“Okay. Not where I thought you’d start.”
He takes a deep breath, and I can feel the tension in his body next to mine. This wasn’t a simple phone call. I’m missing something.
“I’ve started the legal process of becoming Naomi’s legal guardian, and then I plan to adopt her fully.”
I sit up to look him in the eye. “Cooper, that’s amazing,” I breathe.
He nods and rubs his mustache. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just…”
I shake my head. “It’s nothing you have to apologize for. That’s a long-term decision, and I wasn’t in that frame of mind.”
The corner of his mouth tips up for a breath, and he sobers. “She was served, and it’s why she called and … I don’t think she took it well. I told her if she wanted to speak to me, she needed to go through my lawyer.”
I wince. That couldn’t have been easy to say. “How did she take it?”
“I don’t know. I hung up,” he mutters, and rubs his face again.
“Do you think she’s going to fight it?” I ask him.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he rasps.
“She left Naomi with you years ago. Does she have any standing to fight?” I ask him.
“Unfortunately, yes. A lot of courts rule in favor of the mother unless there are some crazy circumstances.”
I sit up with my hand on his chest. “Cooper, leaving her with you at the age of two without a peep in the meantimeiscrazy circumstances.”
“They are, but…”
“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to win this. It’s going to be okay. We won’t lose her.”
The corner of his mouth tips up, and he stares down at me. “You said we,” he rasps.
I nod, resolute. “I did, but to be clear, I’m not trying to replace her mother.”
“But you’re a better example than Rebekah will ever be.”
I sit up, crossing my legs, and reach for his hand because I feel like I need to touch him. I thought I lost him and he’s here, with me. “Has Rebekah ever told you why she left Naomi with you?”
He shakes his head. “I never asked partially because I didn’t want to know.”
“Do you think it’s something you should know now?”
“I don’t think she’d tell me if I did, and I don’t think it matters anymore.”
“That’s fair,” I say, drawing my fingertip over the lines of his hands.
“I have a question for you,” Cooper says.
I look into his green eyes and get lost for a moment.
“Do you want to be a mother to Naomi? I recognize our family is … a little complicated, but I know she adores you. I love you, and I would hope you could see her as a daughter too.”Elation isn’t the right word. Excitement fits, but it’s not big enough.Gratitude.That’s it. I’m grateful Cooper would even ask me this, let alone trust me with his treasure of a daughter.
I blink rapidly from the burning in my eyes. My chest feels like it’s splitting open because my heart is growing double its size.
“Yes, it would be my honor,” I rasp.
His large hand swallows mine and brings it to his lips.
