Indemnity: Book Two: Covenant of Trust Series by Paula Wiseman Page A

“What has that got to do with anything?”
    “ There was a boy enrolled in Mom’s class, Jackson Charles Ravenna.”
    “ Her son,” Brad said.
    “ Yeah.” He dropped his head, took a deep breath, then he looked squarely at his sons, Joel first and then Brad. “And my son. I have a son with Tracy.”
    The words knifed through Bobbi’s heart. He’d never said them exactly that way before. I have a son with Tracy. With Tracy. He had a son with Tracy because he’d been with Tracy. The lawsuit Tracy filed accusing Chuck of harassment described in vivid detail every moment she and Chuck spent together, and now those words and images they conjured flooded Bobbi’s mind.
    The coffeemaker kicked off, but not trusting her unsteady hands, she didn’t move to pick up the pot. She watched her sons’ faces as Chuck dropped his bombshell. For a long moment, they were frozen, too stunned to react.
    Brad dropped his eyes, embarrassed for his dad. He shifted uneasily, stretching his body back in his chair. Joel turned his head toward his brother, giving him the chance to say something first. Brad just blinked slowly as he stared across the room with the subtlest shake of his head.
    Finally, Joel looked up at her, and in those clear blue eyes, his father’s eyes, was a depth of compassion and sadness no one else had. Joel understood. This wasn’t about distrust, or anger or even doubt. It was about heartache, a heartache that took months to heal even after the reconciliation.
    “ You’re just now finding out about it?” Brad asked. He leaned forward until his elbows rested on the kitchen table. “That’s a little hard to believe, Dad.”
    Brad was coming to her defense, just as he did seven years ago, and he was the one person Chuck couldn’t out-negotiate.
    “ I know it is,” Chuck said, “but I promise you, I had no idea until Mom showed up in my office with that list. After the affair, Tracy dropped off the face of the earth. I haven’t heard from her at all.”
    “ Wait a minute. Has she told you this boy is yours?”
    “ No, she denies it.”
    “ But you don’t believe her?”
    Bobbi saw him glance back at her. He was going to make such a good lawyer.
    “ Brad, the boy, Jack, his birthday is nine months after the affair.” Chuck’s voice was soft with resignation. This was where he expected Brad to give up his protests.
    Bobbi watched as Brad leaned back in the chair. He stared at the ceiling, processing, then he suddenly snapped forward again.
    “ How do you know she wasn’t sleeping with somebody else, too?”
    “ I’ve seen Jack. He looks just like Joel.”
    “ That doesn’t mean anything. You can’t just assume this is your son, and get Mom and everybody else torn up over it. I think that’s kind of irresponsible, Dad.”
    “ So I shouldn’t do anything?” Chuck shot back. Bobbi watched as the back of his neck grew red. He dropped his hand to his thigh and clenched his fist.
    “ I didn’t say that. You have no proof, no facts, just a worst-case scenario.”
    “ So why’s she here?” Joel asked. “She’s not making a play for you, is she?”
    “ Excellent question, Joel,” Bobbi said as she set a cup of coffee in front of her son, her eyes fixed on her husband. “Chuck, what’s the answer to that?” If everyone else could see through Tracy, maybe, just maybe, Chuck would recognize it.
    “ She’s very bitter,” Chuck said slowly moving his eyes from his wife to his son, “and Gavin thinks she just wants to prove she can do a better job at parenting than I can.”
    “ If that’s the case, then she would’ve been around all along,” Joel said, shaking his head.
    “ You think Uncle Gavin is wrong?” Brad asked raising his eyebrows. “I don’t know if that’s ever happened.”
    “ There’s a first time for everything,” Joel said, and then he turned back to his father. “Has she had a marriage fail or something?”
    “ I doubt it,” Chuck answered, “but here’s