Country Romance - Carolyne Aarsen Page 0,20

to face him, crossing her arms over her chest again. Defensive posture, Sally had always told her. The kind of move that usually turned men off.

Not that Adele was looking for a man to be with. After Troy, she’d had a few guys waft in and out of her life, temporary, unwilling to commit. Just like Troy. The North drew men who were just passing through. Men like her father.

Nope. She was making plans to take care of herself, thank you very much.

"I love Dean a lot. And it breaks my heart to leave him here," she said. "But I made a promise to Sally to take him to his father, and if there's one thing I've learned in my life, it’s that family needs to be together." To her immense embarrassment, her voice quivered.

"And you think I can give Dean that family?" Wyatt drew in a long breath, as if trying to figure out how to have this discussion. "I don't want to be a jerk, but I knew nothing about him until the day before yesterday."

"I know. And I appreciate that. I recognize this is disorienting for you, but what I think doesn't matter. Since Sally told him about you, he's talked about nothing else but meeting you." Adele blinked, looking away, wishing she could be more realistic about this.

Wyatt sighed, rested his elbows on the kitchen table, and looked around. "I grew up in this house, you know," he said quietly.

Adele wasn't sure where he was going with this, but decided he had earned the right to think aloud. She sat down across from him, waiting.

"I used to imagine raising my family here. I knew I would take over the ranch someday. Me and Reuben had always talked about that."

"Reuben’s your brother, right?"

"Yeah. He's younger than me but not by much. Finn is younger than him, and then there's Carly, our sister." He leaned back in his chair, looking around the kitchen, as if remembering other times. "I had dreams and plans. I was going to marry someone who wanted to work beside me on the ranch. We would have four kids. Two boys. Two girls."

"Well, you've got a good start on that family," Adele put in, giving him a cautious smile. She didn't mention that he only needed one more boy to get his dream family. Dean was still a variable for him.

Wyatt nodded tightly. "Yeah, seems like." He pulled in a heavy sigh, massaging his temples. He gave her a wan smile. "Anyway, I appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Hopefully our nanny comes back soon."

His smile created a surprising warmth deep in her stomach. Created an unexpected and unwelcome yearning for family and home.

It's a myth, she reminded herself. But even as the old words, often thrown at her by her father, sifted through her mind, behind them came images of her foster family. How they were always willing to take her in. Give her a home each time her father dropped her off.

Which made Bonnie’s defection after her husband died all the harder to take.

She shook her head as if to dislodge the memories. She was a big girl and more than capable of taking care of herself. Dealing with whatever life threw at her.

She hesitated, feeling awkward, but then thought of Dean and the limbo his parentage seemed to be in.

"So, two things. I have a letter Sally wrote. I think you should read it. I don't know what she said, but it might help."

Wyatt pursed his lips, then gave a shrug. "Sure."

"And the DNA test..." She paused, hoping he would finish.

Wyatt drummed his hands on the table, looking weary. "I guess I owe you, so I'll do it. It would answer your questions, at least."

She almost sagged in relief at his acquiescence. She thought she would have to push harder.

She waited to see if he would say anything more, but he slapped his hand on the table and sucked in another breath as if he had made a sudden decision. "Let's do my part right now," he said. "I'd like to get this done. You can take Dean's swab when he gets up and take it into town when you go. You can send it registered overnight mail. If you get there before five o'clock it’ll go out today. I'm sure it will be at the lab by tomorrow. Maybe you can call them and ask for a rush job. I'm willing to pay more if need be.