Rancher's Son Read online

  “Oh?” Another raised eyebrow. “I thought that was all settled.”

  “I thought so, too, but…” Sarah took a deep breath. “Mr. Parker never accepted Jimmy as his son. Not from the very beginning. He…” Miserable, she studied her feet. She’d been so sure Ty was the boy’s father, she’d never mentioned the paternity test to Connie. She should have. Now she had no choice.

  “He had their DNA tested. The results came in. He’s been right all along.”

  “And this is the first I’m hearing of it?” Anger flashed in Connie’s eyes. “Wait. We’ll get to that in a minute.” She removed her glasses and set them aside. “You couldn’t convince him to raise the boy. He’s giving up his rights to the child?”

  Ty had made his stance abundantly clear. “He will. But I have a solution. I want to adopt Jimmy.”

  Disbelief filled Connie’s expression. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Sarah straightened her shoulders. “After the rough start he’s had, the boy deserves someone who’ll always be there for him. I can be that person.”

  Connie waved this last part aside as if it were of no consequence. “It would smack of impropriety, of special treatment, if a parent gave up their rights to a child and then his caseworker adopted him. We have strict guidelines against such things.”

  “They don’t prevent a former DCF worker from adopting a child.” Sarah slid the papers she’d prepared across the desk.

  Connie eyed the sheets the way someone might look at a germ-laden tissue. Gingerly, she picked the first one up by its corner. She stared down at Sarah’s resignation. When she looked up again, disappointment deepened the wrinkles in her lined face.

  “I’ve known for some time you weren’t the right person to take my place when I retire.” She sighed. “Regretfully, I accept your resignation.”

  Hearing the relief in her boss’s voice, Sarah exhaled slowly. For more than a year she’d suspected empty promises had lured her to Fort Pierce. Though it stung to know she’d invested so much of herself in a job that had never been within her reach, having Jimmy in her life made the sacrifice worth the effort. She leaned forward, tapped the second piece of paper. “Now that I’m no longer employed by DCF, there’s no impediment to my application for temporary custody of James Parker.”

  Connie pursed her lips as though she’d been sucking on a sour lemon. She turned the sheet, facedown, on the desk. “I can’t approve it.”

  Sarah fought to remain calm. Was this some kind of test? If so, she was determined to pass it. “You can’t possibly doubt that I’d make a good home for the child.” She was, after all, a social worker entrusted with responsibility for hundreds of foster kids.

  Or at least, she had been until two minutes ago.

  Yellow tabs fluttered along the edges when Connie thumbed a worn copy of the DCF rule book. “We are in a unique position with regard to the children under our care,” she said as if quoting from the text. “Adoption by a former caseworker might not be prohibited, but the higher-ups will never allow it. If I approved your application, it would only get your hopes up. There’s no sense in that.”

  Sarah’s gaze shifted from a manual filled with arcane policies that, in her opinion, focused too much on paperwork and not nearly enough on children, to the woman whose approval she needed. “But what about Jimmy?” she asked, her voice wavering.

  “I imagine he’ll have a rough time at first—they all do—but a few weeks in The Glades will toughen him up. We’ll move him to a foster home as soon as we can.”

  Sarah’s head swam. “You’d rather put a five-year-old in a group home or foster care, than let him live with me? Someone who loves him?”

  “I’m sorry,” Connie said. “But rules are rules. I can’t make an exception because you’ve gotten close to this child.”

  Disbelief rose in Sarah’s throat. She swallowed. Her stomach clenched at the thought of never seeing the little boy again.

  “I have always had the best interest of the child at heart,” she insisted.

  “True, but you’ve gotten too involved.” Connie shook her head. “That’s always been your downfall—getting too involved.”

  “That’s where we differ.” Sarah squared her shoulders. “I consider it one of my strengths. This isn’t over. I’ll appeal your decision. Fight you in court.” It might take longer than she’d planned, but she would win. For Jimmy’s sake, she had to win.

  “You’d best forget all about James Parker. Believe me, one day you’ll thank me for denying your application.”

  Sarah thought her ex-boss looked far too confident for someone who, five minutes earlier, hadn’t been able to wrestle so much as a simple report from the new computer system. The system Connie had insisted would solve all of the DCF’s problems. But arguing with the woman was pointless. Pulling the unraveled edges of her composure together, she managed a calm “I’ll clean out my office right away” and left without another word.

  In her office, she filled a cardboard box with the few personal items that had brightened the otherwise claustrophobic space. Tears stung at her eyes as she pulled open her desk drawer. Staring down at the yellow legal pad where she’d scribbled her few notes about Jimmy, she blinked. Even as her heart stuttered, her vision cleared. Her fingers trembling, Sarah slid the notepad into the box.

  Judging by the overflowing parking lot, the crowded waiting room, the complaints of her former coworkers, Connie would have her hands full for the next few days. She might not realize, at first, that the computers had been off-line the day Candy had shown up on DCF’s doorstep. Or that, thanks to the yellow notebook now resting in the bottom of Sarah’s box, the new computer system contained not one word of information about James Tyrone Parker.

