Harlequin Special Edition May 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Not Quite Married\A Forever Kind of Family\From Best Friend to Bride by Christine Rimmer

Author:Christine Rimmer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Harlequin American Romance
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

As promised, Ryan called his cousin Jackson, who was a lawyer in Pinehurst, New York, and got a recommendation for a local attorney. Then he called the attorney’s office and was given an appointment time of four o’clock the following afternoon.

Shelly Watts was of average height and build, but there was nothing else average about her. She had masses of wildly curling auburn hair, clear green eyes that were sharp and direct, a smile that was warm and genuine, and freckles covering every inch of visible skin.

She also had a confident manner that immediately put both of them at ease, along with a table in the corner of her office scattered with small toys, coloring books and crayons.

“I spent most of the morning in court,” Shelly said after introductions had been exchanged and they were seated on the other side of her desk. “As a result, I haven’t had a chance to do much more than skim the documents you dropped off, but it looks like a pretty straightforward custody dispute.” She flipped through the pages of the complaint again, then set it aside. “So my question to you is—how do you want to respond?”

“Is there a way to say ‘Go to hell’ in legalese?” Ryan asked.

“It’s instinctive to want to fight something like this,” Shelly told them. “But it’s not required.”

“What are you saying?” Harper said.

“You’re two young single people who have been entrusted with the responsibility of a minor child to whom you have no biological connection,” the lawyer explained patiently. “It’s not inconceivable that you might want to abdicate that responsibility to a willing party.”

“We’re not giving Oliver away,” she said firmly.

“I’m not suggesting that you should—I just want to make sure that you’re both committed to the child and the required course of action.”

“We are,” Ryan confirmed.

“Then let’s get started.”

* * *

“Do you feel better?” Ryan asked as they walked out of the lawyer’s office and into the early evening.

“I’m not sure.” She turned automatically toward the parking lot.

He paused on the sidewalk. “Marg & Rita’s will make you feel better.”

“How do you figure?”

“My cousin Tristyn says that margaritas make everything better. Plus, Marg & Rita’s has decent food and I’m hungry.”

“But Oliver—”

“Is with my parents,” he reminded her. “And considering that they already raised three boys, I’m pretty sure they can handle one toddler for a few hours.”

But he checked in with them anyway to make sure everything was okay and to ensure they didn’t mind keeping Oliver a little longer. His mother was thrilled to spend more time with the little boy she’d immediately designated her first grandchild, unconcerned with the fact that he wasn’t related to her by blood.

Ryan felt the same way. It didn’t matter that Oliver wasn’t his son—he was already looking forward to sharing all the important events in his life, from his first day of kindergarten to his first day of college. He wanted to teach him to play baseball and drive a car, to help with his math homework and commiserate with him over his first heartbreak.

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