Chapter Twenty-two
“Brian isn’t answering his phone!” Ryan exclaimed as they exited the elevator of the hotel. They had caught a first-class flight to Sarasota, Florida.
“I couldn’t reach Karlie either,” Patricia said. “Maybe they went out last night and they’re still asleep.”
He knew she was miffed at his less-than-enthusiastic response to her efforts the night before, but Ryan was not concerned about that. Brian and Karlie tortured his mind.
“I keep having nightmares of them wrapped up in each other’s arms.” He shuddered. “Should I have just texted them last night and told them the truth?”
“No, that would’ve been a bad idea. We needed to be here. Tell them in person.” Patricia walked in step beside him.
“This is it,” Ryan said. Holding Patricia’s hand, he knocked on the door.
Yentl answered the door and stepped aside. “Good morning, Mr. Oakes. Mrs. Oakes.”
“I’m so glad you’re up. The front desk wouldn’t provide me with Brian and Karlie’s suite number.”
“Griffin!” Yentl yelled. “I’ll be right back.” He ushered them out. “I’ll take you up there.”
Ryan held back his response. He knew what he was getting when he hired them.
“I appreciate your going out of your way like this,” Patricia said.
They entered the staircase.
“No worries, ma’am,” Yentl replied. “It’s only one flight up. I need the exercise.”
Ryan eyed Yentl’s tight physique and looked heavenward. Yentl was flirting with his wife. He saw her hide her smile. Patricia knew it too. She was ahead of him on the stairs, and Ryan admired her trim form. He couldn’t blame Yentl for trying, but he wasn’t concerned. Patricia was his. They would jump over their hurdle in time.
Soon they were outside Brian’s door. Ryan knocked.
He barely waited a second before knocking again. The door next to them opened, and Karlie peered through. She waved them inside. Yentl waved and headed back to his room.
“Brian’s sleeping,” Karlie said. “He had a rough night last night.”
Ryan’s legs wobbled with relief. In his mind, he envisioned Karlie answering Brian’s door. “We’ll have to wake him. Patricia and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t urgent.”
“I’ll go get him. Is everything okay?” Karlie made a move toward the connecting door.
Ryan didn’t like the ease at which she approached Brian’s room. He gulped. Lucky for him, Patricia stepped up.
“I’ll go,” Patricia said, tapping Karlie on the shoulder. “I want to surprise him.”
Patricia hurried into Brian’s room, leaving Ryan alone with Karlie. Though he ached to hug her, his hands dangled by his side and he stayed where he was, unable to think of a single thing to say.
“So did you hear about our TV show?” Karlie asked.
“Yes, I did. Do you think that’s a good idea? What about college? I mean, you’re young now, but you don’t want to have any regrets.”
Karlie wrung her hands, looking slightly uneasy.
“Lay off, Dad,” Brian said, entering the room. “Karlie already has a father breathing down her neck. She doesn’t need you adding to the mix.”
Ryan froze. His eyes met Patricia’s. She gestured with her eyes for him to tell them. How should he begin? He cleared his throat. Nervousness deepened his voice. “Brian, Karlie, I need to speak with both of you.”
They swung their glances his way. Still Ryan hesitated. His throat closed up, and he wiped his face.
“I’ll order breakfast,” Patricia said. She frowned at him and gave him a look which said, Get to it.
“How about we all sit down?” Brian suggested with a furtive glance. “You two are behaving out-of-character and it’s kind of unsettling. Please don’t tell me you’re getting a divorce.”
His son’s tone was doubtful yet hopeful. Ryan shook his head. “No divorce.” From the corner of his eye, Ryan saw Patricia slump with relief. “What I have to say involves Karlie as well.”
“Why do I feel as if I’m not going to like this?” Karlie mumbled.
Ryan noticed how they both gravitated to the couch. This wasn’t going to be a stroll in the sunshine. Lord, give me wisdom. “Let’s begin with a word of prayer.”
“This is going to be bad,” Karlie said. She slapped her knees. “Whenever my dad says let’s begin with prayer, I know I’m not going to like what he’s about to say.”
Nevertheless, Ryan prayed. He needed God’s back. He felt Patricia take his hand and give him a small squeeze.
