Page 3 of Drop the Mitts

Grace scanned further, her stomach turning.

“Material change in circumstances . . .”

Oh, hell. That’s what they were arguing. A birth parent in Alberta could challenge an adoption post-finalization under extreme conditions—abuse, fraud, coercion. None of those applied here. Absolutely none. But then she saw the argument.

“The petitioner was in a vulnerable state at the time of relinquishment and was not of sound mind when consenting.”

Bullshit. Absolute bullshit.

Grace dug her nails into her palm, grounding herself in something other than the sheer fury tightening her chest. This wasn’t about fraud or coercion. This was about regret. A mother who changed her mind, and the court would let her try?

That pissed her right off. Not because the mother had feelings—of course she did. But because there was no way this woman had gotten her ducks in a row in the past month. She wasn’t doing what was best for Hope, and Grace had plenty of professional experience with that kind of maternal selfishness.

Could this even get traction? The standard for overturning an adoption was insanely high. The birth mother would need evidence—medical records, psychiatric evaluations, proof of instability at the time of consent.

Could this woman have faked it?Or was there something she’d missed?

A sick feeling crawled up her spine. She’d left family law for a reason. It had been too personal, too draining, too rife with other people’s pain that then bled into her own life. Property law didn’t cry on the phone at midnight. It didn’t come with gut-wrenching, life-altering stakes.

She had walked away from this kind of emotional wreckage years ago. And yet, here she was, drowning in it again.

Did she screw this up?

Her brain hissed at her, tearing apart every step of the process, every document signed, every witness present, every single moment she had assured them it was done. She was careful, meticulous.

She squeezed her eyes shut and forced a deep breath.Stop spiraling. Solve the damn problem.

Fine. Worst-case scenario: The court agrees to hear the petition. That doesn’t mean they win.

Step one: Call the adoption agency first thing in the morning. Confirm the mother’s state at signing. Make sure there’s zero ambiguity in their records.

Step two: Find out if this judge is sympathetic to these cases. Some were sticklers for legal precedent, and some were more emotional. If they got the wrong judge, this could drag out longer than it should.

Step three: Do not tell Jenna and Country. Not yet. If this case got legs, she’d tell them with a plan in place. Not a second before.

Her hands were steady again. The fear still coiled in her chest, but it wasn’t running the show.

She glanced at the clock and swore under her breath. The game.

She needed to leave now if she was going to arrive home in time to change. How was she supposed to sit through a hockey game and pretend everything was okay?

But if she didn’t go, Jenna would only be more insistent. She needed to show up to avoid giving any indication that things werenotfine.

Grace shut the laptop, grabbed her blazer, and walked out the door.

Chapter

Two

André

The Saddledome wasalive with the usual game-night chaos—beer sloshing, screens flashing, and the heavy bass of the arena music vibrating through André’s chest. He barely heard or saw any of it.

He lounged in one of the suite chairs, feet kicked up on the railing, grinning like a man who had already won. Because tonight? He was playing a different game.

Grace was coming.

Country sat across from him, arms crossed like he was waiting for André to realize what kind of shitstorm he’d created. He did. He just wasn’t sorry about it.

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