Page 32 of Rock the Cradle of Love
Dammit.
God, he wants to talk to Taylor, to hear his voice. Noah is—was—mad, yes; that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss him. But he doesn’t know what to say and where to start the next conversation. Not yet. He sighs and sets his phone on the counter.
Noah keeps busy as the morning crawls by, caring for Emma, doing laundry—laundry has become a never-ending task since Emma’s arrival—tidying up the house. He’s just about to put Emma down for her afternoon nap when the doorbell rings.
His heart takes off as if he’s streaking down the ice on a breakaway, and he’s suddenly short of breath. It’s got to be Taylor. No one else visits him without an invitation or calling first. Anyway, he’s glad. He hates being at odds with anyone, but for him and Taylor to have this thing between them so early in their relationship is…well, maybe it’s sort of good. They can have the discussion Noah intended for them to have from the beginning, iron things out, and move on.
Noah puts Emma in her bed and pulls her bedroom door closed.
Yanking open the front door, Noah exclaims, “Taylor,” only to find a stranger in a courier’s uniform on his stoop instead. “Sorry. Um…how can I help you?”
“I have a package for Noah Drinkwater.” The young man holds out a flat cardboard envelope slightly larger in size than a sheet of paper.
Noah’s stomach clenches. This can’t be good, can it? “That’s me.”
“Sign here, please.” The young man holds out a signature scanner.
Noah signs and the guy bounds back down the stairs with a hollered, “Thanks.”
The return address is that of Ms. Padget’s firm. His worry drops down to almost nothing as he tears open the envelope to find a folded letter and yet another envelope inside. The business-size envelope is from a law firm he vaguely recognizes the name of, so he’s guessing it’s the firm Julia’s decided to use from the list he emailed her.
He flips open the thick creamy paper and begins to read. As he does so, his hands begin to shake and he drops to a seat on the coffee table. His fear of Brenda’s interference has come to pass. He tosses the cardboard envelope across the room like a Frisbee. It thunks against the wall and drops to the floor.Dammit.Brenda has instigated some sort of mediation hearing for Friday. He doubts Julia’s behind this, and she probably hadn’t even known about it or she’d have warned him. He’d spoken with her last week after his visit with Ms. Padget. She still wants to give Emma up. Julia still wants Noah to adopt her.
Why Brenda’s so upset, Noah really doesn’t understand. He’s happy to let her see Emma, to be a grandma. Why she didn’t just call him, he has no earthly clue.
Does she have some sort of vendetta against him or his mom? Does she have information that would make him unfit in the eyes of the law?
What’s he going to do if he loses Emma? The thought of that happening makes him lightheaded and short of breath. He can’t imagine his life without Emma in it now. He needs to counter Brenda’s claims. Needs to prove he can handle being a parent and a professional hockey player. Needs to keep Emma at almost any cost.
He finds his phone and calls Ms. Padget.
“Take a breath. Don’t panic,” she says in lieu of hello.
Noah takes a breath and swallows said panic. “How did you know?”
“We talked for two hours in person last week and another forty minutes on the phone the following day.”
“Right.” He’d pretty much spilled his guts. “So what’s a mediation hearing and what does it mean in terms of my adopting Emma?”
“I called Doug Monroe over at Sawyer and Brown.”
They’re the mediation firm mentioned in the letter.
“Brenda Gilbert hired them in an attempt to stop her daughter from proceeding with the adoption.”
“But why? Why does she care that much?”
“That I don’t know, Noah. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Honestly. Unless there’s some deep dark secret you haven’t told me that’s going to come out and make you an unsuitable parent, this looks like—”
“I’m in a relationship with another man,” Noah blurts. It’s the only thing he can think of that might jeopardize his case. “We’ve only just started seeing each other—we can break up.”
Ms. Padget chuckles. “That’s not a problem, Noah. Don’t worry about it. For whatever reason, Brenda can’t accept Julia’s decision. Now whether it’s a valid concern or something else, there’s no way to know at this point. We can certainly argue that she has no legal say-so in the matter, but I think it’ll serve your case better for us to attend and give her a chance to air whatever grievances she has. Then there’s really no way for her to contest the adoption.”
“Are you sure?” It’s a stupid question. Ms. Padget’s bio said she’s been doing this for fifteen years. She knows her job. He knows that. It’s why he hired her. Tears sting the corners of his eyes and he pinches the bridge of his nose. “It would break my heart if I have to give Emma back—or worse, let someone else adopt her.”
“I know, Noah. I’m not going to lie and say there’s not a chance, but it’s a very small one. So please keep your worrying to a minimum, all right? The paperwork is being drawn up and will be ready to file as soon as we can get it signed, pending the outcome of the mediation hearing.
“I’ll meet you at the Sawyer and Brown offices on Friday, all right?”
