You see why it was imperative that I contact you immediately.”
His head was starting to hurt. He raised his free hand to massage his temples. “What’s going to happen to Isabelle?”
“Mrs. Houston and I spoke at length this morning. She sees only two options. Her preference would be for you to come get the child and have yourself named guardian.”
Nathan spoke without hesitation. “That isn’t possible.”
“There’s really no one else to take her, Mr. McCloud. Your stepmother’s parents are both dead and her only sibling is an unmarried brother who is on active military duty, stationed overseas. Mrs. Houston is widowed and has only one daughter, who is divorced and raising four young children of her own. There simply is no one else. Unless one of your other siblings…?”
“Mr. Curtis, I’m not sure how much you know about my father’s history here.”
When Nathan paused, the other man spoke with audible caution. “I’m aware that your father was a prominent business leader there in Mississippi and had considered a run for the governor’s office.”
“He was a gubernatorial candidate,” Nathan clarified. “The campaign was in full swing, he was backed by some very influential people in his party, and he had a solid standing in the polls. He could very well have won the office. He was quite a hero here in his hometown, the first native son to run for such a high position in our state. And then, six months before the election, he announced that he was dropping out to marry one of his campaign volunteers—Barbara Houston’s niece, Kimberly Leighton.”
“Um—”
Nathan continued in a deliberately nonemotional tone. “It was a bit messy at the time because Kimberly was thirty years his junior, and pregnant. Oh, and my father was still married then—to my mother.”
Nathan could almost hear the other man wince. “Mr. McCloud, I—”
“I’m trying to explain why it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to bring my father’s child here. My father tore his family apart four years ago. He humiliated my mother and broke my younger sister’s heart. My brother hasn’t been quite the same since Dad bailed out on us. We’re still trying to rebuild our relationships with each other. Even if I were prepared to raise a toddler, which, believe me, I’m not, my family would never be able to accept her.”
“I’m sorry. I—well, I wasn’t aware that you were so estranged from your father. He told me you visited him here in California a few times, and he named you your sister’s executor.”
“I was the only one to maintain a relationship with my father,” Nathan admitted, “much to my family’s dissatisfaction. I didn’t approve of his actions, but I didn’t want to completely sever all ties with him. I hoped my brother and sister would be able to make some sort of peace with him, but his death put an end to that. I hold nothing against little Isabelle, so I didn’t mind agreeing to be available in the event of an emergency, but bringing her here, trying to raise her—well, I’m afraid that’s simply out of the question.”
The older man sighed heavily. “Mrs. Houston suspected that would be your answer. It seems we have no choice but to resort to the only other option.”
Nathan didn’t like the sound of that, nor the tone in which the attorney had spoken. “What’s the other option?”
“The child will have to be put up for adoption.”
Grimacing, Nathan cleared his throat. “That seems rather…drastic.”
“The circumstances are drastic, Mr. McCloud. Mrs. Houston is very ill. She isn’t able to care for an active toddler any longer.”
“I could help with the expense of a full-time nanny.”
“I’m afraid that would only be a short-term solution. I’m not sure you understand the gravity of Mrs. Houston’s condition. Her cancer was already at an advanced stage when she was diagnosed, and this particular type of cancer is very aggressive. She’s only expected to live for another few months. The child must be placed soon. Mrs. Houston is ready to relinquish her to the California Department of Child Services. She’s very fond of Isabelle, but she’s simply too ill to concentrate on anyone’s well-being except her own.”
The headache was rapidly intensifying. Nathan rubbed harder at his temples, which had absolutely no effect against the pounding. “I need time to think about this.”
“I understand. But our time is limited, I’m afraid.”
Picturing the pleasant-faced, kind-eyed woman he’d met at his father’s funeral, Nathan was aware of a wave of sadness on her behalf. Barbara Houston had seemed like a very nice woman, only in her mid-fifties. He hated to think of her suffering so terribly. “Can you give me a few hours to process this, Mr. Curtis? Isabelle’s okay for now, isn’t she?”
“Mrs. Houston was hospitalized several days ago, but the child is fine for now. She’s staying with Mrs. Houston’s pastor and his wife. Mrs. Houston called me from the hospital, and I visited her there. Frankly, she looks terrible. Worrying about her great-niece isn’t making her any more comfortable.”
Nathan got the message. Time was running out, fast. “Give me until tomorrow morning. I’ll call you first thing,” he promised, glancing up as Caitlin reentered her office. “Don’t do anything until I talk to you, okay?”
“I’ll be expecting your call.”
Nathan hung up the phone, then buried his face in his hands and groaned.
“Nathan?” He heard Caitlin’s footsteps as she moved closer. “Are you okay?”
Slowly lowering his hands, he looked up at her, taking some comfort from the genuine concern reflected in her warm gray eyes. “How do you think I’d stack up as a father?”
She lifted both her eyebrows. “This is a rhetorical question, I hope.”
“Not exactly. I have to decide whether to take my father’s three-and-a-half-year-old daughter and try to raise her myself or to let her disappear into the California child services system and hope she’s quickly adopted by a decent family.”
Caitlin knew a little of his family history. Of course, no one could live for long in this town without hearing the details of the juiciest scandal to rock this area in decades. She had already joined his firm when his father died, and she’d run the office during the few days Nathan was in California for the funeral. So she wasn’t surprised by his reference to his half sister, but she certainly appeared flabbergasted by everything else he’d said. “There’s no one else to take her?”
“Not a soul. The great-aunt who’s been raising her is very ill. I have to make a decision very quickly—by tomorrow morning.”
“I’m sorry. No wonder you look so upset.”
“Yeah. Hell of a choice I’ve got here. Take in a three-year-old and completely alienate my already-screwed-up family or farm the kid out to strangers and give up the right to ever see her again.” The final words were gruff as he forced them through his suddenly tight throat.
Caitlin only looked at him.
On
