Evers & Afters (Dare With Me #2) - J.H. Croix Page 0,56

of our tight circle of friends.

Sandra took a shaky breath, unaware of my mental machinations. “If you recall, those last months before Greg died, you and I didn’t see each other because we weren’t in the same place.”

Her voice cracked a little there, and I couldn’t even feel satisfaction at the possible twinge of guilt she was experiencing. Apparently, she hadn’t found it worth traveling to see me, but somehow, she and Greg had managed to make time to see each other. Considering he was stationed with me, well, that burned a little. I was over Sandra, but being betrayed by a good friend still stung. I didn’t want it to hurt, but loyalty mattered to me.

“I recall.”

“Mathematically, it just doesn’t add up. There’s no way you’re the father. I always knew that,” she finally said.

“Math comes in handy sometimes,” I said slowly. “Why are you here, Sandra? I’m still confused about that.”

“Because Greg’s family is disputing his paternity.” She took a shaky breath. “He knew I was pregnant.” She paused here, her eyes searching mine. I didn’t know what she saw there. “I know it doesn’t matter now, but I was going to tell you what happened between Greg and me. I just wanted to do it face to face. I thought you deserved that.”

I absorbed her words and was relieved to discover I didn’t feel any fresh burst of anger. I was well past being angry with her. I gave a light shrug. “It’s okay. We can’t change what happened. I appreciate that you meant to tell me.”

“Elias, I’m—”

I shook my head, not interested in furthering this branch of the conversation. “Tell me why you’re here.”

She took a shaky breath before continuing. “Like I said, Greg knew I was pregnant. I told him as soon as I found out. I don’t want to create problems, but money is tight, and our son qualifies for his survivor benefits. Greg’s family doesn’t want me to have that, so they’re taking me to court. Since he’s not alive, and I had no formal relationship to him, like we weren’t married or anything, I don’t have any way to get a genetic sample to prove he’s Greg’s son. My attorney recommended that I talk with you so we can rule you out as a father. They’re arguing that they believe you’re the father.”

Her words came out with a few starts and stops, and I actually felt a stab of sympathy for her. She looked absolutely miserable trying to explain this to me. Much as I wasn’t a fan of my old friend and certainly didn’t appreciate what happened, it was bullshit what his family was trying to do. “I’ll take a paternity test. I’m going to assume you’re confident about the results.”

“I am,” she said quickly. “His date of birth is April seventh, and he just turned five this year.”

I was good at math. I didn’t remember many dates, but I hadn’t forgotten the date my old friend died. His son’s birthday was exactly four months and one week after his death. Sandra was right. We hadn’t been together physically for over five months by that point.

Actually seeing Sandra clarified for me that I was more than over her. Yet, the burn of my old friend’s betrayal was still there. Being apart for chunks of time when you were in the military was part of the deal sometimes. The lingering sense of betrayal was connected to my friend, not her. Sadly, she didn’t even know she wasn’t the only friend Greg had betrayed, but that wasn’t my story to tell.

“I assume we could do that locally,” I added.

She let out a giant breath. “Oh, thank you, Elias.” She pressed a palm to her chest.

“It’s no problem. If Greg was the father, his will should be honored.”

“I already found out we can just do the paternity test at the hospital here. It’s Alaska, so nothing’s fast. Apparently, they send it up to a lab in Anchorage, it’s five days for processing. I’m staying in a hotel here. We can do it tomorrow if that works for you.”

“I’ll make it work. I prefer to do it in the morning because I need to fly in the afternoon.”

“Whatever works for you. The lab said you can drop in. Just go when it works for you.”

“You got it. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go.” I stood from the table, and she stood with me.

“I don’t have any reason to stay,” she said when