“Pulling up,” Lacey said, pointing to the truck turning into the driveway.
“Oh, good, he made it.” Tessa was only a little surprised at how much his arrival lifted her spirits. “Let me go get him.”
She broke away from the pack as they moved along the driveway, jogging over to the side where he was parking.
She was squinting into the tinted windows, trying to see his face, when the back window slowly lowered, offering her a view into the cab. Was he?—
She nearly tripped over herself coming to a shocked dead stop.
Her jaw opened. Her heart stopped. Her hands flew to her mouth to keep from screaming, but she couldn’t help it.
“Olive!”
Dusty was out and around the front so fast, he left his driver’s door open. His face was on fire with a smile that lit his whole being.
“What is happening?” she muttered as she charged to the truck. She reached the door and pulled it open, squealing at the sight of her angel.
“Tess,” Olive whispered.
“Double O!” She scrambled into the seat. “I missed you, baby girl!”
She smothered her with giggly kisses, getting her out of the car seat with trembling hands. Scooping her up, she turned to Dusty, who stood in the open door, grinning like an absolute fool.
She was vaguely aware that the pack of family and friends had detoured from the trip to the bridge to move closer to this new arrival, all of them trying to figure out what was going on, as was she.
“What? How? Dusty!” She simply couldn’t form a sentence as Olive climbed onto her, squeezing hard.
“Come on down, I’ll explain.” He took Olive and set her on the ground.
“Baby?” Olive asked, looking past him. “Baby Attas?”
“She wants to see Atlas,” he translated as he took Tessa’s hand.
“He’s here!” Jonah called, coming to them with Atlas in his baby pouch. “Hello, Olive!”
As the family gathered around and gently greeted her without overwhelming the tiny creature, Tessa landed on her two feet and looked up at Dusty.
“Did Morgan go back? How long can we have her? That last week? You know I’ll take it, so?—”
“Forever.”
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, unable to process what he’d just said.
“Morgan did go back—I checked her in. On the way, she told me she has accepted the fact that she is not in any way capable of raising Olive. She realized it after she got her back. She just can’t manage the responsibility, not emotionally or psychologically. Her doctor agrees.”
“What does that mean?” The question came out strangled.
“She’s going to put Olive up for adoption and?—”
“No! I mean, yes. Let’s adopt her. Now. Tomorrow. As soon as possible. Morgan can see her when she wants, but we’ll raise her. We’ll take care of her and teach her and love her and everything!” The words spilled at the same time as her happy tears. “I’ll go through a bazillion hours of training, I’ll do anything!”
“Anything? Because there’s a catch, Tess.”
“I don’t care what it is. I don’t care where I have to go, what I have to do, who I have to pay or how much. I love her and I want her.”
Dusty’s smile grew wide and slow. “The catch is that Morgan will only adopt her to a married couple.”
She blinked at him.Thatwas the catch? That wasn’t acatch. It was…a dream come true.
