She turned back to Chase, and he noted the trapped, almost scared look in her eyes. Was the thought of having to work with him again that horrible?
“I thought the GPC website said you were in Senegal,” Dani said. “Are you … staying here?”
“No, just stopped in for a little day tour of the area.”
The twist of her lips showed she got his sarcasm loud and clear. What, she hoped he was about to grab a cab and head to the next tourist destination? He couldn’t remember Dani ever saying dumb things before. In fact, she was one of the smartest pediatricians he’d had the opportunity to work with over the years. One of the smartest docs, period.
“Well. I …” Her voice faded away and she licked her lips. Sexy, full lips he’d loved to kiss. Tempting lips that had been one of the first things he’d noticed about her when they’d first met.
“So-o-o,” Trent said, looking at Dani, then Chase, then back at Dani again with raised brows. “Chase and I were about to have a late dinner and a beer. Are you hungry?”
“No, thanks, I had snacks in the car. You two go on and eat, I’m sure you’re starved after a long day of clinic and surgeries.” She put on a bright and very fake smile. “I’ll get the low-down on the routine around here tomorrow. Right now I’m just going to have Spud show me my room and get settled in. Bye.”
She walked back to the other side of the Land Rover and then just stood there, hovering, practically willing them to leave. Well, if she wanted to act all weird about the two of them being thrown together again, that was fine by him.
“Come on,” he said to Trent as he moved towards the kitchen. While his appetite had somehow evaporated, a beer sounded damned good.
“Mommy!”
The sound of a muffled little voice floated across the sultry air, and Chase again found himself stopping dead. He slowly turned to see Dani leaning into the back of the Land Rover. To watch, stunned, as she pulled a small child out through the open door and perched him on her hip.
Guess he’d been wrong about her finding husband and father material. And pretty damned fast after she’d left.
“Mommy, are we there yet?” The sleepy, sweet-faced boy of about two and a half wrapped his arms around her neck and pressed his cheek to her shoulder. A boy who didn’t have blue eyes and crazy, curly blond hair like the woman holding him.
No, he had dark hair that was straight, waving just a bit at the ends. A little over-long, it brushed across eyebrows that framed brown eyes fringed with thick, dark lashes. A boy who looked exactly like the photos Chase’s mother had hauled all around the world and propped up in every one of the places they’d lived. Photos of him and his brother when they were toddlers.
Impossible.
But as he stared at the child then slowly lifted his gaze to Dani’s, the obvious truth choked off his breath and smacked him like a sledgehammer to the skull. He didn’t have to do the math or see the resemblance. The expression in her eyes and on her face told him everything.
He had a son. A child she hadn’t bothered to tell him about. A child she had the nerve, the stupidity to take on a medical mission to a developing country. Something he was adamantly against … and for good reason.
“I guess … we need to talk,” Dani said, glancing down at the child in her arms. She looked back at Chase with a mix of guilt, frustration and resignation flitting across her face. “But let’s … let’s do it tomorrow. I’m beat, and I need to get Andrew settled in, get him something to eat.”
“Andrew.” The name came slowly from his lips. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Andrew was his own middle name. Anger began to burn in his gut. Hot, scorching anger that overwhelmed the shock and disbelief that had momentarily paralyzed him. She’d named the boy after him, but hadn’t thought it necessary to even let him know the kid existed?
“No, Dani.” It took every ounce of self-control to keep his voice fairly even, to not shout out the fury roaring through his blood and pounding in his head. “I’m thinking a conversation is in order right this second. One more damned minute is too long, even though you thought three years wasn’t long enough.”
“Chase, I—”
“Okay, here’s the plan,” Trent said, stepping forward and placing his hand on Chase’s shoulder. “I’ll take Andrew to the kitchen, if he’ll let me. Spud and I’ll rustle up some food. You two catch up and meet us in the kitchen in a few.”
Trent reached for the boy with one of his famously charming smiles. Andrew smiled back but still clung to Dani’s neck like a liana vine.
“It’s okay, Drew,” Dani said in a soothing voice as she stroked the dark hair from the child’s forehead. “Dr. Trent is going to get you something yummy to eat, and Mommy will be right there in just a minute.”
“Believe it or not, Drew, I bet we can find some ice cream. And I also bet you like candy. The kids we treat here sure do.”
The doubtful little frown that had formed a crease between the child’s brows lifted. Apparently he had a sweet tooth, as he untwined his arms from Dani and leaned towards Trent.
“And you know what else? It’s going to be like a campout in the kitchen, ‘coz the lights are going out soon and we’ll have lanterns instead. Pretty cool, huh?”
Andrew nodded and grinned, his worries apparently soothed by the sweet adventure Trent promised.
Trent kept talking as he walked away with the child, but Chase no longer listened. He focused entirely on the woman in front of him. The deceiving, lying woman he’d never have dreamed would keep such an important thing a secret from him.
“I want to hear it from your lips. Is Andrew my son?” He knew, knew the answer deep in his gut but wanted to hear it just the same.
“Yes.” She reached out to rest her palm against his biceps. “Chase, I want you to understand—”
He pushed her hand from his arm. “I understand just fine. I understand that you lied to me. That you thought it would be okay to let him grow up without a father. That you brought my son to Africa, not caring at all about the risks to him. What is wrong with you that you would do all that?”
The guilt and defensiveness in her posture and expression faded into her own anger, sparking off her in waves.
“You didn’t want a family, remember? When I told you I wanted to marry, for us to have a family together, you said a baby was the last thing you would ever want. So, what, I should have said, ‘Gosh, that’s unfortunate because I’m pregnant’? The last thing I would ever want is for my child to know his father would consider him a huge mistake. So I left.”
“Planning to have a child is a completely different thing from this and you know it.” How could she not have realized he’d always honor his responsibilities? He’d done that every damned day of his life and wasn’t about to stop now. “What were you going to do when he was old enough to ask about his father? Did it never occur to you that if his dad wasn’t around to be a part of his life, he’d feel that anyway? That he’d think his father didn’t love him? Didn’t want him?”
“I … I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped and she looked at the ground. “I just … I know what it’s like to have a father consider you a burden, and I didn’t want that for him. I thought I could love him enough for both of us.”
The sadness, the pain in her posture stole some of his anger, and he forced himself into a calmer state, to take a mental step back. To try to see it all from her perspective.
He had been adamant that children wouldn’t, couldn’t, fit into his life, ever. He’d learned long ago how dangerous it could be for non-native children in the countries where he