Page 42 of Her Secret Daughter

“I’d love to have a look around the resort, son.” Mr. Weatherly spoke up as the women and kids walked toward the hotel’s front.

“Sure.” She felt Jacob’s eyes on her, but she didn’t look up. She checked the temps on the smoker before going back inside, and when the men also moved toward the front of the expansive resort hotel, she let the tears come.

What was she doing here? Not just in the hotel, but in Grace Haven at all? Why hadn’t she run away when Addie first appeared?

Because Addie was with the wrong person, that’s why, only he might be the right person, after all. Certainly more right than the pretend father who deserted his marriage once the adoption was complete. Or the mother who lied her way through agency protocol to gain a child.

Emotions didn’t just hit her, they ransacked, and just as she decided she might pull out some chicken and give it a thorough pounding to release her aggression, her phone rang. Cruz’s name came up on the display. She drew a deep breath to gain control of her rolling emotions and answered. “Cruz. What’s up?”

“Can you talk?”

She glanced around and nodded. “Yes.”

“Adam O’Neill signed over full custody of Addie before their divorce was final. Before the six-month statute and their finalized application in front of a judge. Between what you heard from Jacob, and this proof that I’m sure Ginger never thought would be found, it’s clear that they misrepresented themselves to the agency to gain a child.”

So it was true. Jacob’s sister maneuvered her husband and her situation to adopt Addie.

“This changes things, Josie.”

Josie wasn’t so sure. “It clears things up, but what can it change, Cruz? Do I move forward out of some misplaced anger and mess up a child’s life because I was wronged? Or do I think about King Solomon and his ruling, that a child should be divided to satisfy two fighting women? If you truly love someone, how can you intentionally tear them apart?”

“I hear what you’re saying.” Cruz spoke deliberately, the way he often did. “But there was a crime committed here, Josie. So yes, it’s worked out all right, and I’m glad about that, but it could be argued that the original crime of misrepresentation could have egregious effects on the child. She never had a father to speak of, and the mother was taken out of the picture through no fault of her own. However, her original deceit left Addie orphaned, which can have its own emotional stamp on a child’s life. The initial lie or misrepresentation then becomes the catalyst for the ensuing result. Before you make any decisions, think about that, all right?”

“I will. I wish…” She sighed, choking down emotion once again.

“That this had never happened.”

She drew a breath and swiped a kitchen towel to her eyes. “Yes. And this beautiful child’s life wasn’t comprised of deception upon deception. That’s so wrong, Cruz. And yet…”

“Yes?”

“She seems happy. And content. I can’t in good conscience mess that up. I’m delighted to see her happy. I rejoice in that.”

“Except…”

She didn’t try to hold back the sigh. “A part of me is filled with this longing to be her mother. But I have to push that part aside.”

“Don’t hurry your decisions, take some time to digest all of this,” Cruz advised. “The agency is appalled by the way, and you’ll probably be hearing from their attorney.”

More people knowing.

The walls began to close in around her. “Tell them they don’t need to. Tell them—”

“I can’t, Josie. I can’t tell them what to do. They understand your plight, but they need to cover themselves legally. They bear the ultimate responsibility for what’s happened, and they’re pretty sure you’re about to sue them for a whole lot of money.”

“Sue them?” This couldn’t get worse. “I’m not suing anyone, I just…” She paused for breath, thoroughly rattled. “I want my daughter safe and sound. And yes, I’m thoroughly ticked off that someone got around the system, and the fact that the agency didn’t catch on to the O’Neills’ plans infuriates me because if Jacob knew about it, others must have known, too. Should he have come forward and told the agency? Did they even talk to him? And does this mean that the O’Neills’ references lied? How much can an agency be expected to do?” The intentionally tangled web infuriated her. “So maybe they didn’t do their best homework in this case. Maybe the fact that Ginger and Adam had plenty of money to finance the adoption meant they didn’t get looked at very closely. And that’s enough to anger anyone, isn’t it?”

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