“How do you feel?” Ma asked. “About my granddaughter Imogen?”
“I fell head over heels for her the second I saw her photograph. You should see her, Mam; she’s incredible.”
“If she’s like you, she will be.” Her voice lowered. “Don’t tell the other boys, but you were always the better-looking lad, especially since you were lucky enough to be blessed with my mammy’s eyes.”
I smirked. “Thanks, Ma.”
“Don’t let it go to your head now, Donovan O’Shea,” she said, her tone turning steely. “You were also a fecking tearaway. I’m shocked to the core that Imogen is the only bairn you have out there, seeing as you’ve always stuck yourflutein places it didn’t belong, but I’m hoping Rosie Woods will knock that shite outta ya soon enough.” Her eyes hardened on me. “I’ll send her a link to a set of frying pans she can use to knock your block off.”
I leaned down and kissed Ma’s soft cheek. “You know what to say to bring a man back down to Earth, don’t you, Ma?”
“Too right, Son,” she agreed. “Now, where’s that eejit brother of yours? We need to go meet my granddaughter Imogen, do we not?”
Goose bumps ran down my arms. “Yeah, Ma. Let’s go meet Imogen.”
—————
We were showninto Tia’s office an hour later and left to wait for her while she went off to grab Imogen’s file. On the way here, I’d stopped and run into a kid’s boutique with Mam to buy Imogen some clothes, then we hit the local grocery store for diapers and medicine.
I’d done some internet searches and found out I wouldn’t be allowed to take Imogen straight back to Hambleton, but I wanted to make sure she was covered at the foster home at least.
My eyes fell on the row of bags lining one wall. “Do you think we got enough?” I asked.
Mam grinned at me. “Yes, Son. She has a month's worth of diapers, new outfits, medicine, and you’ve even put a five-hundred-dollar Whole Foods gift card in there. We’ll ask Tia to let us know if she runs out of anything, and we’ll send more if we need to.” Her hand hit my knee, which was bouncing with nerves. “Calm down, Son. Whatever will be will be.”
The door opened, and my head whipped around to see Tia walk in alongside a mixed-race lady who I would say was close to my ma’s age.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Tia told us with an apologetic smile, taking a seat at her desk.
The other woman sat beside her, and her gaze immediately fell on me. “Imogen has your eyes,” she murmured.
My throat heated because more than anything, I wanted to see those eyes in person.
Tia opened the file she’d laid on her desk and handed both me and Callum a sealed envelope.
With a fortifying breath, I ripped mine open and studied the results. I read the words over and over again until they finallybegan to sink in. That was when my shoulders slumped. My gaze slid to Mam, and I confirmed, “Imogen’s my daughter.”
“Congratulations, bro,” Callum murmured, squeezing Maeve’s leg.
Tears filled Mam’s eyes, and her hand covered mine. She straightened her spine and croaked, “So, what happens next?”
“I assume by your reaction that you want to take parental responsibility for Imogen?” Tia asked.
The lump in my windpipe almost choked me, but I cleared my throat and rasped, “Yes.”
She smiled. “Then we’ll start the ball rolling. I need to go through your home life, your job and earnings, where you live, and your family. We have to do police and financial checks, and finally, we have to take it before a judge to get everything signed off.” She glanced at the woman beside her. “This is Imogen’s foster carer, Jen. She has to leave town by the end of the week, and I’d like everything settled by then. Do you have any objections to me rushing this through?”
“No,” I replied, glancing at Jen and smiling my thanks. “I want everything settled as soon as possible. I want to take her home with us.”
“Are you able to stay in town while we do this?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“I’ll stay, too,” Mam added.
I squeezed her hand.
“And us,” Cal offered.
