Page 52 of Delivery After Dark
“Thanks for coming over to talk to us in person.”
“I couldn’t call you with this.”
“Is this why you’ve been crying?”
She shook her head. “That’s because Phil called to tell me how much he loves and misses the boys and me.”
“Aw, jeez, K. I’m sorry. I wish he’d leave you alone.”
“I promised him updates about the boys, but I asked him not to call me again. I can’t take it. Every time I talk to him…” Tears spilled down her cheeks that she angrily brushed away. “I just can’t.”
Jared hugged her, and she held on tightly to him, both giving as much as receiving comfort.
“We’ll get through this,” Kendall said. “I promise. Dan and I will do everything we can to make sure your adoption goes through.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything for you, little brother.”
“Back at you, sis.”
After Kendall left to figure out the next steps to keep Violet where she belonged, Jared went to find Lizzie, who was lying on their bed crying as Violet slept next to her.
Jared crawled onto the bed and took her hand.
“I was thinking earlier, when we were playing before you came in, that I’ve never been happier in my life than I am right now. If I lose her, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“We won’t lose her.”
“How can you say that? If he’s her father…”
“I’m her father, and that’s not going to change. If I have to offer him every dime I have, that’s what I’ll do.”
“We can’t buy her, Jared.”
“Who says? If he’s found out who we are, that might be all he’s after. If it is, I’ll give him whatever he wants to make sure we never hear from him again.”
“That wouldn’t be right.”
“That might be all he wants.”
Lizzie sighed. “I can’t even think about this without wanting to scream.”
“We’ve got two great lawyers on our team, and they’ll do everything they can for us. So let’s try not to lose our minds over this.”
“Too late. I lost my mind the minute Kendall said Violet’s father’s lawyer had called Dan.” Tears slid down Lizzie’s sweet face. “Look at her. Our perfect girl. Our dream come true. If we lose her…”
“We won’t lose her, Lizzie. I won’t let that happen.”
“Some things, even you can’t control.”
“Have some faith in me. I’ll fight for you and our baby girl with everything I have. I won’t let them take her from us.”
He silently vowed to keep that promise to her, no matter what it took.
Chapter 11
Sierra had three clients that day, which was a lot for December, not that she was complaining. Business dropped off after the holiday weekend in October, which was why she was so careful with money during the busy season. The summer months funded the rest of the year for her and her two employees. Any business was considered “gravy” at this time of year, and she appreciated her regular clients who propped her up in the off-season.
