The Surprise Holiday Dad

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He regarded her appreciatively. “I like your hair down. That’s a good color on you, too.”

Adrienne rarely wore dresses and usually put her hair in a twist or ponytail. Nervous about this meeting, she’d taken extra care today. “Thanks. Listen...”

“I didn’t mean to be late.” Wade held out a decorative pot containing a yellow miniature rose. With shiny green leaves and copious buds, it would fit perfectly into her front bed. “Just landed a job, and on my way from the interview, I passed a flower shop. It occurred to me that a peace offering might be appropriate.”

“I love miniature roses. Thank you.” A peace offering—better than hostility, in Adrienne’s opinion. Then the rest of his statement registered. “You’re going to work at the police department?”

“Private agency. Fact Hunter.”

“Congratulations.” Clearly, Wade didn’t plan to leave town soon. That might be good...or not. It meant less of a likelihood that her little boy would be carted away to some distant place, yet having his father living nearby was far from ideal.

The inner door opened. Geoff Humphreys emerged, greeting Adrienne before turning to the new arrival. “Mr. Hunter? Pleased to meet you in person.”

“Me, too.”

After shaking hands, they went into the comfortably appointed office. “Did I hear you say you found a job at Fact Hunter?” the attorney asked.

“Founded by my grandfather, although if there’s an opposite to nepotism, that’s what I have.” In an upholstered chair, Wade sat straight with legs slightly apart, as if accustomed to a heavy equipment belt. Adrienne had seen Patty sit the same way.

“Mike Aaron owns it now, doesn’t he?” Geoff didn’t explain how he knew that.

Wade tilted his head in acknowledgment. “That’s right.”

“Mike’s wife is a colleague of mine,” Adrienne put in. “Dr. Paige Brennan.”

Wade blinked. “A cop and a doctor? That’s an unusual combination.”

“It’s not uncommon around here. Patty’s married to an embryologist, Alec Denny, although he’s a Ph.D., not an M.D.” In case that sounded snobbish, she added, “As Alec keeps reminding everyone.”

“What about this brother of Mike Aaron’s?” Wade said. “Ever meet him? I like to know who I’m working for.”

“Lock’s a good guy,” Adrienne told him. “He married a surgical nurse, Erica. They have a little boy—almost a year old.”

“Does this town put something in the water?” he asked. “Seems like everybody’s getting married and having kids.”

“We’re a friendly bunch.” Despite her attempt at a light tone, Adrienne felt an all-too-familiar tensing in the gut at the reminder that she would never be so lucky. She was grateful when Geoff cleared his throat, drawing their attention to the topic at hand.

“While I realize you’re just getting acquainted, we should discuss a parenting plan,” he said. “That describes how parents will handle a variety of practical matters in their child’s life. It prevents misunderstandings and minimizes conflict.”

“We could all use more of that,” Wade muttered as Geoff handed out printed sheets. “Minimizing conflict, I mean.”

Adrienne scanned the list. Although she appreciated order, she found it daunting. It called for plans regarding visitation, both regular and for vacations and holidays, instructions as to dietary requirements and internet use, details of how to handle contact with extended family members and parents’ dating partners, and numerous other issues. “Is this really necessary?”

“It will be eventually,” Geoff said. “We don’t have to carve anything in stone right now.”

“This visitation business,” Wade put in. “I don’t know my work schedule yet.”

“I can imagine your hours might be somewhat irregular,” the lawyer noted. “Perhaps you’d be willing to stipulate that you accept Dr. Cavill’s current babysitting arrangements.”

Adrienne could see Wade’s muscles tightening. “Is that a problem for you?” she asked him.

“I haven’t met the babysitter yet.”

How dare he question her choices? Adrienne gripped the pot in her lap. Peace offering or not, she was tempted to chuck it at Wade’s head.

Yet as Geoff had warned earlier, antagonizing the man was likely to backfire. She’d done research on the internet, hoping to find that Vicki’s will and Adrienne’s longtime care of Reggie put her in the driver’s seat. To her dismay, the articles she’d read had confirmed that Wade’s rights took precedence over hers.

She’d been shocked to discover that in California and many other states, even rapists could sue for child custody and/or visitation. Considering that Wade was the injured party here due to Vicki’s threats toward him, what chance was there that a court would side with Adrienne?

That didn’t mean she was giving up on maintaining primary custody. But she’d have to win over Wade with diplomacy, not temper tantrums.

“You should consider living arrangements,” Geoff persisted. “What about overnight visitation, for instance?”

“I’m sleeping on my father’s couch, so I can hardly take Reggie home with me.” Wade shook his head. “I’m not ready to work out a parenting plan. It sounds like a good idea for later, though.”

“I don’t mind if we play this by ear for a while.” In time, Adrienne thought, Wade might accept that staying with her was in his son’s best interest.

“To a certain extent, that may be necessary,” the lawyer said. “However—”

“What about this business of supervised visits?” Wade pressed. “I don’t see why I can’t spend time alone with my son.”

The attorney frowned. “You are a stranger to him.”

Wade leaned forward, storm clouds gathering in his expression. This could blow up in her face, Adrienne realized. Besides, she’d already considered the matter, so why quarrel about it?

She raised her hand in a stop gesture. “It’s fine with me if Wade wants to have private time with Reggie tomorrow evening. My office hours start at six, and he’s looking forward to assembling that toy police station with his dad.”

As she spoke, Wade nodded. It felt almost as if they were on the same side.

“Toy police station? Did I miss something?” Geoff asked.

She explained about Wade stopping by the birthday party. “They aren’t strangers anymore. I’m comfortable with an unsupervised visit. I’m sure my nephew will be fine.”

Wade’s pleased expression lasted only seconds before he broached another subject. “That sounds good, but won’t you be at the hospital all night? Does that mean I should sleep over?”

Adrienne hadn’t thought of that possibility and didn’t care for it. “His regular sitter, Mary Beth Ellroy, and her family are planning a celebration for Reggie—cake and a few small presents. If you could drop him off at her house around eight, that would be great. That’ll give you a chance to meet them, too.”