The clerk spoke her name again.
Annie pulled in a deep breath and led the way, just as Wanda hurried up.
Her family. The ones that mattered were right there next to her.
They filed into the courtroom. Nikkie Jean and Izzie each took one of the older boys’ hands. They, her two closest friends in the world, were right there with her at the biggest moment of her life. The most important.
The best.
Her mother hadn’t bothered to show.
No surprise. But that didn’t matter.
Once the judge banged the gavel, they were done with her mother forever—and the boys were hers.
She listened to the judge’s words and answered when appropriate. Listened as he read reference letters from the hospital, from Mel Barratt, and even from the governor of the state of Texas.
And the mayor of Finley Creek.
When had they asked Turner to do that? He’d barely had the time. The judge nodded to someone near the back of the courtroom, and Annie turned.
To look into darker blue eyes that stared back at her with more emotion than she could process. She smiled, fighting tears again.
Turner. Even though he had a jam-packed schedule of his own.
The judge spoke to Seeley and Solomon. And even asked the courtroom at large if they promised to help her, to be a family for the boys. The resounding yes would be something she would always remember—and it was loud enough to wake Syrus. She comforted him quickly, snuggling him even closer.
The judge, a pretty woman about ten years older than Annie, smiled when he said, “Yes, my mama…,” and went right back to sleep, clutching his blanket.
Then the judge looked at her. “Congratulations, Ms. Gaines. You are now the legal mother of Solomon, Seeley, and Syrus Gaines. I wish the best to you.”
It was done.
Her boys…they were hers. Annie’s tears overflowed. Somehow, they ended up in the hallway again to make room for the teenage boy who had a preliminary hearing after them. Annie wasn’t certain how they’d gotten out of the courtroom.
Then there was a lot of hugging and passing the boys around.
Turner pulled her closer, and they kissed right in the midst of all of them.
No one seemed to even blink an eye or be the least little bit surprised. It was like he just…fit. Like they had expected him to do just that.
Caine lifted the older two boys in his arms and spun, making them laugh and say, “Uncle Caine rules!” a dozen times.
Since he and Nikkie Jean had gotten together, he was taking the idea of family so seriously. Annie didn’t mind. It slammed into her like a ton of bricks brought down by a storm. They had a family. A real one, even though no biological ties existed between any of them except Rafe and Caine.
Family was who you loved, who you wanted to be with. Not bonds of biology. Her family was surrounding her now.
“Thank you. All of you.”
Jillian met her eyes. “We’re here for you. Whenever you need us. All you have to do is ask.”
Izzie and Nikkie Jean threw their arms around her and just hugged her tight.
Annie hugged them right back. Family.
They were a family now.
Warm, strong arms went around her for another hug seconds after she’d passed Syrus to Jillian. The arms were distinctive.
Annie looked up into dark blue eyes filled with more emotion than she could identify.
“Congratulations, Annie Belle Gaines. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than this moment.”
Annie threw herself against Turner’s chest and cried.
Happy tears.
It was done.
The boys were hers.
103
Mel had recruited him to be a minion while at his office. She’d called, in a complete panic, at the speed of what had happened. He’d rarely seen Houghton’s wife so disconcerted. When he’d found out why, he hadn’t resisted. He’d had a caveat first. He was going to be at the courthouse when the final hearing took place.
To make that happen, he’d cancelled the city council meeting for the first time in his tenure.
He was the mayor; it was well within his prerogative.
And he was going to be there with her. If even on the periphery. And even if it was just to say congratulations. Turner couldn’t explain it.
He was just supposed to be there. And he had been.
Then he’d left and returned to the Barratt Hotel like the good little Mel’s Minion that he was. The crowd parted, and he could see her. With the kids. Finally.
As she turned, with the toddler in her arms, it struck him exactly what he wanted for the rest of his life. That woman. Those boys. And any more kids they were blessed to have. He wanted Annie forever.
“You’re staring,” the man beside him said. Somehow—and he thought it was through Jillian’s machinations—Allen had ended up a Mel’s Minion for the day, too. They’d stuck together since Turner’s arrival after the hearing—better protection from Mel that way.
The boys wore tiny suits, complete with bow ties. Turner smiled. They were three seriously adorable kids. Annie came alive with the boys in a way he hadn’t seen before. He could watch them together all day. “I should go over, collect my lady and her small humans.”
“Of course, that’s all that’s in your head right now.” Allen shot him a significant look. “She’s not exactly your type.”
“Well, what does that have to do with anything? It’s not like Izzie’s yours—and I saw you making the moony eyes in her direction before.” More like death-glare rays, but…it was guaranteed to get a rise out of Allen.
Allen gave a soft curse. His expression darkened. “Not likely. The woman is a little viper at times. The last time I made her angry last week, she told me to just break it off and shove it down my own throat.”
Turner winced. Izzie was usually a bit on the sweet side. He couldn’t imagine her saying that…well, maybe he could. She had a fiery side, too. One that Allen seemed destined to ignite. “What did you do to warrant that?”
