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Authors: Delores Fossen
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find on him?” Dylan asked.
“Nothing, other than rumors that he owns those judges and a few politicians. He was born stinking rich, inherited his family’s chain of hardware stores, and then added to his wealth through what appears to be legal means. He’s considered a good, upstanding citizen by most. And now that his less-than-stellar son is dead, there isn’t even a hint of danger in any facet of his life. He comes off like a Boy Scout, Dylan, and that’s not good news for you.”
It wasn’t. His worst fears had been confirmed—he could lose Adam.
“Keep digging,” Dylan ordered. “I want any and every thing that you can find on not just Curtis Reese, but Collena Drake and the man who recently escaped from jail, Rodney Harmon.”
“I will, but you have to start looking at the likelihood of a serious custody battle. Or some kind of settlement with Collena. If you can’t buy her off, then if I were you, I’d be hoping that she’s a reasonable woman.”
Dylan clicked the end-call button, slipped the phone back into his pocket and leaned against the wall. His lungs felt heavy, as if he’d taken in too much air, and every muscle in his body was in a knot.
What the hell was he going to do?
He turned and opened the door just slightly so he could see inside the playroom. Ruth was in the chair, and she was glaring at Collena. However, Collena was oblivious, because her attention was focused solely on Adam, who was back on his toy car. His son was grinning from ear to ear and babbling happy sounds.
Collena turned and spotted him in the doorway. She, too, was smiling, and there were tears of joy in her eyes.
Dylan didn’t waste any time. There wasn’t a reason to delay this.
He knew what he had to do.
He motioned for Collena to come to him. Her smile faded, probably because she anticipated that he’d gotten some bad news from the phone call. She got up from the floor and, without breaking eye contact with him, she made her way to him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Everything.” Dylan cleared his throat. He partially closed the door, only leaving it open a small crack. “If your marriage proposal is still good—I’m accepting it.”
O F ALL THE THINGS that Collena had expected to hear Dylan say, she hadn’t expected that.
“You’re accepting my marriage proposal?” she asked, certain she’d misunderstood him.
He nodded. And he looked as if he were facing a firing squad. “The P.I. I just spoke with confirmed that you’re Adam’s biological mother. He also believes that Curtis Reese has a chance of getting custody of Adam.”
“He does,” Collena agreed, speaking around the lump in her throat. That’s why she’d suggested marriage in the first place. She didn’t have the resources and political contacts to fight Curtis, but Dylan did. With Dylan’s help, she could get custody of her child.
Her plan was working. That was the good news, but she knew they had a long fight ahead of them. This was just the first step.
“I thought we stood a better chance of winning if we were together,” Collena added.
Dylan huffed. “Of course, a judge might see right through our convenient relationship.”
“I don’t doubt that, either, but Curtis is a widower, and I think a judge would be more likely to keep Adam in the home where he was raised and with parents who’ve made a commitment to give him the best life possible. We’ll just have to be honest and not hide the reason we’re getting married. I’m hoping our marriage will prove to the judge that we’re willing to do anything for Adam’s happiness. Curtis can’t compete with that.”
His eyes snapped to hers. “You really think we can pull this off?”
“I don’t think we have a choice. And believe me, for the past three days, I’ve studied all the options. If I’d been able to come up with something better, I would have gone in that direction.”
“I’ll bet you would have,” he mumbled. He took a hard breath
“Nothing, other than rumors that he owns those judges and a few politicians. He was born stinking rich, inherited his family’s chain of hardware stores, and then added to his wealth through what appears to be legal means. He’s considered a good, upstanding citizen by most. And now that his less-than-stellar son is dead, there isn’t even a hint of danger in any facet of his life. He comes off like a Boy Scout, Dylan, and that’s not good news for you.”
It wasn’t. His worst fears had been confirmed—he could lose Adam.
“Keep digging,” Dylan ordered. “I want any and every thing that you can find on not just Curtis Reese, but Collena Drake and the man who recently escaped from jail, Rodney Harmon.”
“I will, but you have to start looking at the likelihood of a serious custody battle. Or some kind of settlement with Collena. If you can’t buy her off, then if I were you, I’d be hoping that she’s a reasonable woman.”
Dylan clicked the end-call button, slipped the phone back into his pocket and leaned against the wall. His lungs felt heavy, as if he’d taken in too much air, and every muscle in his body was in a knot.
What the hell was he going to do?
He turned and opened the door just slightly so he could see inside the playroom. Ruth was in the chair, and she was glaring at Collena. However, Collena was oblivious, because her attention was focused solely on Adam, who was back on his toy car. His son was grinning from ear to ear and babbling happy sounds.
Collena turned and spotted him in the doorway. She, too, was smiling, and there were tears of joy in her eyes.
Dylan didn’t waste any time. There wasn’t a reason to delay this.
He knew what he had to do.
He motioned for Collena to come to him. Her smile faded, probably because she anticipated that he’d gotten some bad news from the phone call. She got up from the floor and, without breaking eye contact with him, she made her way to him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Everything.” Dylan cleared his throat. He partially closed the door, only leaving it open a small crack. “If your marriage proposal is still good—I’m accepting it.”
O F ALL THE THINGS that Collena had expected to hear Dylan say, she hadn’t expected that.
“You’re accepting my marriage proposal?” she asked, certain she’d misunderstood him.
He nodded. And he looked as if he were facing a firing squad. “The P.I. I just spoke with confirmed that you’re Adam’s biological mother. He also believes that Curtis Reese has a chance of getting custody of Adam.”
“He does,” Collena agreed, speaking around the lump in her throat. That’s why she’d suggested marriage in the first place. She didn’t have the resources and political contacts to fight Curtis, but Dylan did. With Dylan’s help, she could get custody of her child.
Her plan was working. That was the good news, but she knew they had a long fight ahead of them. This was just the first step.
“I thought we stood a better chance of winning if we were together,” Collena added.
Dylan huffed. “Of course, a judge might see right through our convenient relationship.”
“I don’t doubt that, either, but Curtis is a widower, and I think a judge would be more likely to keep Adam in the home where he was raised and with parents who’ve made a commitment to give him the best life possible. We’ll just have to be honest and not hide the reason we’re getting married. I’m hoping our marriage will prove to the judge that we’re willing to do anything for Adam’s happiness. Curtis can’t compete with that.”
His eyes snapped to hers. “You really think we can pull this off?”
“I don’t think we have a choice. And believe me, for the past three days, I’ve studied all the options. If I’d been able to come up with something better, I would have gone in that direction.”
“I’ll bet you would have,” he mumbled. He took a hard breath
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