Baby Love Lite (53 page)

“
Trey, we’re not talking
about lending your brother your car or giving him money. We're
talking about you contributing your half of the DNA that's
necessary to make their child. It'd be your child with Tess
essentially. I’m sorry; I've a problem with it. End of
discussion.”

“
No, Tylar,” he said shaking
his head, “This is far from the end of the discussion. I get that
this came out of the blue for you. It did me as well, but this
bears further consideration. I'm prepared to do this and so is
Tristan. You're hung over at the moment and need rest and time to
gain perspective. I’m sure once that's taken place, you'll be in a
position to consider this more objectively. This is about caring
and about family. It in no way should make you feel threatened. It
has nothing to do with my love for you, but has everything to do
with my love for my brother. We'll talk about this once we return
to Atlanta.”

“
Trey,” I said, my voice
quivering, “don’t patronize me by using my hangover as an excuse
for my not agreeing with your decision to be a sperm donor to your
ex-fiancé. What you're essentially agreeing to do is to sire a
child with another woman. How well would that sit with you if I
were the woman having another man’s child?”

“
It's not the same thing
dammit! A surrogate will carry and deliver the child. My God, it’s
not as if Tristan or I'll be having sex with Tess.”

“
Well, why not?” I chided
him, gaining my strength back. “After all, you’ve been there before
haven’t you?”

Trey looked at me. “I'm going to leave you so
you can rest. We'll discuss this when we're back home. End of
discussion."

I turned my back to him as he left the bed. I
didn’t want to discuss this further now anyway! Several minutes
passed before my phone chimed. I reached for it on the nightstand.
It was my dad.

“
Happy New Year,” he said
cheerily as I answered the phone.

“
Thanks. You too,
Dad."

“
Somebody sounds as if she
partied too much last night. Do you want me to let you go,
Tylar?”

“
I’m sorry, Dad. You’re
right. I overdid it last night but that’s not what’s bothering me
at the moment.”

“
Do you feel like talking
about it with your old man?”

I smiled when he said that. It was if we'd a
history together; like I'd always had the luxury of taking my
problems to him for fatherly advice over the years. It didn’t
matter. I had that luxury now and I was going to take him up on
it.

“
I’d like that,
Dad.”

I shared the details with him concerning
Nigel and Tess and their situation, including the fact that Trey
had been engaged to Tess years back and her infidelity. I mentioned
as I'd come to know Tess, I liked her as a person and
sister-in-law, but I had fundamental misgivings about having Trey
potentially father her child.

He listened intently over the phone letting
me get it all out. I dissolved into tears at the end where I shared
with him Trey intended to contribute against my wishes.

“
Well, I see your point
Tylar; but I see Trey’s as well.”

Do men always stick together on stuff like
this?

H
e
continued on explaining his position to me very
patiently.

“
Darling, you were an only
child. It may be difficult for you to be totally objective to this
because you've no point of reference. It's not something I'd have
wished for you. Had I known at the time I was to be a father, I
assure you I'd have insisted on marrying Marley and we would've
given you brothers and sisters.”

God, he's so much like Trey!

“
I realize its water under
the bridge now so I can only share with you what I know. I was one
of four.”

“
Really,” I interrupted,
“You mean I have aunts and uncles?”

“
You've one aunt in Texas;
you've an uncle in Oregon and another one in Minnesota. I was the
youngest of the four. You've cousins as well.”

There was so much about my dad and his family
I hadn’t learned about yet. There were so many things I wanted to
know.

“
My point's this: siblings
have each other from cradle to grave. Parents die; spouses can
leave through death or divorce, but brothers and sisters are a gift
from their parents to their children. They're there to love and
support each other. That’s all Trey wants to do for Nigel,
darling.”

“
I know, Dad, and if one of
Trey’s brothers needed him for a blood transfusion or to donate a
kidney, I wouldn’t have an issue with that. This just feels
different.”

“
It’s probably because
you're looking at it as a very intimate thing. Traditionally babies
are conceived in a sexually intimate relationship. Modern science
has evolved providing other options. Trey's not offering himself
sexually to his sister-in-law; it's more akin to him donating
blood.”

“
With the obvious exception
that a human being will be created as a result of this particular
donation. What if it’s a boy?”

“
What if it is?” he
asked.

“
Well, it'd kill me if I
wasn’t able to give Trey a son, or at the very least, his first
son.”

“
Tylar,” he said, “you and
Trey plan to have more children, right?’

“
Yes, as a matter of fact,
we're going to start trying soon.”

“
Excellent,” he replied.
“Whether your sister-in-law gives birth to a boy or a girl; whether
that child carries Trey or Tristan’s specific DNA, it won't matter.
The child will be the product of Nigel and Tess. You'll give Trey
his second child be it a boy or be it a girl. It’s that
simple.”

When my father explained it to me in those
terms, it didn’t seem nearly as complicated or as threatening as I
had initially felt. I didn’t understand a brother-sister bond. I
had to trust he was right.

“
Thanks, Dad,” I said,
smiling into the phone.

“
I love you, Tylar,” he said
simply.

“
I love you too,
Dad.”

CHAPTER 53

The four of us returned to Atlanta after
another fucked-up holiday at the Sinclair’s. I'd told Gina she just
needed to get used to it. I had.

Gina and I'd talked at length once we were
back at the apartment. Trey and Tristan had gone out to the new
house. Tristan had agreed to get Derringer and the other two horses
Trey had selected transported to our new home. They were going to
the feed store in DeKalb County to get the supplies ordered and
delivered for the horses.

We were in the laundry room,
folding clean clothes and sorting them into piles. “So, Gina, tell
me; how do you
really
feel about Tristan’s going along with Nigel’s request for his
‘DNA’ for lack of a better term?”