  Sarah refused to fool herself into thinking Connie would forget about the boy. At best, taking the notepad bought her some time. A few days to convince Ty to keep Jimmy on the Circle P until she found a legal way around her boss’s decision. Given his reaction to The Glades, he wouldn’t allow Jimmy to go there, would he?

  She hoped not, but from the way things had gone lately, she couldn’t guarantee it. Forty-eight hours ago she’d had the world on a string. A man she loved. A boy she adored. A business plan that might not make her rich, but would certainly give a deserving little boy all the good things life had to offer—home, family, education. In less than two days’ time, she’d lost it all. Turning, Sarah trudged to her car.

  * * *

  THE DRIVE INTO FORT PIERCE stretched interminably. Ranches, dairy farms and orange groves blurred past while Ty marshaled his thoughts. On the outskirts of town, he swung by the jeweler’s his family had used for four generations. By the time he made the final turn into Sarah’s neighborhood, he had a ring in his pocket, knots in his stomach and a plan to show her how much he’d changed.

  And if that doesn’t work?

  Ty prayed it wouldn’t come to that.

  Of course, putting his plan to work required talking with Sarah. Which was kind of hard to do when her car wasn’t in the driveway and no one answered his knock at the door.

  His breath stalled. Was he too late? Had she already arranged for Jimmy’s transfer into the system?

  Like he’d let that happen.

  Just the thought of the little tyke bouncing from one foster home to another nearly made him sick to his stomach. He lifted Sarah’s duffel bag from his truck and placed it on her front porch next to a plant that hadn’t survived the freeze.


  Minutes later, her car pulled into the driveway.

  Knowing he’d have one chance to win her heart, Ty braced himself. He waited, hoping Sarah would race from her car and into his arms, fearing she’d storm across the lawn, demanding he immediately turn Jimmy over to her.

  Instead, she simply sat. Her hands clenched on the steering wheel, she stared.

  Long seconds passed.

  Something twisted in Ty’s gut as he studied Sarah’s ashen face. When she finally broke the connection, he noted defeat in her rounded shoulders and the slow steps she took to the rear of her car. He swallowed, watching as she wrestled a bulky cardboard box from the trunk. He’d carried one similarly loaded when he left Jackson Cole, and knew her time at the DCF had ended.

  For someone who’d left a stressful job to start a new life, Sarah didn’t look happy. In fact, he’d never seen her so dispirited. An urge to go to her aid stirred in his chest, but this was not the Circle P. There were no rattlesnakes to guard against. He couldn’t rescue her from stampeding cattle. With no clear-cut enemy to fight, he settled for taking the heavy box from her arms.

  Sarah refused to meet his eyes. She scanned the yard, the porch, the air beside him before her gaze came to rest at his feet.

  “Where’s Jimmy?” she asked quietly.

  “Seth and Doris have him. You and I need to talk. It’s not the kind of conversation we can have anywhere near that little pitcher with big ears.”

  His description of Jimmy brought a wobbly smile to the lips Ty craved to kiss. He held back, knowing Sarah needed time to gather her wits for the hard discussion ahead of them.

  At last she sighed. “You’ve come this far. You might as well come inside.”

  “That’s not exactly the warm welcome I was hoping for,” he mumbled.

  “Best I can do at the moment,” she said.

  Though she hadn’t said she was glad to see him, he took it as a good sign when she made quick work of opening the door. She pointed to a low table. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back,” she whispered before disappearing down the hall.

  Ty placed the box on the table. After retrieving the rest of her things from the porch, he took his first look at her house. An open floor plan created a sense of spaciousness and drew his focus to the backyard.

  He sucked in a breath. Browned and dying vegetation filled the view through wall-to-wall glass sliders. He moved to the patio, bending down to poke and prod at blackened leaves in one of the planters. Gently, ever so gently, he scraped the soil away until he exposed the roots of one orchid, then another.

  “Ty?” Sarah called from the living room.

  “Out here.” He slipped his pocketknife back into its case. When Sarah stepped onto the porch in jeans and a plain white T-shirt that showcased her curvy figure, he swallowed. Dusting the dirt from hands he wanted to wrap around her, he focused on her flowers.

  “I saw what was left of a plant out front. Did the freeze take everything?”

  “All of them.” She nodded, her pale face whitening. “Every single orchid. All the plumeria. There’s nothing left.”

  Ty fought the urge to stand and wipe the glistening tears from Sarah’s cheeks. She hadn’t given any indication that she wanted a shoulder to lean on. And certainly not his. Not knowing what else to do, he flexed his fingers.

  “I’m more of a rancher than a farmer,” he said at last. “But this root stock looks okay. It might come back if it’s cared for proper.”

  Sarah leaned in so close he caught a whiff of her perfume. The first spark of life glinted in her pain-filled eyes. “Really?”

  “Maybe.” Thinking straight when Sarah was within arm’s reach wasn’t the easiest thing he’d ever done. He drew back until her scent no longer demanded he put his arms around her and pull her close. Her flowers…he had to keep the focus on her flowers. “I’ve seen plants on the ranch that looked a lot like this. You’ll lose some—no way around that—but maybe…”

  “Thanks,” she whispered.