“Lord, we invite your presence among us at this time. We ask for you to lead and guide this discussion.” Ryan’s voice broke. “I ask that you give me strength and courage to face my wrongs. I ask that you help me make it right. I ask that your peace will fill our hearts as we move forward from today. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
As soon as he said, “Amen,” Ryan focused on Karlie. “Karlie, when your mother ordered the paternity test, I did something horrible.”
Her face turned sheet white. She shook her head. “No, please don’t say it. Don’t say you’re my father. That had better not be what you’re about to say.”
“Dad, what did you do?” Brian asked.
Ryan’s body tightened. “I paid the lab tech to tamper with the results.”
Brian vaulted to his feet. “What does that mean?” he yelled.
Ryan saw Karlie bend over. Patricia rushed to her side and hugged her.
“I think I might be Karlie’s father,” Ryan said.
Brian’s face was beet red. His chest heaved, and he got in Ryan’s face. “I don’t believe you! You stood there and listened to me yammer on about how I might have feelings for her and you said nothing!”
Karlie’s sharp intake of breath was the only sound in the room after Brian’s proclamation. She shrugged out of Patricia’s grasp and covered her face in her hands.
Ryan stepped in her direction, but Brian wasn’t letting him through. His son turned to snarl at Patricia. “Did you know this?”
“No, I learned last night,” Patricia said with a slight quiver. She looked away, hating the necessary lie.
Ryan and Patricia had both agreed on partial disclosure during the flight. Brian and Karlie didn’t need to know about Patricia’s paying the technician to say Karlie was his daughter. He knew if they told them everything, Brian would feel as if this was like old times when they had been too obsessed with each other to pay him any attention. They reasoned that after hearing the news, Brian would need his mother’s comfort.
Karlie found her voice and stood. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She pointed an accusatory finger Ryan’s way. “You’re a selfish, wicked man. What about Neil and Myra? They’ve been my parents for years.”
Ryan started to speak.
“Why are you telling me now?” Karlie interrupted. “Don’t tell me you need a kidney or something because I’m not . . .” Her voice broke. “I don’t believe this is happening.”
“What do you mean you think?” Brian asked. He now stood near the front door. He looked ready to bolt. Ryan suspected if it weren’t for Karlie, Brian would have been long gone.
Ryan had prepared the answer. “I paid the technician to say Clifford was Karlie’s father.”
Brian’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re a vile excuse for a human being.” He addressed his mother. “Why you love him is beyond me.”
Ryan’s heart hurt. He was going to lose his son. He pinned Patricia with a look of sheer panic. His worst fear was happening.
“I love him despite his mistakes,” Patricia said.
Karlie clenched her fists. “You paid someone to tell me the man who raped my mother fathered me.”
Fear hit his chest. With staccato breaths, Ryan said, “I’m sorry. I panicked. I didn’t think you deserved me as a father. I mean, look at how Brian had been acting at the time . . .”
Brian pounced from the door and grabbed Ryan by the shirt. “You’re trying to blame me for your deception? You’re demented if you think that I’m going to accept that sorry excuse.”
Patricia grabbed Brian’s arm. “Let your father go.”
Karlie jumped in. “Brian, please don’t.”
Brian complied and snaked her into his arms. “Karlie, I’m so sorry this is happening. We have to get this all figured out.”
Karlie cried, “What if I’m your sister? The whole world is going to say I’m sick and twisted. They have us in love and all that. You kissed me on YouTube.”
Brian shushed her. “It was on the forehead. You don’t know for sure that we’re related.”
“Karlie, I know you’re angry, but I need you to agree to a paternity test. That’s the only way to know for sure,” Ryan said. He dabbed at the sweat on his forehead with his hands.
Karlie ignored him.
“Ryan, I think it’s time we leave,” Patricia said, picking up her purse. “We have to catch our flight home.”
“But I bought tickets for them to come back with us,” Ryan protested. “We need to do the paternity test . . .”
Ryan trailed off. Brian swung his gaze Ryan’s way.
Brian’s eyes were like a sword cutting into the flesh of Ryan’s soul. His heart skipped a beat from certain fear.
As Ryan and Patricia headed back to the airport, Brian’s face stayed with him. Deep down, Ryan knew that even if he had gained a daughter, he had most definitely lost his son.