“I didn’t know you and Magnolia were together,” Seth said. “That’s a big turnaround, right?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “That’s me coming to my senses and realizing I was a putz all those years ago.”
“Is it serious, Luke?” Anna asked.
I glanced at Magnolia again, allowing an image into my mind of her with our own little baby. Fuck, I liked the thought. “Just between us? It’s getting that way for me, but I don’t know if she’s there yet.”
Truth be told, I shied away from asking her, not wanting it to feel like pressure. I knew how much she had going on, so my objective was to honor that and not hurry her.
Kemp rushed up to us, seeming upset or in a hurry.
“Hey,” Anna said to him, frowning. “What’s going on, Kemp? Are you okay?”
“Fuck,” he said on an exhale. He swallowed, looking like he’d seen a ghost or maybe an entire alien spaceship. “I just got this call…” He chuckled, but I got the impression it was not out of humor in the least. Shaking his head, he said, “I don’t know if I’m being pranked or what. God, I hope I’m being pranked.”
“Tell us what happened,” Anna said. “What call did you get?”
“I met this girl last year. She came here for a weekend trip, and we hooked up. Her friend just called.” He looked around desperately, as if searching for an out. “Fuck, I don’t even know where to start.”
“What did the friend say?”
“Valerie—the girl I hooked up with—was killed in a car wreck.”
“Oh, no,” Anna said.
Kemp nodded. “Her baby wasn’t in the car with her, so he’s okay.” He rubbed his fingers over his eyes, then dropped his hand. “Her friend says it’s my kid.”
“What?” Anna blurted.
“She said I’m on the birth certificate,” Kemp said, becoming paler by the second.
“You didn’t know about the baby before now?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not a thing. We didn’t keep in touch. I don’t know if any of it’s real.”
“Why wouldn’t the mother tell you that you have a kid?” Seth asked, clearly disturbed. “Especially if she put your name on the birth certificate?”
“I don’t know,” Kemp said. “We didn’t discuss that. It was more about… I’m a fucking father? Is this real?”
“So…does she want you to take the baby?”
“She’s working with children’s services to figure it out. I guess Valerie’s mom wants the kid, but Valerie didn’t get along with her parents and would never want them to get custody of her child.”
“So Valerie’s friend thinks you should get the baby?”
Kemp let out a hollow laugh, bent over with his hands on his knees, then straightened, shaking his head. “Sounds that way. What do I do? I don’t know what to believe.”
“What did the friend say to do?” Anna asked.
“She told me she’d call me as soon as she knows more. What if it’s my kid?” Kemp ran both his hands over his face, clearly distraught.
“You need to get involved and find out,” Seth said. “You’ll want a paternity test ASAP.”
Kemp nodded at him as if he was still in shock. Hell, I would be.
“What can we do?” I asked him.
He cackled semihysterically. “Hell if I know. What should I do? Should I drive to Nashville to see the baby?”
