A Child's Gift--A Clean Romance by Linda Warren

Author:Linda Warren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-09-10T18:48:33+00:00

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ON HIS NEXT day off, Rico wanted to start on the cake shop, but Anamarie wanted him to rest. So they compromised. They slept in and had a late breakfast and then they packed their things to go to the office space.

They heard a car drive up and then another. “Wonder who that could be?” Ana asked Rico as he slipped into his boots.

Rico got up and opened the door and was surprised to see Wyatt, Gabe, Rachel and Egan standing there.

“What’s going on?” Rico asked.

“Can we come in?” Wyatt countered.

Rachel slipped past them and went to Dusty. “Come with me,” Rachel said and picked up Dusty and left the room.

Rico let him go because he knew something was wrong. Since Gabe was here that meant it had something to do with the adoption. Maybe he’d been denied. But then, why were Wyatt, Rachel and Egan here?

Ana came and stood beside him, taking his hand. He squeezed it tightly.

“What is it?” he asked in a steady voice.

Silence filled the room like a bad smell and everyone seemed to step away from what was happening. Finally, Wyatt said, “Darlene Miller is out of prison.”

A new kind of fear gripped Rico. “What? How did that happen?”

Wyatt cleared his throat. “A pro bono eager-beaver attorney who wants to make a name for herself got the other girl to admit she was the one with the drugs. Two other inmates backed her up on that. Then she got the parole board to listen to Darlene’s story and they believed her. She’s out.”

“Well, she’s not getting anywhere near Dusty.” Rico was firm on that. She’d given up her rights and now she had no rights.

Wyatt cleared his throat again. “There’s more. She got that same lawyer to file a petition in Family Court here in Horseshoe. Judge Carvel heard the case and listened to Darlene. He gave her back her maternal rights due to the stress she’d been under hearing about her mother’s death. He granted her full custody of Dusty.”

“No! Don’t do this, Wyatt.”

“Rico—” Ana clutched his hand and turned to Gabe. “They can’t do this. He’s our baby.”

“How is she going to take care of him?” Rico asked.

“The state got her an apartment and a job in Austin and CPS will check on them regularly.”

“Well, isn’t that great?”

“Darlene and Ms. Henshaw are waiting at the courthouse. You have to bring Dusty in. Pack his things.”

“No, I don’t. Just give me five minutes and we can be gone and you’ll never find us.” Fear echoed with every beat of his heart. They couldn’t take his kid. He couldn’t let them do that to him and Ana.

“I can’t do that, Rico. I have to uphold the law. And the law says Darlene Miller gets her kid back. I’m sorry.”

“I thought you were my friend.”

“I am. That’s why I don’t want you to go back to prison.”

Egan rubbed Rico’s shoulder. “I know this is hard, but you have to do this. I’m right here if you need me.

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