Page 21 of Drop the Mitts

Jenna’s face went completely blank. Country exhaled slowly. Grace could almost hear him counting to ten.

“What do you mean she’s revoking it?” Jenna’s voice was steady, but barely. “She signed the papers. We waited the ten days.”

Grace nodded. “I know. But Amey’s arguing she wasn’t able to give full informed consent.”

Jenna’s expression froze.

Country crossed his arms over his chest. “What the hell does that mean?”

Grace sat at the kitchen table, her stomach twisting. “In Alberta, birth parents have ten days after signing to revoke their consent. But the law states that they have to be explicitly informed of that window.” She met Jenna’s gaze. “The social worker didn’t document that conversation.”

The colour drained from Jenna’s face.

Country’s voice dropped to something dark and low. “Are you telling me this entire case comes down to one missing piece of paperwork?”

Grace clenched her jaw. “It’s not just paperwork. It’s procedure.”

Jenna shook her head. “But she knew. Right? She had to know.”

Grace hesitated. Because she didn’t know. Not for certain. She’d gone through every record she had, and there wasn’t anything that could disprove Amey’s assertion. “That’s what we have to prove.”

Jenna ran a shaky hand through her hair, exhaling hard. “She knew. There’s no way she didn’t know.”

Country’s hands braced on the counter. “So what happens now?”

Grace had spent all night reviewing case law, reading every precedent she could find. None of it felt good. “The judge will determine whether she was given all the information necessary to make an informed decision. If they believe there was a failure in procedure, they could allow her case to move forward.”

Jenna stared at her. “And if they do? If they think she wasn’t informed?”

Grace forced herself to say it. “They could vacate the adoption.” The words hung in the air, cold and brutal.

Jenna let out a sharp exhale, eyes wide.

Country nodded once, his voice tight. “So what do we do? How do we fight this?”

Grace fell into lawyer mode because it was the only thing keeping her together. “I’m going to challenge the petition. I’ll argue that she received the proper information and had every opportunity to revoke within those ten days and did not.” She rubbed her temple. “I need to review everything. The social worker’s case notes, the agency’s. I don’t have access to everything yet. Any emails or texts Amey sent during that period. Anything that could indicate she knew.”

Jenna nodded sharply. “Whatever you need. Just tell us what to do.”

Grace curled her hands in her lap. “Thank you. I’ll keep you posted. I’m hoping this won’t get traction, but if it does, we’re going to court.”

Another silence. Then Jenna let out a breath that sounded too much like a sob. Country pulled her in, wrapping an arm around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as they both stared at little Hope in the swing.

She hadn’t planned to stay, but when Country handed her a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon, she didn’t have the heart to turn it down. She picked up her fork, absently swirling a piece of pancake through a small pool of maple syrup. She wasn’t hungry—her body was too wired, too tense—but she forced herself to take a bite.

Jenna joined her, handing her a cup of coffee, and eventually, Country turned off the stove and sat with them, too. They chatted about the ranch, their property rentals in the silos out back, and the season outlook for the Snowballs. Grace didn’t know hockey, but she was glad to listen and eat.

When she finished, she thanked them profusely and stood to take her dishes to the sink. Country jumped up and insisted on doing it for her.

“You probably have to get going for that meeting.” Jenna smiled and took a sip of her coffee.

Grace blinked, scouring her head for context surrounding that comment.

“Babe, she said she couldn’t help with that.” Country slid her plate into the dishwasher.

Jenna frowned. “Oh! André asked for your number the other day. I assumed he invited you.”

Grace’s stomach dropped. Ah. Right. The text conversation with André replayed in her mind.

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