A Man's Heart by Lori Copeland

Author:Lori Copeland [Copeland, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-310-56095-1
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2010-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Jules yanked tubers out of three tubs, and flung them into a fifty-gallon oil drum. One more attempt to recreate a flawless potato down the drain.

Leaning back on the potting table, she studied her notes. So far she had only come close to reproducing the magic plant, but close wasn’t good enough. She had to have the exact combination, and she couldn’t re-create it. Her phone hadn’t stopped ringing since the news leaked out about her “almost” find. She’d turned down more suitors than she had bedspreads the past two weeks.

She glanced up when she heard a tap at the shed door. “Enter!”

Cruz appeared in the doorway and her heart did a cartwheel. Jeans and T-shirt hugged his stocky frame. She’d barely seen him since Sophie’s service except for the occasions that he and Adan had stopped by to play with the children. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He stepped into the shed and eyed the tubs of dirt. “Still trying, I see.”

Shrugging, she closed her notes. “I assume you have a purpose for being here so early?”

“I came for the kids.”

Her brows knitted. “For the kids? This isn’t your day to have them.”

His features sobered. “Sophie’s gone. Adan and I want the kids.”

She put her hands on her hips and confronted him. “You can’t have the kids. I keep them until you get the farm on an even keel.” Sophie made it clear that either Adan or Cruz should be appointed the legal guardian, but only at the proper time. “That’s what we agreed on.”

“Oh bull. You know as well as I do that Adan and I were only appeasing Sophie. Those are our flesh and blood, and we’re going to raise them.”

Jules’s gaze clashed with his. “I have a legal paper stating otherwise, signed by Sophie and witnessed by her attorney.”

“So what? We’ll take you to court and fight it.”

“And how do you plan to fight it? Neither one of us has the money to hire attorneys.” Her heart hammered. A judge would be more sympathetic to kin than friend, but she still had the legal document stating Sophie’s last wishes. The mother’s desires would surely hold weight in a court of law.

“I don’t have the money, but I can call in a favor.”

Favor. Of course. Cruz was well respected in these parts and he had many influential friends. She stiffened. But then so did she. Her chin lifted.

“Just try it and I’ll call in some favors of my own.” The Delgados weren’t the only people in the community with prominent friends.

“Fine.”

She nodded curtly. “Fine. But you’d better save your requests for something you can win. Like a new irrigation system.”

His features darkened and she realized she’d nicked his pride. “Cruz … I’m sorry …”

“You’re right.” He met her apologetic gaze. “My crops are dying in the field from lack of water. I’m three months behind on my bank loan, and they’ll repossess my truck in a few weeks, but I will fight you on this, Jules. All I need is a good crop this season to get back on my feet.

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