“I merely suggested she not leave the hospital AMA. That’s all.”
Turner suspected he knew what happened—Allen could be a bit autocratic at times. Not arrogant exactly, but he thought he knew the way things should be.
Hell, Turner was probably just the same himself. He’d always liked Allen. They had a lot in common—and not just a certain pair of blond twins from fifteen years ago.
“I say we stick together with the two of them. You be my wingman? Build me up to her at the hospital, and all that? Next time I see Iz, I’ll tell her you’re not a half-bad guy. She should give you a chance.”
Allen snorted. “I’d sooner kiss a salamander than that woman.”
“You may want to see a shrink for that; a guy would be lucky to get to kiss Iz. And, Al? I never said anything about you kissing Izzie. Your mind went there all on its own.”
Turner didn’t want to be with Allen right now. He wanted to be there with Annie. He’d tied the balloons that had IT’S A BOY all around the table himself. That had been the task Mel had assigned him.
“You’re serious about her?”
While giving him a mischievous and knowing grin that had kind of scared him.
He was as serious about Annie as a man could get. For a Barratt, that was all the knowledge he needed. Now it was time to plan.
“As Rafe is about that redheaded demon of his. As Houghton is about her sister. As—”
“I get it. Well, I wish you the best of luck.”
Annie was looking at him now. Turner didn’t take his eyes away from hers.
Heat hit her cheeks. Turner grinned. He refused to look away first. Her youngest needed her, and Annie finally looked away. But Turner hadn’t forgotten the look on her face.
No doubt she was remembering exactly what they’d done last night. She wanted him, too. He was going to use that to his advantage.
“Leave the woman alone, Barratt.�
�
“Nope. That’s my woman over there. I just have to get her to admit it.”
“If she says no and you hurt her in any way, I’ll be the first one to kick your ass.”
Turner turned serious. “If I ever hurt her, I’ll bend over and let you. That’s the one woman in the world for me right there. I just have to convince her of that.”
“If you manage it, you’ll be one of the luckiest men on the planet. Take care of her, Turner. Annie deserves a man who sees her for exactly who she is.”
104
The party was the best one in her life. Her friends—Mel and Nikkie Jean especially, diabolical pair that they were—had turned the adoption party into what amounted to a belated baby shower. Complete with silly games.
And lots of gifts.
Mostly for the boys. The boys were in high heaven, unwrapping clothes and toys and books. She had no idea where they were going to put all of them at.
No doubt most of the presents were Houghton’s doing. Mel said he even loved to wrap.
Nikkie Jean had conspired with Josie to have all of the photos of the boys she’d taken and reprinted. Annie had not been allowed to really do anything with the photos because of social media rules for foster children. Josie and Nikkie Jean had had them collected into beautiful photo albums listing their new names, complete with the additional middle names she’d added in honor of important people in their lives. Solomon Joseph Frederick—after Mr. Henderson, Seeley James Jacob—after Jake, and Syrus Jonathon Caine. Caine hadn’t been a part of their lives for long, but he’d made an impact on the boys. It was a relationship she wanted to cultivate for her boys.
Her boys, hers. Finally. No one could take them away from her. They were safe.
She tightened her arms around Solomon and just held him as close as he’d let her for the moment. He was going to hit that age where he hated cuddles soon. Annie was going to enjoy them as long as she could.
She’d been their mother from the moment she’d opened her heart and her arms to them. But now…now no one could ever take them away from her again.
The guests were everywhere. Annie took the time to thank all of them personally. They hadn’t had to come support her and the boys, but they had. Taken time away from their busy lives to be there. For her and the boys. Just how much that mattered could never be expressed.
She hugged Mel, so thankful for what she’d done that she couldn’t put it into words.
“It’s what we do for our friends, Ann. Letting others help sometimes, depending on them, it’s not always easy. I know that for a fact. Sometimes, though, it’s the best decision we can ever make.”
Sometimes, though, Mel could be a little cryptic. Sometimes she spouted things like Fear robs you of the future. Don’t let it.
Annie half-thought those words could apply to her, too. For so long she’d lived in fear of one thing. That one thing had overshadowed everything.
Losing the boys. Now, now she could breathe again.
She kissed her son’s honey-blond head, then looked up at the friends and family that had joined them today.
And right into beautiful blue eyes.
Turner had been there, too. Heat hit her cheeks.
He was watching her, an almost-tender grin on his handsome face.
Annie just looked at him and smiled. Today was the most perfect moment of her life. Turner stepped closer.
Annie reached out her free hand to him before she stopped to think what it meant. His fingers wrapped around hers as Syrus gave him a quiet little wave. And then he was pulling them closer.
Nothing had been more perfect than today.
105
Dennis Lee was going to have to do some housecleaning.
That was going to have to start with the mayor. The man had finally rolled over from irritant to problem. Dennis Lee knew how to deal with problems.
Timing was everything.
So was having people on your team who you could trust. He was starting to doubt that. Officer Eugent wasn’t as forthcoming as he should be. With Jenny’s betrayal, Dennis Lee was seeing ghosts of mistrust everywhere.
