The sound of footsteps yanked her out of her thoughts. Footsteps that she recognized before Judson even appeared in the doorway of her bedroom. Only fifteen minutes earlier, they’d moved the bassinets and some of the babies’ things in here. With the CSIs still in the house, the cops coming and going, and the stream of phone calls and texts, Addie had wanted a quieter space for the twins. At six weeks old, Lily and Rose had endured enough upheavals and disruptions to last them a lifetime, and she wanted to eliminate more if possible.
Judson looked at the baby she was holding, then at the other infant, Lily, who was already asleep in the bassinet. Rose was asleep as well, and since both girls had already been fed and changed, they might nap for another hour or two. But Addie had wanted to hold the baby for a while longer. Correction: She needed to. And she would need to do the same with Lily after her next feeding.
For now, though, Addie could tell that Judson had something to tell her, so she eased Rose into her bassinet. She picked up the baby monitor even though she wasn’t planning on going far.Better safe than sorrywas her new motto. And she stepped into the hall with Judson.
“Did they find Yvette?” Addie whispered immediately.
He was equally quick in giving a response. Judson shook his head. “But there are still two teams out searching the area, and a sample of the blood has been taken to the lab. Both Yvette’s and Trevor’s DNA samples are on file, because they have criminal records.”
“Trevor,” she repeated on a heavy sigh.
Addie certainly hadn’t forgotten about Yvette’s husband, but she hadn’t considered that the blood might be his. It could be, though, since after all, it was his house. The man wasn’t responding to any attempts to contact him, so he was essentially missing. But did that mean Yvette or Jennifer had killed him? That was possible, but Addie was hoping the blood belonged to the woman who was the threat to the babies—Yvette.
“Has Jennifer made it to the police station yet, and has she said anything?” Addie asked.
Another shake of his head. “Eden texted that Jennifer seems to be in shock and just keeps muttering her mom’s name. So Jennifer will need to be examined by a doctor before she can be questioned. They’re at the hospital.”
Addie groaned. She knew that couldn’t be helped, that the cops had to follow the letter of the law on this, but an exam could delay Jennifer’s interview. That meant a delay in getting the answers they needed.
Lily stirred a little, causing both of them to hurry back into the room. But the baby didn’t wake. After squirming around, she smiled and then settled.
“They’re both beautiful babies,” Judson muttered, “but they’re even more beautiful when they smile.”
Addie didn’t tell him that it was probably a reaction to gas. Or that’s what some experts thought, anyway. But she chose tobelieve it was the real deal and that it meant Lily was happy and content being home.
“Home,” she heard herself whisper.
She hadn’t intended to say that aloud, but it was a word she’d been giving a lot of thought to since the twins had arrived. So, Addie went with the rest of what had been on her mind before Yvette had come into the picture.
“I want to adopt them,” she admitted.
Judson tore his gaze from the baby and looked at her. She saw the surprise in his eyes, which was the exact reaction she’d expected. She had worked at the Horseshoe Ranch for nearly a decade, and before that, Addie had been a social worker assisting couples who fostered. Not once during all those years had she considered adopting a baby.
Since she’d already given this plenty of thought, Addie figured that her quickly approaching thirty-fifth birthday was playing into her decision. She wasn’t past the point of having her own biological children, but she also didn’t want to wait much longer. But the biggest player in the decision was Mellie’s murder. Life had suddenly felt way too short for Addie not to latch on to what she wanted.
“Uh, can you adopt them?” Judson asked.
“Legally, yes. No next of kin has stepped up to claim them, so eventually they’d be put up for adoption.”
Of course, there would be plenty of people—couples—who would want them. And there might be a mark against her since the babies had been kidnapped while under her care. Addie prayed that wasn’t the case, but she had to accept that it could play out that way.
“I’m not saying I want to adopt them because of nearly losing them,” Addie went on. “I’d been giving it some thought since Lily and Rose were placed here.” She paused. “You’re thinking about that pact we made about never having our own families.”
Judson shifted toward her, studying her, and made a sound of agreement. “I was also thinking you’d be a great mother.”
That warmed her from head to toe. She hadn’t realized how important it was for her to hear that from Judson. But it was.
“And that pact was made when we were hardly more than kids,” Judson tacked on to that.
True, but it had made sense at the time. They had needed to focus on healing. On helping others. They still needed to do both of those things, but Addie felt she could do that while also being a mother to Lily and Rose.
“If you do adopt them, what will happen to the Horseshoe Ranch?” he added a moment later as he gently brushed his fingers over Lily’s blond baby curls.
“I’ll keep it going.” That would mean hiring some extra help, but Addie was okay with that. “Mellie left me the ranch in her will, so legally it’s mine, and this place is her legacy.”
But there was one other important factor. The Horseshoe Ranch was her home, and it wouldn’t feel like a real home without children around.
Addie’s phone buzzed, and she stepped away from the bassinet and into the hall again. As she expected, Judson went with her, and both of them frowned when they sawUnknown Calleron her screen. Normally, calls like that were spam, but it occurred to her that this could be someone connected to the investigation.
