"But right now, Casper only

recognizes Cody. He's convinced he

doesn't have any other kids," Julia

said her heart pounding. "Which

means Ruby might have played us."

Gary didn't see it that way. "There's

another possibility. Maybe Casper

was afraid that if we found out he

had a kid with Ruby while he was

still with Jessica, we'd end up

resenting Jessica even more. So he

kept it quiet to protect her.

"You could be right. Casper and

Jessica are definitely done. From

the way he sounded, it doesn't seem

like Jessica has any intention of

taking him back. So there's no

reason for him to keep the kid a

secret anymore. Maybe we should

just ask him again to be sure."