Page 112 of Delivery After Dark
Sometimes Mac couldn’t believe she was the same woman who’d been so bitter and jaded when he first met her. Her relationship with Ned and the arrival of eight grandchildren had changed everything for her.
Leaving the kids in the capable hands of their grandparents, he went upstairs to change, checking his phone as he went.
He read a text from his brother Evan. Playing at the Wayfarer with O tonight if you guys can escape.
Got some other plans, but we may stop by.
Would love to see you. Grace is going to text about a welcome-home party for Adam, Abby and the babies at the ferry landing tomorrow.
Sounds good!
Mac couldn’t wait to meet his baby nephews, but first, he had a rare night alone with his beautiful wife, and he was going to make sure they both enjoyed every second of it.
* * *
Waiting for the phone to ring was the most stressful thing Lizzie James had ever done. On the one hand, she wanted to hear from Kendall that the situation had been resolved and they had nothing to worry about. On the other was the fear of getting bad news that would ruin her life.
So, yeah, waiting for the phone to ring was complete torture. It had taken over every thought, emotion and action, weighing her down with unbearable stress.
In the meantime, she tried her best to stay focused on her precious Violet and keeping the torment hidden from her. All the books said that babies were incredibly perceptive and could tell if their parents were stressed or upset about something.
She didn’t want Violet to have any inkling that everything they held dear was in jeopardy from a man they’d never met and might still never know. So she forced herself to remain joyful around her daughter, to play and laugh and sing and do all the things they did every day as if nothing was wrong.
But on the inside, she was shattered.
What would she do if a judge ordered them to give Violet to her biological father?
They would run. Jared had the resources to make it possible for them to disappear into the world, never to be seen or heard from again. They’d have to leave everyone else they loved behind, but they’d do it to keep their family together.
Jared came into the room and smiled at them as if everything was normal when nothing was. He loved Violet as much as she did, but more than anything, he loved seeing her as a mother. He’d told her more than once that it was his favorite thing ever to witness her immense love for their child. Losing her would break his heart just as much as hers.
“I’d ask how you’re doing, but…”
“I’m trying to hold it together for her, but it’s hard to hide the torment.”
“I know, love. But you’re doing great. She’s happy as always.” He reached out a hand to Violet, smiling when she gripped his finger.
“Can we run away, Jared? Just take her and disappear?”
“I think that’s harder to do than you might think. People know who I am.”
“But we could try?”
“If we run and we get caught, we lose her. If we stay and fight, then we stand a chance to get the outcome we want.”
“But we could lose her.”
“Yes, we could, and we always knew that was possible until the adoption was final. We talked about this at the beginning, how we were taking a huge chance falling in love with someone who wasn’t ours to keep yet.”
“What were we supposed to do? Not love her? That’d be like asking me not to breathe.”
“I know, honey, but we went into this knowing the risks. We can’t forget that now that our worst-case scenario has come to pass.”
“How can you be so calm about this?”
“I’m not calm. I haven’t had one second of calm since Kendall told us Violet’s biological father had reached out. I’m just trying to deal with the situation we’re in as best I can, and running away won’t fix anything.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
