Because what the boy really wanted was a family.
Parents who loved him and a little brother or sister, maybe more than one sibling. Yeah, it was all going to work out for the kid.
And with that realization came the knowledge that all that had been within Hatch’s grasp, and he’d chosen to let the merry-go-round wind down, and to not reach for that brass ring.
And look what that was going to cost him when he was forced to let go....
He glanced up to find Angela standing just inside the door. Ryder ran to his mother and wrapped him in her arms.
Hatch didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, but judging from the appreciation in her watery, moss-green eyes, it had been a while.
“I hate to interrupt.” Jake cleared his throat. “Don’t you two have a hearing at the courthouse this afternoon?”
SIX YEARS HAD GONE BY in the blink of an eye. And the past twenty days even faster. Angela tore off a number and sat back down between Ryder and Jake, waiting for number forty-five to be called. Hatch sat a few chair away. And Maddie hurried in at the last minute, looking frazzled.
After an interminable wait Angela’s number was finally called.
“Oh, honey, you don’t need a number,” Carla said. “You could have just checked in at the desk. You’re on the judge’s docket.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Next time you’ll know.”
Carla led them into a courtroom and had them take a seat in the back bench, and then walked their paperwork up to Judge Booker T. Shaw. The judge took his time going over it.
It struck Angela as funny that they’d brought more witnesses to their divorce proceedings than to their wedding. She wanted to share the observation with Hatch, and glanced across the aisle. But he remained focused, staring straight ahead, and she was on his blind side and couldn’t catch his attention.
The courtroom was a lot less intimate and a lot more intimidating than the judge’s chambers. Judge Shaw called them forward. “Clay, Angela,” he said, acknowledging them from the bench. “Well, you lasted a lot longer than you anticipated. Clay, you filed your complaint as irreconcilable differences. Angela, you’re not contesting. We have no children from this union.”
Angela glanced back to where Ryder sat quietly, and relatively calmly. She didn’t know why he’d insisted on coming, and there’d been no one to leave him with, last minute, when Maddie had insisted on coming, too.
“And no division of property or assets,” the judge continued, with no inflection or comment. “You’ve had twenty days, as mandated by this state, to think it over. Have either of you changed your mind?”
He motioned for everyone in the back row to sit down. “We don’t do that here, folks.” Angela turned just as everyone was taking their seat again. The Stewarts and Carla joined Maddie there. Poor Jake didn’t know whether to sit or stand at this point.
Ryder remained standing in the middle of the aisle. “Could I just state my objection, anyway?”
“The court will indulge the defendant’s son.”
“I just wanted to say, I’m sure Jake is a pretty cool guy and all, but I’d like to see my parents stay married.” Ryder moved forward like a nine-year-old trial lawyer arguing his first case.
“I mean, they managed to stay married this long while living apart and raising me to be a decent kid. Imagine how totally awesome I’ll turn out if they stay together. Oh,” he added as an afterthought, “Hatch plans his whole day around Skype, and Mom won’t pick up the phone if she thinks she’s being an imposition.”
Hatch rubbed the back of his neck.
Not knowing what to say, Angela hesitated. But something had to be said. And everyone was looking at her.
“You’re already an awesome kid. I’m sorry, son, if this day isn’t turning out as you’d hoped.”
Ryder lowered his voice. “I wasn’t the only one looking forward to having you home.” He’d said just enough to leave her dazed and confused as he headed back to Maddie.
“Shall we continue?” the judge asked, and then did so without anyone answering. “You’ve had an extra twenty minutes to think things over. Have either of you changed your mind?”
“No, Your Honor.” Hatch spoke into the silence.
Crushing any false hope she may have had. “No, Your Honor,” she mimicked.
“Divorce granted.”
As soon as the gavel fell, ending their six-year marriage, Hatch couldn’t sign the decree fast enough.
And there it was—the reason they weren’t staying together. While she’d been standing here thinking he might love her enough, or at least love Ryder enough, to try and make a marriage between them work, he’d been thinking get me the hell out of here.
Irreconcilable differences.
Angela picked up the pen he’d just put down.
He stunned her with a kiss to the forehead. “It’s been an honor and a privilege,” he said, for her ears only.
