Adopted Parents. Candy Halliday

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ complex nature of their relationship. She was one second away from asking Greg if he could have the psychologist fill out the questionnaire without a meeting being necessary when Greg glanced at his watch.

      “It’s only nine-thirty,” he said. “You’ll have a few minutes to grab a cup of coffee in the lobby if you want.” He pushed a business card forward. “I made your appointment for ten o’clock. Dr. Langston’s office is on the sixth floor. That’s her suite number.”

      Greg stood, picked up his folder and circled the table. He shook hands with Nate who stood as well. “Just remember,” he said, “Ahn is the real victim here. Her best interest has to come first.”

      Those words made Hallie wince.

      What a selfish, hypocritical bitch she was. She’d just debated with Nate, spouting her concern for Ahn, when she hadn’t been thinking about Ahn at all. She’d only been thinking about herself. And yes, as Nate accused, trying to soothe her guilty conscience.

      It killed Hallie knowing she hadn’t spent more time with Janet and Ahn while Janet was alive. She’d been too busy. Too busy to spend time with the sister she loved and the niece she didn’t even know. If only she could turn back the clock.

      If only.

      Greg’s hand rested on Hallie’s shoulder again. “Don’t worry, we’ll find the right parents. Call me if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll be in touch when I have potential couples for you to interview.”

      We’ll find the right parents.

      How Hallie prayed that was true.

      She was Ahn’s aunt. She was never meant to be her mother. But she’d be a better aunt than mere calls and cards and presents as Nate accused. She’d be there for Ahn, just as Janet had always been there for Hallie. And her heart overruling her head had nothing to do with it.

      It was the right thing to do.

      CHAPTER TWO

      WHEN THEY WALKED into the elevator and Hallie pushed the button for the sixth floor, Nate knew they would not be going down to the lobby for coffee before their meeting as Greg suggested. But that was okay.

      Flying under the radar was Nate’s main goal.

      He’d been trying to keep the peace. And he’d been trying to avoid as much confrontation with Hallie as possible from the moment he’d arrived in Boston.

      It hadn’t been easy.

      One minute Nate was amazed at Hallie’s resolve, the next minute he wanted to shake her. She’d blindsided him when she’d told Greg she wanted to stay in touch with Ahn.

      That was the first he’d heard of it.

      And she’d certainly had plenty of time to tell him.

      Hallie had been in his face for the past week trying to dictate what they were going to do about Ahn until they could find new parents. As far as Nate was concerned, that issue was still unresolved. He wasn’t sure what part of joint guardian Hallie didn’t understand, but he was real close to patiently explaining it to her.

      Still, Nate feared he was going to lose the battle.

      For years Hallie had pretended to tolerate him for David and Janet’s sake. He knew it. She knew it. But there was no reason to tolerate him now. And Hallie had made it exceedingly clear all she wanted from him was him to be gone.

      She’d told him flat out to go back to Afghanistan.

      There was no reason for him to stay, she’d said. She would hire a full-time nanny for Ahn, and she would stay at David and Janet’s until they could find new parents. And since both of them had to agree, when she did find a couple she liked, then he could fly home, interview them and see if they met his approval.

      There was only one problem with Hallie’s plan.

      Nate wasn’t going back to Afghanistan.

      Had Hallie given him the chance—instead of barking out orders at him—he would have told her that he’d arranged for his replacement even before he left for the States. But then, Nate had run out of chances with Hallie a long time ago.

      He glanced over his shoulder at her standing behind him in the elevator. Her arms were folded, her head resting back against the elevator wall, her eyes closed.

      She was tired, just as he was. Tired of the mind-numbing pain. Tired of the difficult task before them. Tired of knowing their lives had changed forever.

      She’d always been on the thin side, but since the funeral Hallie seemed to be melting away before Nate’s eyes. If she weighed much more than one hundred pounds, Nate would be shocked.

      He was worried about her.

      Nate knew how grief had the power to ravish the human soul. He’d seen it happen to his mother after his father was killed rescuing a fellow firefighter. Nate couldn’t remember a time growing up when his mother hadn’t been depressed. She was in a nursing home now way before her time, her chronic depression finally leading to Alzheimer’s disease, which had put her there.

      At least she’d been spared David’s death because now his mother didn’t remember her sons at all.

      It worried Nate that he could see the same thing happening to Hallie—letting her grief consume her, falling into a deep depression. And it didn’t matter that she had a satisfying career or that she enjoyed her life as a single woman. All that faded with these horrific circumstances they faced.

      Nate knew Janet had been Hallie’s touchstone—the glue that held Hallie’s life together. Hallie had said those exact words five years ago. Not to him, of course. She’d been talking to David while the three of them sat in the hospital waiting room after Janet had been rushed into emergency surgery for the ectopic pregnancy that sadly ended her ability to have children.

      Nate had never forgotten the lost look on Hallie’s face as she sat there for hours worrying about her sister. And how could he? He’d been seeing that same lost look on Hallie’s face from the moment he got home.

      That was why he was positive no good could come from Hallie living in Wedge Pond where she was constantly reminded that the one person she’d always depended on was gone. He should be the one to stay at David and Janet’s and hire a full-time nanny to take care of Ahn. Hallie needed to come back to her apartment here in Boston and go back to work as soon as possible.

      She needed to be in her own element. Keeping busy. Being productive. Handling her daily executive producer problems that were constantly coming at her from all directions.

      Busy was good.

      Busy helped keep the pain at bay.

      Besides, did it really matter who stayed to supervise the nanny? The nanny would be taking care of Ahn, just as Roberta had been caring for the child since the accident. In fact, Nate couldn’t think of one time Hallie had even held Ahn over the past few weeks, much less taken any responsibility for her care. But he wasn’t being fair—he’d made no attempt to interact with Ahn, either.

      Since the accident, it had taken everything he and Hallie had to put one СКАЧАТЬ