And he just didn’t give a damn any longer.
“You aren’t hiding things from me?” Dennis Lee stood. He wasn’t an imposing man, and he knew it. He’d gotten where he was using his street smarts, not his fists. Collin Eugent had a good half-dozen inches and forty pounds on him. Not to mention the forty years difference between them. “Tell me the truth.”
“Of course not.” Eugent’s eyes met his, dark and inscrutable. “Daniel McKellen is on a rampage. He’s brought in MacNamara. They…are watching everyone who was on the clock when Officer Royce was killed. I’ve never seen McKellen like this. The man usually doesn’t rage. That’s not the case now.”
“Of course, they would be. A dead TSP officer means bad press. It’s Marshall’s strategy.”
That damned Elliot Marshall was just as much a problem as the mayor was proving to be. As were Marshall and McKellen’s lackies, getting into business they had no place in. Dennis Lee was composing quite a list. Someday…someday, he would strike, like a rattler.
“I’m trying to keep my head down.”
“You do that. And keep me posted.”
The younger man nodded. Dennis Lee motioned him out the door. Dennis Lee never turned his back to anyone. He wasn’t a fool.
Despite what he’d done for Collin through the years—paying his tuition to college, recommendation letters to the TSP academy, paying his tuition to Finley Creek Preparatory even though a kid from South Boethe Street had no business there—the boy would stab him in the back if it furthered Collin’s plans.
His ambition was one of the things that had always intrigued Dennis Lee about him. And how useful it made him. Hell, Dennis Lee had practically cultivated that trait in the boy.
Dennis Lee didn’t fully trust anyone, especially someone who would shoot a colleague on another man’s orders. Or do half the things Dennis Lee had already asked of him.
Cold. Calculating.
A ruthless killer in TSP green. As his eyes met the boy’s, the emptiness there chilled him.
Collin Eugent was a monster. And Dennis Lee had created him. Maybe that was what he deserved, for all the hell he’d caused in his lifetime? Maybe that was why Jenny had betrayed him as she had.
Dennis Lee didn’t know any more.
For some reason, Jenny had been the one domino that he couldn’t bear to topple and now…now she had the power to send everything crashing down.
Dennis Lee didn’t know what to do now.
Housekeeping.
He’d start with housekeeping. The mayor. The mayor was the easiest domino now.
106
The last three days had been wonderful. Turner watched the woman next to him on the couch in the private family wing of the Barratt Ranch and knew that this was exactly what he wanted forever.
It made it damned hard to focus on what Elliot was saying through his cell.
The three days since the adoption had been filled with him and her and the boys. Together. Building something he couldn’t quite define but knew was absolutely right.
But tonight…tonight was the first time since the night before the adoption that he had the woman he wanted alone.
He’d wasted no time getting her naked after Caine and Nikkie Jean had arrived to collect the boys an hour ago.
Elliot continued to drone on in his ear. Turner answered when appropriate, but what he wanted to do was shout to the police chief to go find his own beautiful woman—Turner had plans for tonight.
Too bad Turner was a mature adult who had to put responsibility ahead of desire.
Turner ended the call and turned toward Annie. “I need to go. Something’s come up.”
“I see.” She was wearing only his T-shirt. He liked that look on her. If he had his way, she’d sleep in one of his T-shirts for the rest of his life. And he’d get to enjoy taking it off her every chance he could.” I should
be back in an hour or so. I need to meet with Carl and Elliot.”
“I’ll be here when you get back.”
Her, here, alone. Without him. No. Turner was a goner; he knew that. He wanted his woman with him. As much as humanly possible.
“Or you could put on some jeans and come with me. We’ll swing by Mamaw’s Place and grab some burgers after I finish at city hall. Unless you’re embarrassed to be seen with a man like me? I know I have warts, and my eyebrow could use a serious trimming…”
“Hardly.” She smiled that perfect Annie smile that had his insides twisting. “I’d like that.”
“Good. Give me a kiss.” He opened his arms, and she walked right into them. No hesitation. Yep. He wanted this every day of his life. Now he understood why Houghton was such a dork over Mel. It all made perfect sense.
“I’m glad I have you, Annie-Belle Gaines. Don’t you ever go anywhere.”
Light blue eyes looked up into his. “I am not going anywhere.”
“Good.”
The rain was soft on the roof of Turner’s Lincoln as he drove toward the little laundromat that had replaced city hall. Annie didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to say anything. Just being with him was enough—she had never been this at ease with a man in her life.
That had just grown since the moment he’d driven her and her boys to the Barratt Ranch after they’d left the Barratt-Finley Creek.
Turner had just been there with her and the boys, celebrating the family she had gained. They’d spent three days just playing with the boys and being with each other.
A vacation from life, for certain.
She’d even taken a vacation day yesterday to prolong that time.
She watched him as he drove. His hands were strong, steady on the wheel. That described Turner to a T. Strong, steady. Dependable.
He’d be there whenever she, or the boys, needed him. Maybe it was love, like Nikkie Jean had said. “So what are we doing tonight?”
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