Olivia played with her teddy bear and kept looking up at Ty. While I couldn’t shake the feeling that all of our worlds were about to be turned upside down.
Chapter Twenty-Six
TY
After I’d informed Bill and Rich, and then Sam, of my decision not to take the job, the fucking rug had gotten pulled out from under me. The moment Kaylee had walked into that room and I saw Katy, I knew shit was about to get real.
It had taken me a minute or two to figure out who Katy was. The kid she was holding was my biggest wake-up call ever. Her blue eyes did look like mine; there was no doubt about it. And, much to Kaylee’s credit, she never once faltered.
It was killing me, not being able to talk to her about all of this, especially with how amazing this morning had been and how we had left things open to talk. Trying to figure out what in the hell was going through her mind was driving me mad. She’d only asked earlier this morning about kids, and now there was a possibility I might have one.
I knew deep in my heart, though, that the little girl wasn’t mine.
I didn’t feel anything toward her. Nothing. If she had been mine, wouldn’t I have felt some sort of connection? Something?
Katy was insistent that we head to her doctor’s office and get the DNA test done as soon as possible. Since I wasn’t going on air, I’d told her we could do it today. Kaylee stood by me the entire time, a smile on her face while she kept her thoughts pretty much to herself. She held my hand and gave me a reassuring nod when needed, but I saw it in her eyes. I also saw the way she looked at the little girl, whose only resemblance to me was her blue eyes. She was the spitting image of her mother. I had to admit I’d stared at her intensely, trying to see anything, and had come up with nothing each time.
Lincoln and Brock had been calling Kaylee nonstop. I finally sent him a text with the shortened version of what was going on and asked him to give me some space. For once in his life, he actually did what I asked of him.
There was a brief moment at the doctor’s office when Kaylee had excused herself. She wasn’t gone for very long, but I knew she was trying to keep her composure up. I hated that she was going through all of this. I hated that my past indiscretions were causing her pain.
Kaylee remained silent as we took an Uber from the hospital back to the hotel. CBS was nice enough to pay for another night for me in the hotel. I’d told them I would take care of it, not feeling right about it, but they had insisted. It could have been because I’d suggested doing one or two commentaries throughout the year, without any interviews into my personal life. I was shocked when they’d agreed that that was a good plan.
I was glad I’d done the trial run, though. It showed me that I wasn’t missing out on anything. I’d once thought I’d belonged there, but I no longer felt that way. I knew where I belonged. In Hamilton, on my folks’ ranch, trying to make a go of things with Kaylee.
When the door to the hotel room closed, I wanted nothing more than to grab Kaylee and get lost in her. But twice we’d done that. I wasn’t going to hide from her anymore. She deserved more than that.
“Are you hungry? Would you rather get something to eat and then talk?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. We can order room service or pizza.”
I nodded and undid the cuffs of my shirt sleeves and rolled them up. Kaylee watched my every move.
As I sat on the bed, I looked over at her. She was leaning against the table. What in the hell was going through her mind?
“Before we talk about Olivia, I need to know what you’re thinking, Ty. Your decision to not take the job threw me.”
I laughed. “It shouldn’t. The only reason I agreed to try it out is because I thought you were with Channing, and I needed to see if I truly did miss this world.”
Kaylee tilted her head. “Okay. Then I want to know why you didn’t think you were good enough for me. Let’s start with that.”
I sighed. A headache was already forming. Real talk wasn’t something I ever liked to do. Especially after the accident. But those few weeks without Kaylee, and the thought of losing her to someone else, had made me wake up and realize I needed to talk about a lot of things, and not just about my feelings for her. I needed to tell her everything.