He turned to leave before she’d even signed. He stopped to shake hands with Jake. And then bent to say something to Ryder, rumpling her son’s hair on his way out the door.
Everyone was looking at her as if she was supposed to do something instead of just stare after him. Sign…she was supposed to sign. It wasn’t legal until she signed.
She’d be crazy to run after a man who didn’t love her. Except everything in her heart was telling her he did love her. He’d never spoken those words, but he’d shown her in so many ways. In the way he’d taken care of her and her son.
Coming here today, because he thought she wanted him to. Because she’d thought she wanted him to. Was it possible he loved her that much? Enough to stand aside and let her marry another man? She looked at Jake. A man she knew loved her.
But did she love him enough?
Even Jake was nodding toward the door.
And then she did something that shocked and upset everyone.
She signed the divorce papers.
“I’m going to need a copy.” Because she loved him that much.
HE’D HAD TO GET THE HELL out of there.
Hatch couldn’t stay in the house, either. At least not until she was gone. So he’d taken a bedroll, a bottle of Jack and the new house plans up to his deer blind. The rifle was a bad idea, so he unloaded it into the no trespassing sign before he could get good and drunk.
He planned to celebrate his newly divorced status by getting wasted and burning those cursed blueprints.
No, he’d celebrate his freedom.
That was the only way to look at it. For six years Angela and her kid had taken over his life, and now he was finally free to do as he pleased. Even if that meant spending the next six years in a deer blind.
He was about to uncork the bottle—figuratively, of course, since the damn thing had a screw-on cap—when he caught a glimpse of her hybrid along the ranch road.
“Oh, now what the hell is she doing?”
He sighted down the barrel. She’d pulled off to the side of the drive and was standing in the middle of it with her arms in the air, a piece of paper in one hand.
Only she wasn’t circling, or looking off in the wrong direction, because now she knew where to find him.
And then she was making her way toward him, and his heart started to pound. He thought about meeting her halfway, but the truth was, even though he hadn’t touched a drop of liquor, he didn’t know if his legs would carry him.
So he waited. And waited…
“Hi,” she said, handing him the piece of paper.
“And you just couldn’t wait to bring me a copy of our divorce decree?” He glanced at it and then folded it up to fit in his pocket. “It isn’t notarized.”
“I was in a hurry.” She lowered herself to the ground.
“You’re going to want a notarized copy.”
When she got married again. He couldn’t think why he’d need a copy.
They were quiet for a long time. He didn’t want to ask her why she was there. He just figured he’d
wait her out and let her tell him.
“What’s this?” she asked, unrolling the blueprints.
“A house.” He shifted position, bringing one knee to his chest. “I used to think of it as my father’s folly. He thought building my mother a new house would change everything. Only he never got around to building it.”
Like father, like son.
“That says ‘Ryder’s room.’” She pointed to the space. “So were you thinking of building this house?”
Hatch stared off into the distance, admitting that would be saying too much. “I was thinking about it.”
Let her make of it what she would.
She stopped him from rolling the plans up. “I don’t see my room.”
“You’ll always be welcome in my house, Angela.”
He didn’t like being regulated to the friendship zone. But the truth was he liked her kid. Correction, he loved Ryder. Hatch had said as much today, so he might as well admit it to himself. That boy of hers had swept in six years ago and stolen his love with two candy hearts.
And Hatch had always been helpless to deny Angela anything.
He didn’t know if that made him a pushover or a fool.
But there was a reason she didn’t see her name on the blueprints. She wasn’t reading them correctly.
“I want a room,” she demanded.
He pointed at random to a guest room near the master suite. “There.”
She studied it for a minute. “I think I’d like that one for the baby’s room.”
“You’re pregnant!” He didn’t know why that should surprise him. It sure as hell explained a lot. But he shouldn’t have let it color his voice.
“Why would you jump to that conclusion?” She appeared just as shocked. “Out of everything I just said, you heard I’m pregnant?”
She was angry. And he didn’t know why. He had to tread carefully here. Wasn’t that what she’d just said?
