Adopted Parents. Candy Halliday

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СКАЧАТЬ best interest if we don’t settle with the other driver’s insurance company until after the readoption,” Greg said. “If we can’t find adoptive parents and one of you ends up raising Ahn, the settlement needs to reflect the expenses you’ll incur in taking care of her until she’s out of college and on her own.”

      Hallie panicked. She couldn’t even consider the idea of raising Ahn. “But readoption is what Janet and David wanted. They were adamant about that. They wanted Ahn raised by two parents who could give her the same stability they were giving her. It states that plainly in the guardianship agreement.”

      “And I’ll do everything possible to make the readoption happen,” Greg said. “But Ahn’s age and her delayed speech and physical development could be an issue. Most couples want an infant instead of a toddler. And frankly, any type of disability makes a child less adoptable.”

      Hallie was reeling over this reality. She and Nate weren’t parent material and Janet and David had known that. In fact, she and Nate were as far from parent material as any two people could be.

      Nate’s life was devoted to the dangerous assignments he accepted wherever trouble was brewing in the world. And she had focused on her career. Her position as an executive television producer required one hundred percent of her time.

      If either of them had a spouse, Janet and David might have felt differently about their prospects for raising Ahn. But Hallie couldn’t even boast a significant other at the moment. And unless Nate had someone hidden in the background, he had no one special in his life, either.

      They were both married to their careers.

      Definitely not parent material.

      But Hallie had been sister material. And she was aunt material. And since they were now talking about the readoption, Hallie decided to bring up something that had been bothering her. “What if I want to maintain contact with Ahn? Is that even a possibility?”

      Nate looked at her, his gray eyes zooming in on Hallie like the lens of one of his fancy cameras. “And why would you want to do that?”

      Hallie wasn’t surprised he would disagree. She and Nate never agreed on anything. “Because she’s my niece,” Hallie said simply. “And yours,” she added for spite.

      “And if she were older,” Nate said, “I would agree with you. But Ahn’s only two, and David and Janet were her parents for six short months. She isn’t going to remember them, much less you or me. She needs to bond with her new parents. She doesn’t need any interference from us.”

      His reference to Ahn’s age hit home.

      Hallie had been two years older than Ahn when her mother died of breast cancer, yet any personal memories of her mother were vague at best. But what she did have were the memories Janet had shared with her.

      Janet, who had been eight when their mother died, had been her memory keeper.

      And though Janet never intended for Hallie to raise Ahn, it only seemed right that Ahn should have a memory keeper, too. Hallie was determined to remain Ahn’s aunt so Ahn would never doubt how much Janet loved her.

      “If you can pretend Ahn never existed after the readoption, good for you,” Hallie told Nate. “But I can’t. I don’t intend to interfere in her life, but I don’t like the idea of handing her over to strangers without keeping tabs on her. I owe Janet that much.”

      “That’s guilt talking over reason, Hallie,” Nate said.

      “Maybe,” Hallie admitted. “But now that Greg told us about Ahn’s trust fund I feel even more strongly about staying in touch with her. Someone has to look out for her interests.”

      Greg cleared his throat. “I should have made myself clear about the trust fund. The adoptive parents won’t have access to that money. Only Ahn can access it when she reaches legal age.”

      “I’m not worried about the money, Greg,” Hallie said. “I’m trying to point out that eventually Ahn will know that Janet and David were her first adoptive parents. Don’t you think she’ll wonder why Janet and David’s family didn’t care enough about her to stay in touch?”

      “Again,” Nate said, “you’re letting your heart overrule your head. David and Janet knew all you and I had to offer this child was choosing the best possible parents to raise her. Don’t intrude on Ahn’s life to ease your conscience. An occasional call or a card now and then, and birthday and Christmas presents aren’t worth it.”

      Hallie felt like slapping him.

      He’d lectured her once, but those days were over. What she did was none of Nate’s damn business!

      Hallie turned to Greg. “If Nate doesn’t want to maintain contact with Ahn after the readoption, that’s his prerogative. But I intend to remain a part of Ahn’s life, regardless of how small that part is.”

      “Then you need to be prepared that finding parents who agree to that condition might add another stumbling block to the process,” Greg said. “Most adoptive parents prefer no major ties with the child’s past.”

      “I’m prepared to take that chance.”

      “How much of a stumbling block?” Nate asked.

      Greg shrugged. “There’s no way of knowing until we start interviewing parents and see if Hallie maintaining contact is a deal breaker.”

      “And if it’s a deal breaker,” Hallie said with confidence, “that’s my proof they aren’t the right parents.”

      She looked back at Nate for his comeback.

      A muscle in his jaw twitched, but Nate dropped the subject.

      Greg pushed another document toward them. “This is a form from the private adoption agency we’ll be working with that specifies the requirements a couple must meet before you’ll consider them as parents. That’s why I asked you to meet with Deb Langston this morning. She’ll help you fill out the questionnaire and you can drop it off with my assistant after your appointment. The agency can’t begin screening parents until they have the information.”

      Hallie reached out, picked up the questionnaire and placed it in her purse. But she was dreading their next appointment even more than she’d dreaded this one.

      Dr. Deborah Langston was the child psychologist Janet and David had been working with since the adoption to help Ahn acclimate to her new surroundings. What worried Hallie was Dr. Langston picking up on the underlying tension between her and Nate.

      Hallie was in no mood to do any explaining. And she knew that went double for Nate.

      Nate wasn’t the talk-it-all-out type. His guard was always up like some badge of honor—never letting anyone too close, hanging back and keeping his distance. He’d even been that way with David to a certain extent, although David had never let Nate get away with it.

      Hallie couldn’t count the number of times she’d seen David grab Nate in a bear hug and tell his brother he loved him. Nate had always grimaced and never hugged back. But Hallie knew Nate loved his brother.

      He obviously had issues but they were his.

      Hallie had her own СКАЧАТЬ