“I’m adopting her.”

“What about the baby’s family? Shouldn’t they have a say?”

Mack blinked at the unexpected question. “Sarah’s mother gave her up.”

Thea leveled pleading blue eyes at him. “Maybe she thought she didn’t have a choice.”

Mack straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why have you been nosing around Ms. Aurora’s the last two days?”

“It has to do with my sister—when she came back to Marietta last spring.”

Eileen Miller was in Marietta last spring? Not possible. “The night of the accident was the first time I’d seen her in years.”

“Eileen probably kept out of sight due to her condition.”

Mack turned sharply to stare at her. “She was pregnant? Where’s the baby?”

“That’s just it, Mack. Momma says the baby has been stolen.”

“That’s why you’ve been spying on Aurora’s place.” The pieces began to fall into place. “You think Sarah is Eileen’s baby?”

“Sarah’s the spitting image of Eileen.” Sorrow along with another emotion—determination?—stared back at him. “That child you want to adopt is my niece, Mack. And I want to take her home.”