over and covered them with his own hand. To her surprise, his touch helped. She felt, if not reassured, at least a little stronger because of it.
“Justin says...” Lizzy began, only to have Justin finally emerge from the kitchen and interrupt her.
“I’ll tell her. It means that I have to go to Garden City and talk to Hazel Murdock again and pass along the good news,” he said with a wry grimace.
“And then?”
“And then, since there’s still no sign of her daughter, the ball’s in her court.”
“She could decide to let matters rest, then?” Cord asked.
“She could. If that’s her choice, then Sharon Lynn could ask the court to let Ashley remain with her.”
Hope stirred inside her. “Could I adopt her?”
“In time, once the court is satisfied that every effort’s been made to find the real mother.”
She took a deep breath and forced herself to ask the question that had been plaguing her day and night. “Could Hazel Murdock just walk into Dolan’s one day, say she wants the baby and walk out with her?”
Justin shook his head. “No, she’ll have to petition the court. The judge has jurisdiction in this matter, since he’s already put her in foster care with you.”
“Then if Mrs. Murdock isn’t capable...” Her voice cracked. “If she’s awful...” She met Cord’s gaze, found reassurance there, then turned back to Justin. “Then I could fight her?”
“You might not win, but you could. If there are real grounds, then you could.”
“There are grounds,” Cord muttered darkly.
Justin’s gaze zeroed in on him. “Now how would you know that?”
“I just know, that’s all,” Cord retorted defiantly.
“Dammit, I knew it,” Justin exploded. “You hired that private eye, didn’t you?”
“No.”
Justin’s gaze narrowed. “Then you and Harlan Patrick did the sleuthing yourselves, the way you’d threatened to.”
When Cord remained stubbornly silent, Justin shook his head. “Dammit, I should have seen that coming. I should have pushed when Harlan Patrick evaded all my questions.”
“The point is, there is evidence that she’s unfit to care for a baby. Any social worker on the planet would have to see that,” Cord said violently.
“Look, I can’t argue with you about that,” Justin soothed. “I’m on your side here. All I’m trying to say is that blood ties hold weight with the court. Plus Sharon Lynn would be a single mom.”
“And Mrs. Murdock wouldn’t be?” Sharon Lynn retorted. “Or have I missed something about the presence of a Mr. Murdock?”
Justin rubbed his forehead as if trying to fend off a throbbing headache. “No, there’s no Mr. Murdock. I’m just trying to point out that it won’t be cut-and-dried. It won’t be easy. Sweetie, this could get downright ugly.”
“I don’t care about easy or ugly,” Sharon Lynn insisted. “All I care about is keeping that baby away from a woman who can’t care for her properly. If she could...” She swallowed hard. “If she could, as difficult as it would be, I wouldn’t fight her.”
Cord gave her hands a squeeze. “It’s okay, darlin’. We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here. There’s no guarantee she’s going to try to take the baby. We’ll know more after Justin sees her, right, Justin?”
Her cousin nodded.
“When will that be?” Cord asked.
“The sooner the better,” Sharon Lynn said. “I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.”
Justin came over to hunker down in front of her. When his gaze was level with hers, he regarded her sympathetically.
“No time like the present,” he told her. “Try not to worry. I’ll do everything I can to make sure Ashley winds up where she’ll get the best possible care.”
“I know you will.” Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks just the same as she watched him leave. Then she turned instinctively toward Cord, who opened his arms and enfolded her in them.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Please don’t cry.”
She felt Lizzy reach down and give her shoulder a squeeze. Dani pressed a kiss against her cheek and then they were gone and she was alone with Cord. She drew on his strength. Despite the turmoil of the past few minutes, despite the fear that was ricocheting through her, she felt surprisingly calm in his embrace. She had spent her entire life surrounded by strong men, but none were any more steadfast than this man who had been a stranger only a few short weeks ago. Whatever happened in the future, she would always be grateful to him for that.
As he held her, she regretted more than ever that she