She shifted in their confined space, brushing against him. Stirring up the air around him with her fragrance. “I suppose you would have stayed married to me knowing I was carrying another man’s child?”
“Yes,” he admitted, and there was no hesitation or question.
She sucked in a breath. “Hatch, I’m not pregnant.”
God, he was glad to hear it. “Then why are you marrying him? You’ve only known him—”
“I’m not marrying him. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I want to sleep here.” She pointed to the master suite. “And I want our baby to sleep here.” She pointed to the guest bedroom.
“Why didn’t you just say so?”
“I thought I did.”
What was he missing? “I thought we just got a divorce?”
“We did.” She looked down at her hands. The engagement ring was gone. In it’s place was the horseshoe nail he’d given her all those years ago. “I wanted you to have the freedom to say no.”
“Angela, I’m a big boy. I always had that freedom.”
“Are you going to start calling me pet names again?”
“I might,” he admitted.
“Well, in that case—” she grabbed him by the shirt collar and put her lips up close to his “—marry me.”
It was all he could do to resist. He extracted himself and stood. “No.”
“No?” She bobbed to her feet.
“We don’t need to get married again.”
“You’re right,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “It’s just a piece of paper.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
He allowed himself to savor those words on her lips. Hatch didn’t want to kiss her again, because he wouldn’t want to stop. “It was never just a piece of paper. It was six years of our lives. And I want it back.”
“Don’t we deserve a fresh start? We didn’t exactly have the most conventional of marriages.”
“What we need is to catch the judge before he decides he’s going fishing. Or home for the night. Because I doubt we’ll talk Carla into conveniently losing our paperwork. Convential or not, I love you. And I’ve loved every minute of being married to you.”
The didn’t have to talk the judge into anything. He was waiting for them. Along with their family and friends.
And their son.
The judge ripped up their divorce decree. But just to be on the safe side, they had him marry them all over again. This time with the promises of love, honor and cherish.
And that all-important kiss at the end.
EPILOGUE
ANGELA SLIPPED UP BEHIND her husband to wrap her arms around him. “You don’t need to be on guard night after night.” She’d found him standing over their daughter’s crib, watching her sleep. Chloe had just turned one. Maybe now he’d get a good night’s sleep.
“Come back to bed.” Angela did her best to entice him. “Tomorrow’s a big day.”
A few short hours later they were on the road to Denver with the kids in the backseat. Hatch had pulled over in Cheyenne to let her drive.
He’d kept his promise to Ryder and found his biological father. Much to Angela’s chagrin.
It was probably one of their biggest fights to date, until Hatch admitted to an ulterior motive: he wanted to adopt her son. And he wasn’t going to let anything or anyone stand in his way.
Until that moment she hadn’t known it was possible to love him more.
Angela pulled up outside the attorney’s office where Ryder would be meeting his biological father in person for the first time. She wasn’t anxious until she recognized him getting out of his car and cutting across the parking lot.
“Is that him?” Ryder asked, a nervous edge to his voice.
“That’s him.” He looked like an older version of himself from ten years ago. But Angela was surprised to find she didn’t feel the same animosity she once had. They’d worked out all the details of this day through attorneys.
She turned to Hatch, who was eyeballing the guy until he disappeared inside. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.
“He’s going to take one look at the two of you and realize what he’s missing.”
“That not going to happen. He has a wife and kids, and limited contact after today.” The truth was, he was happy to relinquish all rights in order to get out of paying nine years of back child support.
“I like him already,” Hatch said. Angela hoped Ryder didn’t recognize the sarcasm.
“You’re the one who started this whole ball rolling.”
“Was there an I-told-you-so somewhere in there?”
“No, but there was an I-love-you in there somewhere.”
Ryder leaned forward in his seat, behind hers. She just didn’t want him to get his hopes up too high.
“You okay with all this?” Hatch asked, not for the first time since he’d found her son’s father.
“Yeah. I just want to say something before we go in,” Ryder said.
“Okay.” Angela shifted in her seat. He was so grown-up it often caught her off guard.
“Shoot,” Hatch said.
“No matter what happens today,” Ryder said, “I found my dad a long time ago. When my mom found you.”
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459221093
Copyright © 2012 by Rogenna Brewer
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