“Who do think we’re seeing?” Jack whispered. He looked a little uncomfortable in the large chair he’d chosen, but then Jack was never entirely happy unless he was outside. Add the nerves of what they were doing, and it made for a restless cowboy.
“One of the Walkers, I guess,” Riley whispered back.
Jack nodded his head to the door Marcus had just left through. “He’s kinda cute,” he said.
Riley nodded. “Pocket-sized.”
They grinned at each other and only stopped when the door opened and Marcus returned. He passed over coffee and water, and then with no other words, he sat down in the seat opposite the ones Riley and Jack had chosen. Riley looked to the door, waiting for someone else to walk in, but when Marcus pulled over a folder and a pen, Riley got the feeling this was the M Walker they were here to see, partner in the Walker Clinic. Jack appeared to get with the flow at the same moment, and he and Riley exchanged a silent what the fuck? Riley had been expecting a woman. Hell if he knew why, but he’d assumed M was for Margaret or Mathilda or anything that wasn’t Marcus. Did men have the right stuff to help them? Wasn’t the whole surrogacy process more of a woman’s thing?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Marcus began. Riley snapped back to look at the guy, and guilt flooded him like Marcus could see inside his head. Or had he said something out loud? He looked at Jack quickly but Jack didn’t give any indication that Riley had said anything untoward. “You’re thinking that this whole process is going to be as easy as one two three. The first thing I would say to you, that I would say to anyone starting this process, is that what you are planning to do is the hardest, but most rewarding, journey that you will ever take.”
Riley blinked at the words. They were strong words, fighting talk from the little guy with the folder. Marcus’s brown-eyed gaze went from Riley to Jack and back again.
“You’re not selling it to us,” Jack commented dryly.
Marcus inclined his head. “It’s not my place to sell anything to you. But I say the same thing to all my IFs. IF is what you are designated in the surrogacy community—intended fathers. IFs. The Walker Clinic will be with you every step of the way through the process.”
“No disrespect,” Jack began carefully. “But you don’t look a day over twenty, how do you think you can help us?” Riley squirmed at the question while at the same time silently thanking Jack for pointing out the obvious.
Marcus smiled and didn’t appear to take offense. He had dimples for God’s sake—how much cuter could one guy be?
“I’m twenty-eight. My mother and father started this clinic in the eighties, and now my sister and I work with all new parents. I have been part of this place since I was born. This is the older part of the building where we meet new clients, but we have offices out the back that you will become more familiar with as your journey progresses.” He waved a hand around the room. “Let’s talk, and if by the end of the meeting you feel I am not the best fit, then I can get Marcie in, or I can refer you to other agencies dealing with surrogacy. Marcie is my twin sister and has her own clients, but you may think she would be a better fit.”
“The Walker Clinic is the one we’ve had recommended to us; we want to work with whomever you think is best,” Riley said quickly. He saw the subtle change in Marcus’s expression from all business to more relaxed.
“Okay. So let’s start by checking some details from you against the form you completed.” He opened the folder and depressed the top of the pen to start writing. He nodded at Riley. “I have your full name as Riley Nathaniel Campbell-Hayes.” Marcus paused and Riley nodded. “Height, six four; hazel eyes, blond hair, born July 19th, 1982. You are the owner of CH Consultancy, which deals with ethical exploration and oil, and your home address is listed as the Double D ranch just outside of Dallas. You have A-negative blood, you have one sibling, and your mother is still with us. No history of…” He trailed off and ran his pen down the list. Riley knew what he’d written on the form and most of the boxes were blank. “You’re independently wealthy and have a young daughter who attends private school. Is this accurate?”
Riley nodded, then emphasized with a spoken ‘yes’ when he realized Marcus was still looking at the paperwork.
Marcus ticked something, then moved to check Jack’s information. “I have your full name as Jackson Robert Campbell-Hayes, five eleven, blue eyes, dark hair, born May 1st 1979. You are the owner of the Double D ranch, which is also your primary address. You have O-positive blood, you have two siblings, and your mother is still with us. You cite your income as being derived from training and breeding horses. Is this accurate?”
“Accurate,” Jack answered.
“And you are a married couple.”
“In Canada,” Riley said. “It’s not legal in Texas.”
Marcus ignored him. “Married,” he said simply. “There are legal processes we need to go through. Did you bring everything on the list?”
Riley handed over the envelope that contained his and Jack’s lives. Passports, financial statements, and the myriad other small things the Walker Clinic needed. Marcus opened, checked, and ticked then handed the whole package back to Riley.
“I’m assuming both of you will pass the background check, and you’re both in agreement to a psychological assessment? We take our matching very seriously.”
Riley nodded. He was happy to agree to an assessment if it meant he and Jack could grow their family.
“That’s fine,” Jack said less confidently than Riley felt. Their one bone of contention in this whole process was that Jack didn’t do well being asked personal questions. To him family was sacrosanct and wasn’t to be shared with everyone.
“Right, down to the details now. When my assistant spoke to you, she said you indicated that you wanted to follow the surrogacy route. You understand there are two different routes to becoming parents this way. A gestational surrogate has no genetic link to the child she is carrying. This means the egg is provided by an egg donor. A traditional surrogate is genetically related to the child she is carrying, she is both the egg donor and the surrogate.”
“We want to go the gestational route,” Jack said firmly. Riley glanced between Jack and Marcus. He and Jack had both independently and together considered asking Beth or Eden to donate, but when it came down to it, neither seemed right. Beth had her medical problems, and Eden was dealing with everything she and Sean were going through with Sean’s impending surgery.
“Noted,” Marcus said. “Then we have the screening process to go through. Did my assistant go through that with you?”
Riley gripped Jack’s hand. Abruptly this was surreal. He couldn’t believe they were actually sitting here having their lives dissected in such a blatant way. He needed to remember why they were doing it.
“Blood type, HIV, Hepatitis B and C, other STDs,” Riley reeled off. “She said you test for cystic fibrosis and other genetic complications.”
Marcus tapped his pen on the folder in his lap. “Jackson, you have indicated it would be you donating.”
“Jack. Call me Jack, and yes, it was me, we decided, because Riley…” He worried at his lower lip with a tooth. Riley squeezed his hand.
Marcus nodded as if he knew what Jack was going to say. He’d probably heard all the reasons under the sun before and probably did know what was going to be said. “We’ll need to do semen analysis, sperm count and motility, then once the medical and psychological screening has been completed, you’ll be assigned an intended parent code. That will be your identification to the surrogates we have who will look at your profile anonymously.”
“So we won’t know who is looking at us?” Jack asked.