“Knowing that, how could she ...” Jorja’s voice cracked.
Clinton shrugged. “She needs therapy, but that takes time and work. It’s part of why she was in the trauma-recovery center. But she wants to be healed instantly. I told her that the Safe Haven law wouldn’t work for Zoe because she’s not a newborn. I convinced her to bring Zoe to me, and then I called my grandfather and a person I know who takes care of legal stuff for veterans. Rebecca has relinquished all rights to the child, and after a few months, I will legally adopt her,” Clinton said. “That’s the short version.”
“And the long one is what?” Taryn kissed the baby on the forehead and inhaled deeply to get a whiff of sweet-smelling lotion.
Clinton rubbed his chin and frowned. “You won’t like it. She said that every time she looked at the child, she saw Larry and couldn’t forgive him for abandoning her just like her mother had done.”
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Anna Rose asked.
“Well”—Clinton shook his head—“Zoe hadn’t had a diaper change in the hours it took Rebecca to get here with her, and she was crying when she first arrived. Her last bottle was before they left Arkansas.”
Hot tears ran down Taryn’s cheeks, but she didn’t even attempt to wipe them away. Poor Rebecca had no idea what she was giving upor how much she might regret her decision in the future. The baby wouldn’t even remember her, but knowing that her mother hadn’t wanted her would affect her whole life.
“We need to weave a story”—Taryn sniffled—“to tell this precious child. She should never feel unwanted, so we will tell her that her mother loved her so much that she wanted her to have a better life than she could give her. We don’t ever want her to have abandonment issues like Rebecca has.”
“You are so right,” Jorja said. “I want to hold her, please.”
“I thought you didn’t like babies,” Taryn said.
“I’m moving forward, remember?” Jorja stood up and rounded the end of the table. “And besides, I thought I would be leaving, and I didn’t want to get attached to her. Look what it did to you.”
Taryn kissed Zoe on the forehead and then handed her over to Jorja.
“I get her after Jorja has her five minutes.” Anna Rose handed Taryn a box of tissues. “This baby is never going to want for love or anything else. She should be raised out on the farm, not in a tiny apartment. I’ll live with Jorja, and you and Clinton can have Amos’s house. You can each have a bedroom, and the third one can be fixed for a proper nursery. I’ll buy her a swing set when she’s old enough for one, and we’ll all be her family.”
“That’s planning ahead,” Clinton said with a chuckle.
Taryn crossed her arms over her chest. “I wish she would have never left.”
“So do I,” Clinton agreed. “But why?”
“Because neither of these two”—she pointed at her cousins—“wanted much to do with her before now, and she was all mine and yours, Clinton. Now they’ve got baby fever just like I do.”
Anna Rose took Zoe from Jorja. “Evidently, it’s contagious.”
Jorja went back to her barstool. “That’s the gospel truth—we will be a family for this child.”
Clinton reached over and took Taryn’s hand in his. Never before, not in her previous relationships, had she felt so complete with nothing more than a touch. Words were not necessary. He felt the same way she did—not only about Zoe but about her.
“Yes, we will,” Taryn whispered, and she saw a bright future ahead.
Are you sure?the niggling voice in her head asked.
She nodded just slightly.I’ll go slow,she promised herself,and give everything time.
Chapter Nineteen
Taryn awoke the next morning with a lighter heart than she’d had in days. She hummed as she made herself a bowl of cereal and carried it to the front porch. She had just sat down in the rocking chair when the crunch of tires caused her chest to tighten. Had Rebecca changed her mind and come back to get Zoe?
She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she recognized her grandmother’s car, and it all came out in a loud whoosh. She set her cereal on the porch and walked out across the warm gravel in her bare feet.
“What are y’all doing here this early?” she asked as she opened the passenger door and helped Ruby get out.
“Early?” Ruby scolded. “Girl, we been up since the dawn, got the Monday-morning laundry done, and fixed a big breakfast.”
Taryn got Ruby’s walker from the back seat and popped it open. “Good for you, but we just grab and go in the morning, unless there’s something sweet in the shop.”
“We are bored out of our minds. The doctor said if Ruby doesn’t overdo it, she can come back to work part-time,” Irene said. “We figure we can be here until noon. Clinton called a little while ago with the news about Zoe, and we can’t wait to see her. Plus, he’s got vet stuff this morning, so y’all can use our help.”
