“The boy ought to have more than one parent at a time,” Logan said. “Are you capable of being as good a wife as you are a mother?”

“Are you saying that if I found myself a husband you might consider allowing me to raise Cody? If that’s the case, then yes, I’m more than capable of being a good wife the moment I find a suitable husband,” Claire answered.

“I meant be a good wife to me, Miss Ryan. Marry me and I’ll allow you to adopt the boy when I adopt him.”

“What about love? You’ve said nothing about love,” she said.

“I don’t put stock in love, Miss Ryan. It’s not important.”

“Well, you’ll need to scrape up some for Cody. I don’t care about love from you, but I won’t stand for you not to be loving to him. And I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that any marriage we might make won’t be a one-way street, with everything going only your way.”

“Then the answer is yes.”

“The answer is I’ll think about it.”