“Transfer?” Her mind reeled from the implications of what he was saying. “I can’t transfer.”
“Why not?”
“Ryan loves his school. Moving would mean leaving his friends, his sports teams.” She met his gaze. She’d better let him know right now that usurping Ryan’s life for his convenience wasn’t an option. Not any more than discovering his father would already do. “I won’t turn Ryan’s life upside down, Daniel.”
“You already have, Kimberly. You cheated him out of knowing me, out of having a father. Does he even know I’m alive?”
“Yes.”
“Yes?” He sounded surprised. “What does he know?”
“That I got pregnant by my high school sweetheart. I told him you were a good man, but things didn’t work out.”
“So he thinks I just left him?”
“No.” She shook her head. “He knows you had other commitments.”
“Other commitments? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“University.”
“He thinks I abandoned him to go to college?”
“No.” She shook her head, wincing. “We d
on’t talk about this, Daniel. We haven’t for years and years. When he was small he asked me about his father and I told him you were a good man, but had other commitments. He’s never asked about you since.”
Daniel winced. “He thinks I’m a jerk who walked out on a woman he made pregnant.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
He grabbed her arms. “How do you know that if you haven’t talked with him about me in years?”
Good point. “I just know.” But did she? She and Ryan hadn’t talked about Daniel since he’d been in kindergarten. For that matter, why hadn’t her son asked more questions? She’d always expected him to but had counted herself fortunate not to have to field her son’s curiosity about his father.
“You know nothing.”
A loud knock on Daniel’s office door had Kimberly jumping, but Daniel seemed unmoved. His hands still clutched her arms.
“Daniel?” Gregory called.
“Go away,” Daniel ordered, his angry eyes not leaving her.
The door handle turned and Gregory stepped in un-invited. “I didn’t realize you had company.”
But Gregory didn’t leave, just stared at them. Worry filled his eyes. “Hey, man, what’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
Gregory’s gaze dropped to where Daniel’s fingers were digging into Kimberly’s arms. Daniel didn’t let go and sent his friend a warning look.
“You okay?” Gregory addressed Kimberly, looking back and forth between them.
She shook her head. She wasn’t okay and Daniel’s fingers were starting to bite into her flesh.
“Daniel? What’s going on?”
Daniel’s hands dropped to his sides. “Was there something in particular you wanted?”