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and Joseph’s DNA samples before he left, and a private lab, one that he controlled, would do both tests. As a further precaution, he was the only person who would get the real results. Any information after that would be filtered through him. It wasn’t an honest approach, but it could save Kelly Manning’s life.
    He glanced in the nursery again. Kelly took a diaper from the stack next to the crib and started to change Joseph. Nick managed to get just a glimpse of the boy. But that glimpse had his imagination racing.
    Dark hair. Not brown. But black.
    Nick’s color.
    Of course, plenty of babies had black hair.
    Why couldn’t he put this out of his mind? There was only the possibility that Meredith had lied to him. A small possibility, since to the best of his knowledge she hadn’t lied to him about anything else. And she wouldn’t have taken on something like this by herself if—
    “Heck, you might as well come in,” Kelly offered, interrupting his latest round of argument. “You’ve already given me a full body search, panties and all. Plus, I showed you my C-section scar. Seems a little late for modesty in the diapering department, doesn’t it?”
    It seemed a little late for a lot of things.
    He took a few steps closer and stood in the doorway, but Nick didn’t actually enter the room. It was best to keep some distance between them.
    “You look shell-shocked. Did you get bad news from that phone call?” She looked away from him to continue diapering duty.
    “Not really. Just a possible inconvenience.”
    Kelly made a sound of contemplation. Paused. And made another sound. “Have you given any more thought to me seeing William?”
    “No.” Not true. Nick had given it plenty of thought but decided it wasn’t going to happen. “I figured after the test results—”
    “That I’d slink away, carrying my lies with me? Wrong. Because, you see, I’m not lying. And as much as you distrust me, I don’t trust you, either. You have the power and the money to doctor test results.”
    He couldn’t possibly deny that because it was the truth. “You have the power and apparently the inclination to cause waves that shouldn’t be made.”
    Her mouth went into a flat line. It was in contrast to the soft babbling sounds the baby was making. “I have a right to know if William is my son.”
    “And I have the right to protect him.”
    She huffed, finished diapering Joseph and turned to face him. “So we’re back to where we started. Don’t get me wrong, William’s safety is important to me, too. But I’m just not convinced there are real issues here. I mean, if you’ve proven he’s not your biological son, then why would he still be a threat to Eric?”
    “Because as you so succinctly put, I have the power and the money to doctor test results.”
    “Did you?” she fired back.
    “No.”
    Another huff but not an indignant one. This one was from frustration. “You know the truth, don’t you?”
    Best to go for the sarcastic approach again since she seemed to be very good at detecting lies. “I know many truths. Did you have one particular in mind?”
    “ The truth. About Joseph. Now, I want you to cut through all these evasive tactics and tell me what you know.”
    Nick stood there staring at her, but he couldn’t stop the idea from dominating his thoughts. Meredith and he had been lovers. The timing was right. Plus, Meredith would have known about the danger of giving birth to his child.
    “I’m still waiting for an answer,” Kelly reminded him several moments later.
    But he barely heard the reminder. Because at the exact moment she was speaking, the baby caught onto the crib railings and pulled himself to a standing position. He wore denim overalls and white cotton shirt. Joseph turned his head in Nick’s direction, and just like that, their gazes connected.
    Nick’s breath froze in his lungs.
    Joseph’s face was round. Almost chubby. And he grinned. Just grinned. Showing his dimples.
    Nick