Page 80 of Harvest Moon (Riverbend 3)

Laurel froze in the seat. Her thoughts spun a million miles per hour, tangling up, never making it to her tongue.

“But she didn’t even come to Mallory’s funeral.” Gavin’s voice was hard.

“I know that. I realized this would come as a surprise and not necessarily a good one.”

“That can’t happen,” Laurel said. “This is not what Mallory would’ve wanted.”

“Laurel’s right,” Gavin said. “She wasn’t close to her mother.”

“They weren’t even on speaking terms. Darcy’s never even met Emma.” Her voice escalated.

Gavin set a hand on her arm.

Right. The girl was within hearing distance. But Laurel’s heart threatened to burst from her chest, and her lungs seemed to have forgotten their purpose. She jumped to her feet and paced the room.

“I didn’t realize that,” Darius said. “And I know this is hard to hear, but the woman has filed a petition, and the court will be hearing it in two weeks. She’s a blood relative, and if no one else steps up, she’ll likely be preferred over foster care.”

“She was not a good mother,” Laurel said firmly but quietly. “She ran Mallory down—she was verbally abusive, and she all but abandoned Mallory the second she graduated high school.”

“I hate to hear that. I understand your reservations. But according to the petition, she’s happily married now and living a respectable life in Chicago. They have the means to support a child.”

“She’s always had the means,” Laurel said. “That doesn’t make her a fit mother. Wait, you said ‘general guardianship’?”

“That means she’s asking for guardianship of Emma and the estate. The court will consider her situation via a guardian ad litem. But I did a little background work myself. Darcy’s new husband seems to be well respected in Chicago’s medical community—he’sa podiatrist. And Darcy does volunteer work for several charities. Those things will reflect well on them.”

Laurel let that piece of news settle for a few seconds, her hopes plummeting deeper like an anchor in the water.

“Laurel...” Gavin paused a beat, his posture suggesting he was treading carefully. “Don’t get upset—I’m just asking—but is it possible Darcy’s changed in the years since Mallory saw her last? Maybe her new husband’s been a positive influence?”

“One week ago,” Laurel said through gritted teeth, “her daughter had a funeral, and she chose not to attend. She didn’t care to be here for Emma then—hasn’t bothered to evenmeether two-year-old grandchild—and now she wants to raise her? Seriously?”

“All fair points,” Darius said. “I don’t know what inevitably transpired between Mallory and her mother to drive such a deep wedge, but I do know she didn’t name her mother as Emma’s guardian. And I also know the court will do what they think is best for Emma.”

“What if Patty agrees to take her?” Laurel asked. He’d explained this before, but it seemed irrelevant at the time. “She’s supposed to let us know tomorrow.”

“If Patty wants to raise Emma, she’ll need to file a petition. The court will look into both parties, and all that will matter is what’s in the child’s best interest.”

Laurel crossed her arms. “There’s no doubt in my mind which woman that is.”

“Patty has an ongoing relationship with Emma so that will certainly work in her favor.”

Ifshe chose to accept the challenge. And that was a bigif.Laurel pressed her fingertips to her temple. Everything Mallory had ever said about her mother swam in Laurel’s mind. The timeshe’d called her daughter a moron for bringing home a C in algebra. The time she’d barely missed curfew, and Darcy called her a whore. The woman had a trigger temper and regularly took out her bad moods on Mallory. All those phone calls Laurel had gotten from her distressed friend . . .

The thought of Emma suffering the woman’s brutal tongue made Laurel want to snap up the child and run.

“I’m sorry to drop this on you two so late in the evening, but I felt you should know. I’d hoped it might be good news, but clearly that isn’t the case. I should let you get on with your evening.” Darius stood. “Please keep me apprised of the situation.”

Gavin stood and shook his hand. “Thank you for coming by, Darius. We do appreciate it.”

Laurel dredged up a smile for the man. “We’ll let you know what Patty says.”

“You all try and have a good evening.”

When Gavin shut the door behind the man, he turned to Laurel, his brow crinkled. “This just seems to get worse and worse.”

Laurel glanced at Emma. Her sweet cherub cheeks were now covered in vanilla ice cream. She set her spoon aside, picked up the bowl, and gave it a lick. “That woman is not getting Emma. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Chapter30

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