OWEN ENTERED THE kitchen and cleared his throat to get their attention. Brody kissed Rain, long and deep, telling her with his mouth how precious she was to him. Owen clicked open his briefcase behind them. He hated to let her go, but he had to . . . for now. He ended the kiss with a brush of his lips over hers. Her eyes still closed, he swept his thumbs over her cheeks, taking away the drying tears.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“You’ve said that more to me in the last few days than you ever did in the past.”
“I took you for granted. Let’s face it, you carried the bulk of the relationship while I sat back and figured we were together, what more did you want. It took me leaving to realize the reason I believed you wouldn’t forgive what I did was because I hadn’t done enough, loved you well enough, to give you a reason to want to forgive me.”
“You know that’s not true. I always knew you loved me. That’s why it was so hard to believe you’d throw it all away for her.”
“Not for her. The reasons are too stupid to go over again. This time, I’m not taking anything for granted. If I do, I want you to tell me. I want to make you happy, Rain.”
“To that end”—Owen drew their attention—“how about we discuss how to eliminate a very big threat.”
They made their way to the table. Brody smiled when Rain took a second to peek into the living room to check on the girls. Engrossed in their show, neither paid attention to the adults about to discuss something that could change all their lives.
Rain sat next to him. Because she was close, he smoothed his hand down her thigh and rested it on her knee.
“Okay, guys, tell me what you’ve been plotting behind my back.” Rain’s eyes fell on him and moved over to rest on Owen. “You guys look so guilty. Come on, tell me what you’re thinking.”
“We all agree she wants to get paid,” Brody said.
“How much will you give that bitch?”
“As little as possible and still get her to give me what we want,” he answered.
Owen placed a document on the table in front of them. “I’ve drawn up these papers. If you can get Roxy to sign them, they state she relinquishes her parental rights to Autumn. This document will open the door for Rain to adopt Autumn officially.” Owen took out another document. “If Brody can get her to sign, these are the adoption papers for you to sign, Rain. We’ll have a court date, and a judge will make the adoption official. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble convincing a judge you’re the best mother for Autumn. We have all the proof and documentation you’ve raised her since she was a baby.”
“Wait. I can adopt her even though we aren’t married?”
Brody’s chest went tight. Nothing in that question indicated she had any intention she planned to marry him. If she’d just said, married yet.
“You adopting Autumn isn’t contingent on our getting married. You’re her mother. Adopting her will give you parental rights. No one can take her from you. It will also give Autumn a sense of permanence and safety knowing she’s yours forever.”
“Without my marrying you,” Rain said again.
“Yes,” he said irritably.
“You said you wanted to get married.”
Brody slammed his hand on the table, frustrated and short-tempered when it came to this.
“Damnit, Rain. You don’t have to marry me just for the sake of the kids. I want you to be my wife because it’s what you want, not so you can have a piece of paper and a judge say what’s already true. You’re Autumn’s mother. We’ll make it legal, whether you marry me or not.”
He ground the heels of his hands into his eye sockets and tried to relax and believe his plans would all work out in the end.
“Brody, I was just surprised. I figured you’d make Roxy give you permanent custody and you and I would raise the girls together.”
“As husband and wife, or co-parents?”
“You keep talking about us getting married, but you never actually asked me to marry you.”
He opened his mouth to ask her. If that’s all it would take, fine. Easy. She slapped her hand over his mouth before he got a single word out. Inches away from his face, her eyes burned a hole into him.
“Don’t you think after everything that’s happened between us I deserve to be asked properly? Shouldn’t we have something special, something we do right? We shared one night, made a baby together, and then you were gone. I went through labor and delivery with my father by my side, but not the father of my baby. Can’t we do something the normal way for a change?”
He pulled her hand away, so he could answer with more than a nod of his head. “Okay, okay. I get it. You’re right. I’m a jerk.”
“Sometimes,” she agreed, but with little sting behind it. “Slow down, Brody. Take a breath. I’ve been in this house my whole life. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. It’s kind of nice to know you want to marry me that bad.”
“In the worst way,” he confirmed, and cocked up one side of his mouth in a lopsided grin.
