A Mother's Claim

“Then I prove I’m his mother and that you are not, in fact, his legal guardian.” No disguise for the steel this time. “Or even related to him.”

His jaw clenched so tight his teeth ached. Thanks to the DNA matching, she had him dead in her sights.

“So we’re back to a court battle.” He felt as grim as he sounded. “Those take a while, you know. Don’t you think this move is a little premature? Not going to help if I refuse you any contact with him.”

Dana hesitated. He thought he could hear her breathing.

“I don’t want a court battle,” she said, voice softer. “Christian’s father is eager to go that route.”

Was she sincere? Or was she trying to fake him out with a kind of good-cop/bad-cop thing?

“I want to become his mother without an ugly fight that will hurt Christian. I can...preempt any attempt Craig might make to sue for custody.”

How altruistic of her. Despite his inner sneer, Nolan closed his eyes and let his head fall forward. He didn’t like what she was suggesting—it meant making concessions that could do damage to his side if they did end up in court—but he also knew she was right. This woman wasn’t going away. She might not love Christian...but she did love Gabriel.

And, yes, he might win in court, but he could just as easily lose, a result that would devastate both Christian and him. His winning would do the same to Dana—and, maybe in the long run, not be so good for Christian, either.

The only true win-win was to find a way to share the boy they both wanted to call son, but how was he supposed to trust her? What if Christian did warm to her, become curious about his extended family and agree to return to Colorado with her?

He pinched the bridge of his nose until cartilage creaked. If that happened... Christian would always know Nolan was here. He’d have a solid base to jump from. And wasn’t that what parenting was all about, building your kid’s confidence so that when the day came, he had the self-assurance to leave home?

It just might happen a lot sooner than Nolan had ever imagined. He wasn’t ready—but neither was Christian. Ms. Stewart was looking at a long haul.

“You’re selling your house.” She’d said that, hadn’t she?

“I am.” Her composure held despite the slightest tremor.

“You’re burning some bridges there.”

“I’m well aware.”

He gusted a sigh. “You’re asking me to help you.” Or was it more accurate to say she was blackmailing him into helping her become Christian’s mother?

“Yes,” she said, so quietly he just heard her.

He did some silent swearing, but there was only one possible answer.

“Have you looked into jobs?”

This “yes” was stronger. “I’ve actually found a really great one I’m well qualified for. I have a Skype interview scheduled for Friday. I have my fingers crossed because I’d prefer not to commute to Portland, but I will if necessary.”

“Are you looking to buy a house or rent?”

“I’ll rent initially.” No hesitation, so she hadn’t suffered the delusion she’d take the bedroom across the hall from Christian’s. “I...was actually hoping you might be willing to look at a few places that are possibilities.”

Ballsy woman. Nolan gave a short laugh. “Yes, Ms. Stewart, I can do that. Email me the list.”

“Then...you’re okay with this?” The sudden display of nerves made it apparent she’d girded herself for war and was now standing on the empty field looking around in bewilderment.

“What I’d like best is for you to get on with your life and leave Christian and me to ours,” he said brutally—although he wasn’t so sure anymore that he meant what he was saying. “What you’ve suggested is second best. You hold off your ex, I’ll meet you halfway, unless I find out this plan of yours amounts to a Trojan horse.”

“I’m not given to subterfuge, Mr. Gregor,” she said, regaining some starch. “What I’ve said is what I mean. I want to be part of Christian’s life. I hope that, with time, he’ll accept me as his mother.”

“What’s your ex-husband have to say about this?”

“I’ve asked him to back off, and he’s agreed, at least for now. He does plan a visit in the not-too-distant future. You can hardly blame him.”

No, Nolan couldn’t. It might even be good for Christian to have parents who made plain they wanted him. Right now he’d like to go back to the way it had been, before that damn blood-typing, but long term...it wouldn’t feel so great to know either of your biological parents had written you off and couldn’t be bothered to connect with you.

“I hope he won’t rush it. Christian already has a lot to deal with.”

“That’s what I told him,” she agreed.

They talked for a few more minutes. He’d be the one to break the news to Christian. Then tomorrow night she would call. She was eager to send him the list of possible rentals. It occurred to him that involving Christian in the hunt for a home for his mom wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“How soon are you thinking?” he asked finally.