  Ty saw the hopeful look she gave the mottled leaves, noted the way she rubbed her fingers together. If he hadn’t been standing there, he had no doubt she’d be up to her elbows in potting soil. “I can help you with these later,” he offered, hoping she still wanted him around after they talked.

  Her weight shifted from one foot to another. “We’ll see,” she said before leading the way back inside. In the living room, she eyed the letter he’d strategically placed on the kitchen counter. “So…” She paused for a breath that sounded anything but steady. “You know.”

  “Yeah.” She didn’t need to explain. They both knew she was talking about Jimmy. Ty aimed for nonchalance and failed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “And what? Hear you say ‘I told you so’?” Sarah’s fists landed at her trim waist. “You’d said all along he wasn’t yours. Couldn’t be.” Her mouth twisted. “I guess, you were right.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why you left without telling me,” he said, struggling for calm and missing it by a hair. This wasn’t the conversation he’d planned on, the one where they professed their love for one another and wound up in each other’s arms. “I wish you’d come to me.”

  “You forget I was there for all your blood-is-everything lectures.”

  She’d misjudged him, something he couldn’t let slide. “This from the person who believes environment trumps nature? You didn’t even stop to consider that I might have changed.”

  He had changed. He’d left Jimmy at the Circle P instead of parking him on the DCF’s doorstep. He’d hung the boy’s picture in the family gallery. He’d even called his friend Dave, taken steps to ensure the boy’s future.

  Sarah acted as if she hadn’t heard a word he’d said. She stalked across the room. “I knew you’d send him back. I wanted to give you an out that wouldn’t tie you to…to Jimmy.” Her lips wobbled. “To me. I tried to adopt him....”

  Her words petered out as if she’d finally realized what he’d said. Her eyes narrowed in on him. “What do you mean, you changed?”

  “People change.” Far more interested in hearing her side of the story than telling his, Ty lifted his chin. “You said you tried. What happened?”

  Sarah’s bravado collapsed. “I’ve lost everything. To get custody of Jimmy, I had to quit my job. Then, my boss refused to process my custody application. Talk about irony.”

  Anger burned Ty’s throat as Sarah described the confrontation with her ex-boss. A growl formed deep in his chest when he heard Connie thought a few weeks in a group home would be good for the boy. The only way Jimmy would ever set foot into The Glades was over his dead body.

  But he’d like to see the woman try.

  According to Dave, putting Ty’s name on Jimmy’s birth certificate had been the only smart move Millie had made after leaving the Circle P. One smart move was all it took, though. That one act bound Jimmy to him forever. It also protected the boy from misguided social workers who had their own personal axes to grind.

  “You don’t have to worry about Connie anymore.”

  Something bordering on panic flickered in Sarah’s eyes. Ty looked down at the slim fingers on his sleeve and wondered when she’d reached out to him.

  “Please, Ty. I’ll never ask for anything else from you if you’ll only keep him on the Circle P until I get this mess straightened out. There has to be a way. I’ll find it.”

  “No.” Ty held up his hand, signaling her to a stop. �
�No, that’s not going to happen.”

  Sarah blinked in obvious confusion.

  “I know I don’t have a job.” She gestured to what was left of her garden. “I don’t even have much of a business plan. But I have savings. This house. If it takes every dime, I will find a way—”

  “No,” he interrupted. Unable to bear her pleas and unwilling to let her go on, Ty grasped Sarah’s elbows. “Jimmy already has a home. With me. That’s part of what I meant when I said I’d changed.” He’d gone from simply wanting to give the orphan an experience to remember on the cattle drive, to the point where he couldn’t imagine life without the little boy at his side.

  “Despite the test results?” Sarah challenged.

  How he felt about the boy was one thing. Putting it into words was something else. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said simply.

  Dissatisfaction showed in the firm set of Sarah’s lips. “That’s not enough.”

  When she tried to pull away, Ty held fast. “Look, I love the little tyke, okay? I spoke to an attorney friend of mine. Bottom line—I’m legally Jimmy’s dad, no matter what.”

  “And if his biological father…?” Sarah started.

  Ty shook his head. “There’s not much chance of that happening.”

  Relinquishing his hold on her, he retreated. With his back against the wall, he told her about the discovery he’d made while they were hanging Jimmy’s picture. “If anyone ever needs to know, J.D.’s trunk is in the attic. His hairbrush, toothbrush, clothes—it’s all in there. We’ll have plenty of DNA if the time comes that we ever need it.”

  She stared at him, incredulous. “Your wife and your best friend? And yet…” She moistened her lips. “You love him?”

  “Like the son I’ve always wanted.”

  He watched the fight seep out of her. Her shoulders slumped. A wavering smile replaced the frown she’d worn. So far, they’d spent a lot of time talking about Jimmy. But the child wasn’t the only reason he’d come to Fort Pierce. Not even the main reason. No, his purpose for being there stood in front of him looking for all the world as if she’d lost her best friend. He resisted the urge to cross the room and sweep her into his arms. He’d come this far, but he couldn’t go any farther without some sign on her part to let him know they still wanted the same things.