she’d expected. Palatial and functional. Horse-themed artwork on the walls. Rich, glossy woods for the floor and desk, and on the desk was a sliver-thin computer monitor and a gleaming silver tray with coffee, raisin wheat toast, biscuits and crystal dishes of various jams and marmalades.
A photograph next to the computer monitor caught Collena’s eye. It was a picture of Dylan holding a baby.
Her baby.
But before she could get a better look, Dylan grabbed the photo and slammed it facedown on his desk. He picked up his phone, punched in some numbers and requested a background check on her.
Which she’d expected. She’d certainly done a thorough check on Dylan.
“Jonah, you can go get your coffee now,” Dylan advised.
The deputy scowled at what was obviously an order, but he headed for the set of interior doors. However, the doors opened before he could get to them.
A woman was in the doorway. Ina, maybe? She was in her late fifties, Collena guessed, and her copper-red hair was cut very short, less than an inch long around her entire head.
“Where’s Adam?” Dylan immediately asked.
“Still asleep. I was about to wake him for breakfast and then give him a bath.” She glared at Collena with piercing stone-gray eyes. “Are you the intruder?”
“Yes.” The woman’s scrutiny suddenly made Collena feel a tad guilty. “I’m sorry that I caused such a fuss.”
The woman made a grunting sound of disapproval.
“Go back to the nursery,” Dylan told his employee. It was another order. “And stay there until you hear from me.”
The woman’s sound of disapproval became one of concern. “What’s going on, Dylan?”
“I’ll fill you in later.” He didn’t say another word until both the woman and the deputy were out of the room and the doors were closed.
“Was that the nanny?” Collena asked.
He paused so long that she didn’t think he would answer. “Yes. Her name is Ruth. If you did a background check on me, then you also know she was my own nanny and someone I trust.”
“Ruth Sayers,” Collena supplied. “Her name did come up.” And she was clean. No criminal record. In fact, not even a traffic violation.
“Just what kind of proof do you think you have about the adoption being illegal?” Dylan asked.
“More than enough.” Because she was feeling light-headed again, Collena sank down into the plush saddle-brown leather chair across from his desk and tugged off her gloves. “As I said I’ve been investigating the Brighton case since August of last year. When I realized just how many babies had been illegally adopted, I asked for help from the pediatric community. I was able to get names of adopted babies, and I compared them to those who had been legally adopted.”
He pushed the silver tray toward her and motioned for her to eat. When he motioned a second time, Collena pinched off a piece of raisin wheat toast and popped it into her mouth. Even though it was cold, it tasted heavenly.
“And you’re saying that Adam’s name came up on that list of adopted babies?” he asked. But he didn’t just ask. It was buried under a mountain of skepticism.
She nodded. “Adam’s name and one hundred and twelve other infant boys. There were a lot of them, and that’s why it’s taken me so long to find my son.”
His jaw turned to iron. He paced a few steps in front of the fireplace, turned and stared at her before taking one of the biscuits, opening it and handing both it and the silver jam spoon to her.
With the hopes that her faintness would go away, Collena smeared some strawberry jam on one half and started to eat. Dylan didn’t say anything until she had finished.
“Adam’s my son,” he insisted. “And I don’t really care what kind of proof you have. You gave him up—”
“I didn’t give him up.”
Oh, that had not been easy to say. Collena had to choke back all the pain and emotion just so she could speak.
“Sixteen months ago, I went into premature labor while I was at Brighton,” she explained. “Without my consent, a doctor gave me a strong narcotic so that he could steal my baby. I fought him and his accomplice as much as I could. I managed to escape…eventually. What I wasn’t able to do was find my child. Until now.”
He cursed. And then as if he’d declared war on it, he peeled off his jacket and tossed it into the closet. He didn’t stop there. Dylan came across the room, bracketed his hands on his desk and leaned in so he could stare at her some more.
“And why should I believe you?” he challenged.
Collena tried to keep her voice level. “In my car I have the police and doctors’ reports detailing what happened to me and the subsequent arrest of the director at Brighton. I also have the original files. Both sets, the legal ones that Brighton put together, and the illegal ones they figured no one but them would ever see.”
He shook his head. “Reports and files don’t prove anything about Adam. So what if you had a child? It could have been any child.”
“Adam’s date of birth matches the day I delivered,” she pointed out.
“That could be a coincidence. You could be confused about the date.”
She took a deep breath and tried to tamp down her frustration. She couldn’t say she hadn’t expected this though. In fact, Collena figured there’d be many rounds of stonewalling before he started to come to terms with this.
“I’m not confused. There were only four baby boys born that particular day at Brighton,” Collena said. “And three are already accounted for.”
He waited a moment, and she could almost see the thought process going on behind those eyes. “This doesn’t make any sense. I want to talk to Adam’s birth father.”
“He’s dead.” And for the time being, that’s all she intended to say about her late fiancé, Sean Reese. Thankfully, Adam would never have to have Sean in his life, but that didn’t mean Sean’s DNA couldn’t come back to haunt them. Later, she’d have to explain all of that to Dylan. “Look, I know this is hard to accept—”
“You have no idea.”
“But I do. Remember, someone stole my baby and tried to kill me. I have an inkling of what it’s like to lose something as important as a child.”
Oh, mercy. She felt the tears threaten, and she tried to blink them back. One escaped anyway, but she quickly wiped it away so there’d be no proof of the pain that had ripped her heart apart.
“Look at me,” Collena requested. “Don’t you see some kind of resemblance between Adam and me?”
It was a gamble, because Collena had no idea if her son did indeed resemble her.
But