“I should be there by the first of May.”

Blown away, he said, “That’s barely two weeks.”

“I’ve already worked out a good part of my notice to my current employer. I’ve been packing for some time. This isn’t a sudden idea. I needed to have my ducks in a row.”

Discovering he was pissed, Nolan said, “You mean my cooperation was optional.”

“No. You know that isn’t true. I just wanted a little time for Christian—Gabriel—to become more comfortable with me.”

“A piece of advice.” His temper was in hand, but he didn’t feel as friendly as he had a few minutes ago. “You might want to decide what name you’re going to call him before you show up in person again.”

Except, he thought with a jolt of surprise, throughout the conversation she had been calling her son Christian. Had she even noticed?

“I’ll discuss that with him,” she said with dignity. “Goodbye, Mr. Gregor.”

He said goodbye as formally, shaking his head. Forget Gabriel versus Christian. The whole plan wouldn’t make it off the launchpad if the two of them couldn’t bring themselves to use first names.

Instead of going right back to work, Nolan stayed where he was for a minute, half sitting on his desk. Man, he felt a boatload of emotions that weren’t what you’d call harmonious. The anger, he understood. The relief that she wasn’t taking the legal route. The trepidation about telling Christian and the fear of losing him, Nolan got all that, too. The whisper of anticipation...now, that was an unwelcome surprise.

CHAPTER FIVE

AGAINST HER PARENTS’ OPPOSITION, Dana decided to drive.

“A lot of empty country,” her father said. “I don’t like the idea of you breaking down out there.”

Glad he couldn’t see her rolling her eyes, she retorted, “It makes no sense to sell a two-year-old car I’m really happy with. I’d lose bucko bucks replacing it with a new one.”

The surprise came when she called Nolan and Christian to let them know she was on her way.

“You’re driving?” Nolan said, not hiding disapproval. “Alone?”

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“About what?” He sounded clueless.

“You sound like my father.”

“You won’t be on interstates most of the way. Just two-lane highways through some of the most unpopulated country in the lower forty-eight, and then there are the mountain passes.”

She explained again that she had a four-wheel-drive Subaru with barely twenty thousand miles on it and plenty of experience driving in snow. Which she was unlikely to need at the tail end of April. “You’re being sexist.”

“As a woman, you’re more vulnerable if you have to depend on help from a random passing motorist.”

“This isn’t open to discussion. I’m leaving in the morning.”

He wanted to know her route and grudgingly approved it. Like her father, he also extracted a promise that she would call each evening and at any time she ran into difficulties.

It would be nice to think his deep concern was personal, but she suspected he tended to be protective and controlling. Christian had bragged enough that Dana now knew Nolan had been in a specialized military unit. Yet he had given up that career because he believed his sister and nephew needed him.

Believed? They had needed him. After the death of Nolan’s parents, she could only be grateful Gabriel hadn’t been consigned to the foster-care system or left to live with a mentally ill woman. One Dana hated with every fiber of her being, a fact she would do her best to hide if and when Gabe said anything about Marlee besides a furious “I have a mother!”

She didn’t tell anyone how much she was looking forward to the several-day drive. Alone, driving through spectacular mountain country, she could let go of the stress she’d lived with since that miraculous, life-changing phone call. The amount she’d had to accomplish these past few weeks, working full-time and spending her evenings and weekends going through everything she owned, packing and cleaning, had left her drained.

Never mind the emotional swings, exacerbated by having to say goodbye to coworkers, friends, her parents and her brother. She’d see her family again, at least, but not as often.

All that vast and, yes, empty country proved soothing. North into Wyoming, then west from Cheyenne, the names she saw on road signs and markers spoke of the Oregon Trail and cattle ranching in the Old West. Past Medicine Bow, she crossed the famously muddy Platte River. She stopped for lunch in Lookout, Wyoming, just so she could say she had. Especially since she was headed to Lookout, Oregon. There was a certain resonance.

And every night, after checking into a hotel, she dutifully called first home, then Nolan and Christian. She kind of got the feeling Christian envied her the trip. He occasionally went so far as to ask a question or two.

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