Owen drew them back to the main topic. “So, once we have her signature on these papers, Roxy has no legal right to Autumn. If she takes her again, it will be kidnapping.”
“How will you boys get her to sign those papers?”
“Money,” Brody answered, but never really looked at her. He didn’t want to involve her in the dirty details right now. He had a couple of ideas. The last one depended on Rain and was absolutely a last resort. No matter what, he’d keep his family safe.
“The money alone won’t do it. A one-time payment won’t be enough, not once she discovers how much you’re worth.”
“I’m hoping she won’t find that out until it’s too late.”
“You’re underestimating her. She’s a manipulative, self-serving bitch. She’s looking for the big score. She’ll lie, cheat, and steal to get what she wants. She may even try to seduce you again.”
“Nothing she says or does will ever make me leave you. I promise.”
Brody kissed her on the mouth, slipped his tongue past her sweet lips and tasted her. His tongue glided over hers and she gave herself over to the kiss and the slow, intimate pace he set. He wanted her to feel they had all the time in the world. No reason to hurry, they could just exist in this moment. He ended the kiss nibbling at her lips a few times. His face inches from hers, he smiled at the dreamy look in her eyes.
“Owen, why don’t you show Rain how serious I am about staying and making her a part of my life.”
Owen slid the papers to him and he set them in front of Rain. Sorting through several documents, he found the one he wanted to begin with. “This is my new will. As it stands now, I’ve left the girls everything, except for a large sum of money for you. Enough for you to live more than comfortably on for the rest of your life. You’ll be the trustee for the girls, until they’re of age. At which time, they’ll receive portions of my estate in increments at age eighteen, twenty-five, thirty, and when they turn sixty.”
“You didn’t want them to be spoiled trust-fund babies,” Rain said with a huge smile.
“I didn’t want them to blow it all before they turned thirty.” He laughed with her. It felt good to talk to her like this. The tension of moments ago gone after that sexy-as-hell kiss they’d shared.
“Okay, these papers we’ll sign if we get married . . .”
“When,” she said, and it took him a second to get her meaning.
The air squeezed out of his lungs in a gust.
“You have no idea what that means to me.”
Her hand came up to rest on his shoulder, her fingers lightly tracing back and forth over his neck.
“These papers change the will if we get married. You’ll then get the bulk of the estate and the girls will have trust funds that will pay out lump sums on the birthdays I said before, but the trust should grow and last their lifetimes. These last papers are the most important to you. If for any reason you and I don’t stay married before the girls turn eighteen, you’ll not only get a large settlement and my estate will go to the girls, but you will retain custody of the girls, and I’ll be granted visitation rights. Mostly weekends, a couple weeks in the summer, and we’ll swap holidays from year to year.”
“It makes me very sad you had those papers drawn up.”
“They’re to protect you and Brody both,” Owen tried to explain. “If you divorce, you won’t be entitled to the bulk of his estate.”
“But I take his girls away from him.”
“No. They stay with the mother who’s raised them their whole life. I promised you I’d never take them from you. This is your guarantee.”
“I only needed your word.”
“I wish that were true.”
She meant it, but deep down she was relieved to have the papers spelling it out.
“You’ve lived in fear, believing at any moment Roxy or I could show up and take the girls away. Once I get Roxy to relinquish her rights to Autumn, you’ll never have to worry again. She’ll be yours legally, and after we get married, if you divorce me, she’ll stay with you.”
“If I divorce you?” Rain’s eyebrow went up and she frowned.
“If you marry me, as far as I’m concerned, it’s forever.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Hell, even if you don’t marry me, it’s you and me forever. No one else wants a guy who’s crazy about another woman.”
“You’re crazy about me?”
“Crazy, stupid. Head over heels. Desperately, hopelessly, one hundred percent in love with you.”
Owen stuck his index finger in his mouth and made a gagging sound. “You two are making me sick. Go back to yelling at him, Rain. I like that better.” Owen tried, but couldn’t hold back the laugh. “Okay, the paperwork is done. I’ll hold on to it until you get married. Brody, you hold on to the papers for Roxy to sign.”
“What if she doesn’t sign them and wants to go to court?” Rain asked.
