A Special Summer(26)

Kevin didn’t know what he was talking about. What if she did have a man? After reflecting on what he said, Nick was regretting having Summer agree to, no, forcing her to have paternity testing done. That thought, along with Kevin’s words went flying out the window after hearing her on the phone. Nick was glad he had gone with his instincts. There may be a strong possibility the baby wasn’t his just like the last time. Damn it, this can’t be happening again.

Bringing the glass to his lips again, holding her gaze he was wondering what she’d been thinking. Didn’t she have sense enough not to get pregnant? Nick had warned her not to do something so foolish. She hadn’t listened. Numerous times he told her he would never marry, let alone become anyone’s father. Like most women she probably figured once he learned of her pregnancy he would whisk her off to the nearest church.

Nick was not about to be manipulated by another woman no matter how beautiful. If by chance this was his child he would do as planned, file for custody. Not so much because he wanted to be a father, but to make her pay.

Summer more than anyone knew his relationship with his father was another catalysts for his refusal to be a father. Growing up as a child his father was more concerned about his ambition of becoming a judge, leaving virtually no time for Nick. Nick did not want to subject a child to that. Clenching his jaw becoming angry, what in the hell was he going to do with a baby? Chances were he didn’t have to worry about that. Any judge would rule there was no valid reason to find Summer unfit as a mother. Women her age and younger were raising children on their own all over the world. Even without him her job as a nurse afforded her the ability to raise a child independent of him. He knew filing for custody was futile; however, he would do it just to make her life miserable.

Standing up Nick muttered a curse under his breath. Everything he just mulled over in his mind was useless, a waste of brainpower if the child wasn’t his. Snatching dishes off the table he snapped, “What?” He could tell Summer was about to say something.

Summer’s voice trembled in nervousness. “I just wanted to know if you wanted or needed any help.” Her small hands worried the cloth napkin, twisting it as she waited for his reply.

Nick pinched the bridge of his nose then gritted out between clenched teeth, “Knock yourself out.”

The dishes rattled as he sat them back down on the table with a thud as he stormed out the room. It was a wonder every dish hadn’t shattered.

Relieved to be alone, Summer took extra precautions not to break anything as she loaded the dishwasher. Nick had unnerved her with his foul mood and hard glare. She was literally trembling from head to toe. She could not shake the feeling that he was about to detonate at any moment. The storm was slowly brewing within him. He carried it in his silent demeanor, the way he stabbed at his food, and the hard gazes he threw her way. Summer’s thin shoulders slouched at the thought of a confrontation with Nick.

♥♥♥

After she loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the table, she moseyed into the den. Flopping down on the end of the sofa, she picked up an edition of Black Enterprise. This was not her idea of leisure reading, but it would do. Page after page were boring articles on how to start this business, how to start that business, first year projected revenue. Blah, Blah, Blah. Summer would give anything to have her latest edition of Essence, even a nursing journal would do. Covering a yawn she stretched then reached for the remote on the end table and turned the television on. She had not heard Nick enter the room.

“Summer we need to talk.” His voice was tight, eyes narrowed into slits.

Jumping, placing a hand over her pounding heart. “Nick, you scared me. I didn’t hear you come in.”

Removing the remote from Summer’s hand, he turned off the television and sat on the coffee table facing her.

Summer was glued to the sofa from the penetrating stare he used to pin her down.

After storming into his office a magnitude of questions came rushing through his brain. When did she get pregnant? When did she find out? Was she ever going to tell me about the baby? The most nauseating question he needed answered was, “Does she have a man and is he planning on raising the baby?” Clenching his jaw at the notion, he started firing into Summer with his inquiry.

“When did you become pregnant?”

Huh? “May…I think.” Of course she knew when she’d become pregnant; her body functioned like clockwork, right on time. In fact when she missed her period she knew the exact night it happened.

Irritated by her answer he ran his hand over his face in frustration. “Woman what do you mean, ‘you think’? Either it was May or it wasn’t,” he hissed.