His Brother's Fiancee. Jasmine Cresswell

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СКАЧАТЬ Dylan shook his head, interrupting her. “Emily, every client who walks through these doors seems to have been told a version of the same story. Middle-class couples were more willing to adopt babies from middle-class backgrounds, so that’s what the agencies provided—babies supposedly born to innocent young girls who had made a mistake. The truth might really have been that the birth mother was an illegal immigrant toiling in a factory sweatshop and boosting her income by working as a prostitute, but somehow she always got transformed into a college student who made a mistake.”

       “Sometimes it must have happened that way, though. College students do have unplanned babies.”

       “Yeah. Sometimes. Not as often as you might expect.” Dylan leaned forward, his gaze intent. “I had a case where an older woman found out the truth about her past and wished she hadn’t. The illusions of a lifetime were badly shattered and she’s coping with information she’d have preferred not to have. Let me give you one last warning, Emily. Don’t open the box unless you’re one hundred percent sure you want to see the contents.”

       Emily knew adoption agencies often lied about the circumstances of the birth parents…knew that her mother might be someone society would deem unworthy. Her dubious genetic heritage was one of the reasons she had always been so anxious not to disgrace Raelene and Sam. She didn’t want to give people cause to whisper that bad blood always tells in the end. But the time had come in her life when she needed to replace comforting myths with the truth.

       “I’m prepared for whatever you find out,” she said quietly. “I want to open the box.”

       “Okay, I believe you.” Dylan relaxed and gave her a warm smile. “Now I’m finally going to quit with the dire warnings and tell you one of my favorite adoption stories. Almost the first client this agency had was a man in his forties. His adoptive mother had just died, and he’d decided to start a search for his birth mother. We found her without too much difficulty, and they had a great reunion. It turned out his birth mother had been widowed a year earlier and had been looking for her son ever since. But it gets even better. Yesterday, I had a phone call from my client. His birth mother and his adoptive dad have just gotten engaged and he called to invite me to the wedding. Isn’t that a great story?”

       “It sure is. It’s the sort of fairy-tale ending every adopted child dreams of.” Emily concentrated on feeling happy for the bride and groom, and not wallowing in self-pity for herself and her broken engagement.

       “I have a bunch more great adoption stories, but with your tight schedule, I guess we need to get down to business.” Dylan’s manner became brisk. “I’ll need your birth certificate and the name of the agency that arranged the adoption. I assume you can give me that much?”

       Emily nodded. “I sure can. The adoption was arranged through the Lutheran Family Services. Unfortunately, their records were all destroyed in a fire, and the agency itself is no longer in business, which is why I couldn’t take this investigation any further myself. I didn’t know where to start.”

       She laid a brown envelope on the desk. It contained the meager records of her adoption. “Other than the story I told you about both my parents being students at the University of Texas, I don’t have any leads to give you, I’m afraid.”

       “Don’t worry. It’s my business to generate leads. That’s why we charge the big bucks.”

       Emily acknowledged his smile. “Yes, Carolyn already provided me with your fee schedule. It took me a couple of days to recover, but I’m no longer in a state of total shock.”

       “Good.” Smiling, Dylan pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. “Don’t worry, Emily, we earn our high prices. We’ve traced birth parents with less information than you’ve given me, and quite quickly, too. So my advice is that you should enjoy your wedding, have fun on the honeymoon, and by the time you’re back in town again, I hope to have news for you.”

       He glanced down at some notes on his desk. “I have your address and phone number here—365 Market Street. Is that going to change after you’re married?”

       Emily felt her smile freeze. Good grief, here was another problem she hadn’t thought of. She was about to become a homeless person! She’d sold her small but beautiful condo with views over the River Walk because she’d expected to move into Michael’s self-contained apartment within the Chambers mansion. Her furniture was in storage, and she’d been camping out for the past ten days at her parents’ house. The new owners had already moved into her condo, and she had no place to go. Because much as she loved her parents, she simply wasn’t going to continue living with them. She never again wanted to put herself at the mercy of their well meant but smothering protection.

       It took significant effort, but she managed not to let her worry show. “I’m not living at the Market Street address anymore, but I’ll make sure Carolyn has my new address and phone number,” she said. “I’ll be in touch in a couple of days.”

       Dylan wasn’t a detective for nothing. She’d thought she managed to convey that information rather calmly, but he sensed the anxiety lurking only a hairbreadth beneath the cool surface.

       “Emily, what’s bothering you?” he asked quietly. “I assumed it was the search for your birth mother that had you on the edge, which is why I pressed you hard about the risks involved. But I’ve been watching you closely, and I’m fairly sure it’s not this investigation that has you half a step away from full-blown panic. It’s something else. Can I help?”

       “No, but I really appreciate the offer. It sounded genuine.”

       “It was. I have broad shoulders if you feel the need to unload a problem.”

       It occurred to her that Dylan would be an easy man to confide in. It also occurred to her that he must encounter people all the time who were struggling with heartbreaking, life-or-death dilemmas. She suddenly realized that 350 disgruntled guests didn’t amount to a life-or-death problem. As for heartbreaking… Her heart, now that she stopped to think about it, seemed remarkably unscathed by Michael’s casual termination of their engagement. Her pride was rubbed raw and she was panicked by the sudden upheaval in her plans for her future, but there was no gaping wound in her emotions. In fact, for a bride jilted almost at the altar, she was embarrassingly free of grief.

       Emily flashed Dylan her first genuine smile in several hours. “I’ve just this minute come to the conclusion that I don’t have much of a problem at all. Other than the fact that I’ve been indulging in an exaggerated case of self-pity, which I plan to snap out of right now. Thank you again for your excellent advice.”

       “You’re welcome.” Dylan grinned. “Sometime you must let me know what I said that was so insightful.” He walked her to the door. “You’d probably like to see Carolyn before you leave. Her office is two doors down. You can’t miss it.”

       “Thanks. I’ll look forward to hearing from you as soon as you have any news about my birth mother.” Emily said a final goodbye and marched purposefully down the hallway to Carolyn’s office. The door was open and she stepped inside without knocking.

       “I’m not going to marry Michael,” she announced. “You’re the first person to hear the news.”

       The sky didn’t fall and the walls of the building remained standing. In fact, her announcement seemed considerably less amazing once she’d actually spoken it out loud.

       Carolyn, who’d been working at a computer, swiveled around on her chair and looked at Emily without СКАЧАТЬ