Owen took a thick file out of his briefcase. Brody hadn’t seen it before, but he was interested in the stack of papers inside.
“We have enough evidence to show you’ve been caring for Autumn since she was born. You’ve taken on the expenses to clothe, feed, and shelter her. You’ve paid for all her medical and dental expenses. We have the ER and psychiatrist’s reports for the one and only time Roxy saw Autumn four years ago. She’s never called to check on Autumn, gone to a parent-teacher conference, seen her play ball, sent her a birthday or Christmas gift.”
“Well, I feel like shit. Thanks for that overview,” Brody said irritably.
Owen laughed and slapped Brody on the shoulder. “You didn’t know you had a daughter. Roxy did, and still she didn’t do a thing for her.”
“Except terrorize her for three days.”
“My point is that we have a lot of evidence that shows Rain has been her one and only parent for the last seven years. Brody will back you up.”
“What if she says I stole Autumn from her?”
Owen smiled and cocked his head to the side. “Rain,” he said at length, “everyone knows you’ve had Autumn since she was a newborn. Roxy never filed a police report that you’d stolen Autumn. There’s nothing she can say that will reflect badly on you. Autumn is proof you’ve been an exceptional parent.”
“The judge might not like the fact I bought her.”
“Roxy will have to prove you did. Besides, the judge would toss her in jail for admitting she sold her child to you, so that’s in our favor, too. When we hear Roxy’s in town, Brody will go and speak to her.”
“Actually, I thought I’d head her off at the pass and go down to the bar and leave her my card with my cell number. Let her come to me.”
“Then what will you do?”
“Find out exactly what she wants. Once we know that, I’ll know how to proceed. The goal is to get her to sign the papers for as little money as possible.”
“What if she wants more than you’re willing to pay?” Rain asked nervously.
“I imagine there’ll be a whole lot of arguing back and forth. If she refuses to make a deal, I have another plan, but it’s a last resort. If it comes to that, you and I will have a serious talk about how far we’re willing to go to keep Autumn away from Roxy.”
“All the way,” Rain responded. “Whatever it takes.”
“That’s my girl.” Brody squeezed her hand on the table.
Owen put all the papers away and snapped his briefcase closed. “I’ll meet you two down at the ball field in half an hour.”
“We’ll see you there.” Owen gave her a kiss on the head before he left the kitchen, saying goodbye to the girls on his way out.
“You never said what plan B is.”
“We’ll talk about it if it comes to that. It’s a wild idea, but it may be the only option, depending on how far Roxy is willing to take things.”
“She doesn’t give up easily.”
“I don’t back down and I never give up,” Brody said. “Look how I’m wearing you down.” He pulled her out of her seat and into his lap. His lips were a breath away when Dawn’s voice intruded and he smiled at Rain instead of kissing her.
“Mom. We need to get ready to go.”
“You and Autumn go upstairs and put on your uniforms.”
“Dad, are you coming to the game?”
“Absolutely,” he said over his shoulder.
“Mom, why are you sitting on Dad? You might hurt his leg.”
Brody’s heart warmed at his daughter’s concern. “I wanted to hug her,” he explained. “She’s not hurting me at all.”
Dawn’s arms wrapped around his neck from behind, her chin rested on his shoulder. Tears filled Rain’s eyes in front of him. “I’m glad you’re home, Dad.”
Brody turned to her and kissed her on the head. “Thank you, baby girl. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Rain brushed her hand over Dawn’s head, leaned down, and kissed her. “Go get ready,” she said softly.
The girls pounded up the stairs to their room. He pulled Rain against him and hugged her fiercely. “I missed so much. Every time I’m with them, I realize more and more how different things could have been if I’d been here with all of you.”
“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
“I’ll make things up to you. We’ll take care of Roxy and have the life we want. I promise.”
Brody hoped he wasn’t making promises he couldn’t keep. He could make a good life with Rain and the girls, but Roxy was an unknown at the moment. If she didn’t sign the papers, that changed the game considerably. He’d have to resort to drastic measures, and that meant the life he wanted with Rain and the girls . . . well, it didn’t bear thinking about.