“In San Francisco. He’s living with someone named Margot.”
The women who’d worked with her, the one he’d had the affair with. “How did you find him?”
“His cousins put me in touch with his parents who put me in touch with him. I guess he’s been calling them for money, so they had the information.”
“Did he say what he did with my computer?”
“No. I’m afraid I couldn’t get that back.”
“It’s okay, Mike,” she said. “Thanks for—”
He held up a hand. “But I got something better. It’s my wedding present to both of you.” Pulling an official-looking document out of his pocket, he passed it to her.
“Waiver of Parental Rights,” she read aloud. Then her eyes skimmed rapidly through several paragraphs of fine print. I, Andy Bray, hereby relinquish all parental rights to my son, Troy Matthew Rogers…. At the bottom she found Andy’s signature.
Katie pressed a hand to her chest. “I can’t believe it! How did you get this?”
Mike straightened. “I wish I could say it was hard, but it wasn’t. I called him to see if I could reclaim your computer, but he didn’t have it anymore. So I told him I’d forget about the computer and pay him a small fee if he’d sign this and mail it back to me. He agreed, and I received it yesterday.”
“How much did you have to pay him?”
“A hundred bucks.”
Giving up Troy for a mere hundred bucks was a sad commentary on Andy’s state of mind, but Katie wasn’t about to complain. Mike had solved the one thing she’d been worried about—that her past might someday come back to haunt her, and possibly hurt Booker and Troy. “Thanks, Mike. You’re a wonderful friend,” she said and felt it to the tips of her toes.
Booker returned from the truck and peered over her shoulder. “What’s going on?”
“Mike just gave us our wedding present. Early.” Katie let a smile of hope and relief blossom on her face as she handed the waiver to Booker.
He read it, then looked from her to Mike, blinking several times. “This means I can adopt Troy.”
“That’s exactly what it means,” Mike said, his pleasure in the gift evident on his face.
“When I talked to Mike after Troy was born, I mentioned that I wanted to be sure Andy couldn’t come back and cause problems later,” Katie explained. “And he took care of it.”
Mike shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well, I do expect a little compensation.”
“What’s that?” Katie asked.
“You’ve got to finish my Web site as soon as you get another computer.”
She grinned when he winked at her. “Of course. I love building Web sites.”
Booker gave her back the document and took Troy. “I’m already getting her a computer.”
“So is that what you’re going to do from now on?” Mike asked.
“Not exclusively,” Katie said. “I’ve decided I’d like to do hair one or two days a week, just to get out. The rest of the time, when I’m not taking care of Troy, I’ll build Web sites or help Booker with whatever paperwork I can do for him at the garage.”
“That’s the beauty of owning your own business,” Mike told Booker. “You can bring your wife and son to work with you.”
“Just wait until I have her changing oil and greasing hubs,” Booker said, giving Mike the keys to the red Nissan. “Thanks for looking out for her while she was here.”
Mike accepted the keys and shook Booker’s hand. “I’m just glad you’re off the market,” he said. “Maybe now I can get myself a girl.”
BOOKER COULDN’T BELIEVE he was bringing Katie home for good. She was going to marry him in a week, and they’d have more children someday. They already had a family. He’d never really been able to picture himself settling down, but he’d done a lot of settling in the past few years. This was just the final step.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t afraid of the commitment. The timing was right.
Reaching over Troy, who was sleeping in his infant seat, he squeezed Katie’s shoulder. She glanced at him and smiled.
“Happy?” he asked.
She nodded. “I should’ve married you two years ago.”
“Maybe we wouldn’t have appreciated what we have the way we do now.”
He turned into the farmhouse and was surprised to see a Toyota Camry sitting in the driveway.
“Who’s here?” Katie asked.
Booker hoped it wasn’t Chevy. She’d called him twice, even after he’d had Delbert tell her he was getting married. He hadn’t been there to accept the call either time. Had his lack of response precipitated a visit?
As he drew closer, however, he could tell his visitor wasn’t Chevy. “It’s Leah Small,” he said and looked around, wondering if Jon or Smalley or any of the rest of the Small clan had accompanied her. But he couldn’t see anyone else.
“What do you think she wants?”
“I have no idea.”
While they parked and got out, Leah waited at the front door, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.
“Hello, Leah,” Booker said as they approached.
Her eyes darted quickly to Katie. “Could I speak to you alone please, Booker?”
Booker handed Troy to Katie. “I’ll get the suitcases in a minute.”
She nodded and went inside, and he offered Leah a seat on the porch swing.
“No, thanks,” she said. “This won’t take long.”
He leaned against the porch railing. “What’s up?”
“I—” Her voice faltered, so she started again. “I’m afraid I owe you an apology.”
Booker felt his eyebrows draw together. “For what?”
“For all that business about the police thinking it was you who broke into my house.”
“You knew it wasn’t?”
She pulled her limp brown hair over one shoulder. “No. I thought it was you, or I wouldn’t have said so. But—” she took a deep breath “—I wouldn’t have thought it was you if I hadn’t been stirring up trouble between you and Jon.”
Booker had to work to keep his jaw from dropping. Mousey Leah Small had been stirring up trouble? For her own husband? She didn’t seem the type. “What kind of trouble?”
“It was me and Tripp Bell who called you that night and threatened Delbert. You know Tripp, don’t you?”