Page 39 of The Redemption of Remy St. Claire

He glanced up, meeting her eyes. “I was there. At the birth. I was right there.”

“And I’m sure you weren’t capable of actually doing something.”

Desperation clouded his expression. “Maybe not, but I was there when that doctor butchered her.”

Butchered?What did that mean and, more importantly, how was she supposed to react? “I’m so sorry.” The words felt awkward and inadequate.

He nodded in acknowledgement.

“She’s addicted?”

“Yeah and until today, she was in court-ordered rehab.”

“And now they’ve discharged her. The courts will recognize her efforts. They’ll be inclined to be more lenient. Maybe you might be more lenient.”

“Never going to happen.”

The assertion was so vehement it caught her off-guard.

“She gave up her rights when she left our daughter alone in that car. Mira could’ve died. The only reason she wasn’t hurt worse was because the day was temperate, and Sissy parked the car in the shade. Mira was suffering from dehydration and mild heatstroke when they finally rescued her. When I think about how close I came to losing my daughter, it causes a pain in my chest.” His expression pleaded with her to understand, even as his hand pressed to his breastbone.

And she understood—to a point. “People make mistakes. If she’s clean, then maybe you should give her another chance. Supervised visitation—”

“I’ve had the lawyer draw up papers to sever all her parental rights.”

“That seems a bit…final. Is there no room for forgiveness?” She couldn’t explain why she was fighting for this woman she’d never met, but she felt compelled to do so. Maybe she just disliked people being judged with such finality. Every day she dealt with the worst of the worst, yet still some of them deserved a chance at redemption. He’d referred to the incident as a lapse in judgement, but clearly, he’d been downplaying the event for her benefit.

She knew better than to judge someone based on the actions of someone else.

“Damn drugs.” He uttered the words under his breath. He met her gaze. “Do you see now? Do you see why she needs to be as far away from Mira as possible?”

“Yes, I do.” And she did. Sometimes actions meant more than words ever would. “Did you talk to her about signing the papers?”

“She said she’ll fight me tooth and nail. She said the courts won’t take Mira away from her.”

Possibly she was right, but Remy didn’t point that out. He was a smart guy and already intuited the possibility. “And you’re sure this is what you want?”

He blew out a long breath. “It is. I’ve obsessed over it every moment since that day. One minute I’m working on a project, and the next, there are police telling me to meet them at the hospital because my daughter is there. Just for observation, mind you, but at the hospital nonetheless. I show up, thinking there’s been an accident. Instead they tell me that my wife’s in jail and my daughter could’ve died. I can’t do it, Remy. I can’t ever trust Sissy to be around Mira.”

“Okay.” She tucked her hair behind her ear then plunged forward. “I think we should get married.”

Chapter fifteen

Whatthehell?

Rusty was certain he hadn’t heard Remy correctly. Because it sounded like she’d just proposed marriage. He stared at her, dumbfounded, waiting for her to say something that made sense.

She remained silent. She looked at him as if she expected him to respond.

“Can you repeat that?”

“I think we should get married. Put up a united front. Offer that we can provide a stable, loving, and caring environment for Mira. Prove to the court we’re the best alternative.”

He leapt to his feet again, pacing back and forth in front of the couch. “The ink isn’t even dry on my divorce decree yet, and you think I should get married again? Don’t you think the courts will see right through that?”

“Not if you point out your marriage ended months ago. You said it yourself—it ended when Sissy left Mira in the car.”

“And how do I explain you?”

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