked through the door. Last night, whiletossing and turning in bed, he’d considered his options. He could take July at her word that Adam wasn’t his son. But if she was lying, once she left Jackson Hole she’d be taking his flesh-and-blood out of his life forever. Or he could be proactive and find out for sure if that baby in the nursery was his.
    He’d told himself her response to his request for a DNA test would reveal the truth. If she refused, it’d confirm his suspicions that she was lying. But she hadn’t refused. At least not directly.
    “Can I help you, doctor?”
    David looked into the eyes of Rachel Milligan, the emergency room nurse who’d been