“
Truthfully, Ty, I guess I
don’t feel nearly as emotional as you feel about it. Probably
because Tristan wasn't engaged to Tess at one time, or maybe
because in some way, it makes me feel less guilty about not telling
Tristan there's a miniscule chance the baby I’m carrying could be
Ian’s.”

I looked at Gina and apparently she read the
expression I thought I'd hidden.

“
Okay, I can tell you're
disappointed in my decision, Tylar; but it's my decision to
make.”

“
I didn’t say a word,
Gina.”

“
You didn’t have to,
girlfriend. You think I can’t read your silence? I’m sorry if you
don’t approve, but my decision is final.”

“
You don’t owe me an
apology,” I replied, folding Trey’s tee shirt. “It's your decision
to make and as your friend, I support whatever you choose to
do.”

I turned to look at her and saw that she was
surprised by my attitude. She'd expected me to press her to change
her mind about it. That wasn’t how I felt about it anymore.

“
What's gotten into you
these days?” she asked.

“
I've just had time to think
about the things my father and I discussed on New Year’s morning. I
guess I've learned everything isn’t always black and white; there
are shades of grey,” I replied.

“
Yeah,” she giggled, “At
least fifty of them."

I rolled my eyes at her as we continued with
our folding.

“
What about you, Ty? How are
you dealing with Trey’s decision to donate to the
cause?”

“
I guess I've put it in
perspective; I mean I could make it a major issue between us; throw
out an ultimatum and likely get my way. All that would accomplish
is putting distance between us that doesn’t exist now. I don’t want
that for us. I love Trey too much to allow my selfishness to get
into the way of that. Plus, I'd like to think if the tables were
turned a relative of mine would come to my aid.”

“
I think that’s a very
healthy attitude,” Gina replied thoughtfully.

Our landline rang so I went grabbed the phone
in the kitchen before the one in Trey’s office woke Preston. It was
my father.

“
Tylar,” he said, his voice
had urgency to it not familiar to me.

“
What is it,
Dad?”

“
You and Trey need to get to
Baton Rouge tomorrow. Matthew Renaud's to be arraigned in the
morning and the grand jury's recommended two counts of premeditated
murder; one count of attempted murder. If convicted on just one of
the murder one charges, it's enough for the jury to recommend the
death penalty.”

“
Did the results come back
from my mother’s autopsy?”

“
Yes,” he replied, “I'm not
privy to the details, but apparently it was enough to convince the
grand jury.”

“
I’m glad,” I said, “I want
him to burn in hell.”

“
That’s why I thought you
might like to be present when he's formally charged.”

“
I'll be there, Dad. I’m
curious about the ‘attempted murder’ charge you mentioned. Did
Matthew try to murder someone else?”

“
Yes, though I think that
charge was brought about as an offshoot of one of the murder one
charges.”

“
I don’t understand,” I
replied. “Who was the victim on that charge?”

“
That would've been you,
Tylar. The tainted breast milk resulting from the poisoning of your
mother, I presume. Had she not switched you to formula when she did
there was the possibility it could have proven fatal to you. That’s
how the grand jury sees it, at any rate.”

“
What time's his
arraignment, Dad?”

“
It’s at 10:00 a.m. in the
superior court in Baton Rouge. I’m going to arrange for a charter
flight for you and Trey. Edie's here to care for Preston if you
want to stay over, darling.”

“
Thanks, Dad. Call me later
when you've made the arrangements. Trey isn't home, but I'll
contact him on his cell now to see if he plans on accompanying me
tomorrow.”

I wasn’t sure what Trey’s schedule was since
he was back to work. I was okay with going by myself. My dad would
be there with me. I got off the phone and immediately called Trey
to let him know what my father had told me. He said he and Tristan
were on their way back and he'd see me in a few. I filled Gina in
when I located her in Preston’s room changing her diaper. She'd
awakened while I was on the phone with my father.

“
Do you want me to stay with
Preston tomorrow, Ty?”

“
That'd be great, Gina. I
don’t think Trey and I'll stay over since Dad is chartering a
flight for us.”

“
I'd love the opportunity of
being with my god-daughter all day,” she replied pulling her pink
sweat pants up.

I took Preston to our room and climbed on top
of our bed. I picked up the remote and turned the flat screen on
finding a music station.

Trey came into our room about twenty minutes
later. His cheeks were rosy pink from being out in the cold. He
looked so handsome.

“
Hey, baby,” he said coming
over to sit on the bed.

Preston disengaged herself from me hearing
his voice. She crawled over to him saying ‘da-da.’ He picked her up
and kissed her cheeks and then leaned over giving me a kiss on the
lips. Ever since I'd rescinded my objection to Trey’s decision to
help Nigel and Tess, we'd been closer than ever.

I'd totally stopped using my diaphragm
unbeknownst to Trey. I knew he'd have no objection to that, but I
feared he'd see it as me trying to compete to get pregnant before
Tess. Maybe that was close to the truth. I'd read in a magazine
once that having sex too often could lower a man’s sperm count. I'd
been wearing Trey’s ass out in bed and that hadn't gone unnoticed
by him.

“
Baby,” he'd said late one
night after I'd awoken him for another round, “Why the ‘fuckathon
every night?”

“
Are you complaining,
Trey?”

“
I’m not complaining. I’m
just curious.”

“
Can’t I be horny for my
husband without him being suspicious of my motives?” I had asked
feigning injury.

“
I’m sorry, baby,” he'd
said, pulling me on top of him. “I love that you love me like
that.”

Tristan on the other hand had evidently been
privy to the same information as I'd found in that magazine. He'd
taken a hiatus from fucking Gina on a daily basis. She'd complained
to me about it.