Cammie Healy - Jennifer Foor Page 0,90
of it.
When she hung up from the conversation she looked behind me to address Wes. “Who are you, young man?”
“My name is Wesley Parrish. I’m here with Cammie.”
She shuffled through some papers while she spoke. “It’s unfortunate you had to be involved with my husband, Cammie. Had I have known ahead of time, I could have stopped you. By the time I suspected it, you were already sleeping together.”
I cringed just hearing her say it out loud. “I knew this would happen eventually. He’s slept around on me before, but never gotten a girl pregnant. Why he took you to a hospital so close to the campus is beyond me. People talk. I have a good relationship with the nurses there. People your age tend to find trouble. It’s my job to fix things. I never expected a call that my husband was there with a girl who’d gotten knocked up. What else I didn’t expect was for him to be talking about the child as if it were his own.”
“They told you? That’s against the law.”
“I got a message that my husband had brought in a female. They didn’t have to tell me when I was listening for myself. I’m surprised James never said anything. He knew I was there. He saw me and spoke to me. He told me he’d convince you to abort the child, while I threatened to tell our children what their father had done.”
It all made sense. From the very moment we found out she’d been manipulating him. James was telling the truth about that.
I felt sick. I didn’t want to be in the presence of this woman. She had every right to hate me, but I felt the same. Things could have been handled differently.
“Are we done here?” Wes asked.
I stood and faced him. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”
“How do I get in touch with you?”
“You don’t. My work is done here. James will sign the papers if he knows what’s good for him. I’m sorry it had to be like this, and the part I played in the destruction of your marriage. In my defense, he told me it was just for show. I never would have been with him otherwise.”
When we left the office I power walked back to the car Wes had rented for us. I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.
It wasn’t until we arrived at the hotel near the airport when I was finally able to breath normally again.
“Do you think this will work? I’ve got to tell you, Cam. I’m worried. We might have to deal with this asshole for the next eighteen years.”
“I know. Just say a little prayer. This baby is ours. I know what his wife said, but I also know James could have told me the truth. If he truly loved me he could have snuck a message to me, or done everything in his power to protect me. He didn’t. He doesn’t want another child, and I don’t want him.”
“Say it again, just so I can feel better.”
“I don’t want him, because I’m in love with you. This is going to work out.”
“No matter what, you’re stuck with me, Cam. You’re both stuck with me, whether the baby has my name or not.”
I smiled and wrapped my arms around Wes. This was real love. This was what it felt like. It was unconditional. Through good and bad he’d stick by side. Whether his name was on the birth certificate, or I had to leave it blank and pray James never came around to lay claim, we’d make it work together.
Epilogue
She’d been resting for a while, after being in labor for eighteen hours straight. I didn’t know how she was able to manage having given birth to a eight pound stunning little girl. I’d been holding her since the family left.
A light knock on the door sent me to my feet. I walked over and opened it, holding my finger up to my lips. “Shh.” When I noticed who it was I was in shock.
Callie hadn’t spoken to either of us since she discovered we were together. We’d thought she’d come around, but she never had. The fact that she was standing in front of me was a breakthrough. She looked down at the baby and smiled. “Can I hold her?”
I gently passed her over. “Here she is, Madison Olivia Parrish.” We’d gotten the paperwork from James two months after going to California. It was official, from this day