“I don’t care. You crossed the line. Pack your things. You no longer work for social services.”
She’d known this would be a possibility, but she had thought that if she were able to find Jackson and have him agree to the adoption, Jean would see it as a victory. She had braced herself for probation or a reprimanding, but not firing. Hannah took a steadying breath. She tried to ignore Allison, who made stabbing gestures with her plastic bagel knife towards Jean. “You don’t understand, Jean, he will be her legal guardian.”
“I already have a placement for Emily lined up. You had no right running off to track down this man. This is the third time you’ve been in direct violation of office policy and you received a warning each time—”
“I had every right to track him down. Louise wanted him to be Emily’s guardian. He is next of kin. You knew full well that I was going to do everything to find him. This isn’t about me. It’s about doing what’s right. How are you going to deny next of kin adoption rights?”
“Let’s make sure you’re clear on where we stand,” Jean said, setting her coffee cup down on an Allison’s desk. “You have broken so many rules here I can’t even remember. Even though you seem to a have a bunch of people willing to cover up your dirty work for you, I’m on to you. This is the final straw. You almost got yourself raped, you got beaten, and now you kidnap a baby. You’re too much trouble. I have to file way too much paperwork on your behalf. You are done here.”
Hannah felt her body shake with rage. Damn Jean and her black and white rules. She had always been able to separate the emotional aspect of her job. She never made any decision based on instinct, but then again, Jean hadn’t stepped foot outside the office in years. Hannah took a deep breath as Jean handed her a file. A thick one. Hers.
Hannah ignored it.
“Jean, we are talking about a family member. You know that’s different, you know that he would receive priority. He wouldn’t have to jump through any hoops to adopt her,” she said, trying to sound calm and logical, even though she was very tempted to pour that cup of coffee all over Jean’s wiry body and see if she melted.
“There are steps and procedures that need to be followed.” She shoved the file in her direction again. Hannah shoved it back.
“That you have the power to speed up and make happen. This isn’t a favor. Louise was my case and she left me with her wish that Emily’s uncle adopt her!”
Jean started a cackle that ended with a bad fit of smoker’s cough. “She was probably high as a kite when she wrote that note, Hannah.”
“Don’t go there, Jean.”
“Maybe if you had kept a closer eye on her—”
“Back off, lady.”
Hannah almost jumped at the sound of Jackson’s voice. She had no idea when he’d walked in. She turned around slowly, vaguely aware that everyone else in the office was watching. She also didn’t miss Allison’s surprised smile. Jackson’s face had that hard look that she had seen before, but his eyes were colder than anything she’d witnessed from him. His back was straight and his eyes glittered with unmistakable anger. It felt strange to know that it was on her behalf. The most shocking thing, though, was that she wasn’t annoyed that he spoke up to defend her, that he’d ignored her request and walked in here. She almost didn’t even care that he heard what Jean had said. Was this what it was like to have someone guard your back?
“I don’t answer to you, sir,” Jean said stiffly.
“Well, you can be damn sure I’ll find out who you do answer to. That baby is going home with me.”
Hannah felt her anger dissipate. Jackson knew how to get what he wanted. The brown eyes that could be so warm now glittered with a hostility that was palpable and his hard jaw was set. Oh yeah, Jackson was royally pissed. He looked very out of place in the poorly furnished grey and metal office. Somehow, even dressed in jeans, the man exuded power and wealth.
“You go ahead, but when her permanent placement gets approved you’ll be in for a rude awakening. Your sister’s letter won’t hold up in court and a single male is not exactly the best candidate for a family,” Jean said smugly.
“You mean you haven’t told her, Hannah?” Jackson asked smoothly, glancing down at her, a smile on his face that wasn’t quite reflected in his eyes.
Hannah could have sworn she saw everyone lean forward in their chairs. The excitement radiating from her best friend as they made eye contact could have powered the entire office.
“I, uh.” What was Jackson talking about? Hannah felt his hands wrap around her shoulders, pulling him to her side. What was he doing?
“Why don’t you tell her about our marriage?” Jackson said, kissing the side of her neck. Hannah felt her knees jiggle and Jackson’s grip on her tightened, as though he knew she was about to fall on her face.
“Marriage?” Jean said.
Jackson nodded.
Allison squealed, jumping up, her chair crashing into the wall.
Hannah surreptitiously dug her heel into Jackson’s foot.
Chapter Nine
“So much for gratitude,” Jackson grumbled, and limped outside.
“I knew you were mentally unbalanced!” Hannah hissed. The cold winter air felt good on her flaming cheeks as they stood facing each other on the sidewalk. Shoppers passed by them, the sound of Santa’s ringing bell could be heard, but the only thing Hannah could focus on was the memory of Jackson telling Jean they were getting married tomorrow. He was totally nuts.
“Earth to Jackson Pierce!” She focused on him, trying to figure out his expression. He looked like he was ready to kill someone. Maybe the reality of what he proposed had sunk in, or maybe he really was upset about her letting Louise down.
“What the hell was that woman talking about?” The trademark jaw clenching was back so Hannah knew he was royally peeved about something.
“What? How about explaining what you were talking about?” Hannah glanced over each shoulder. In small towns there was always someone ready to eavesdrop on a conversation. He must have sensed her trepidation since he grabbed her hand and started walking towards his car. He walked so quickly that she had to run to keep up. Hannah jerked to a stop, yanking him to a halt with her. Jackson turned to glare at her.
He closed his eyes briefly before speaking. “Come on. Get in the car and let’s go.”
Hannah crossed her arms in front of her. “I’m not going anywhere until you answer my question.” She raised her eyebrows expectantly while he took a few deep breaths.
“Hannah.”
“Yes,” she answered serenely, linking her hands together in front of her.
He sighed. “Get in the car because everyone from that stupid office is not-so-subtly staring at us through the window, and my foot feels like it needs to be amputated. So either plant a massive kiss on my lips right now or get in the car, okay?”
Hannah debated the kiss for a half a second. “Fine, let’s go to your car,” she said haughtily.
“I thought you’d see it my way,” he said, grabbing her hand again and starting for his car. “Well, I didn’t really have a choice, now did I?” Hannah huffed as they reached his Range Rover. Jackson braced his arm on the SUV, sheltering her from the view of the office. She could see from his eyes that he was still irate. He stood close enough that the wind was laced with his cologne, and she felt the heat of his breath on her as he spoke. She ignored the twinge of excitement that teased her at his nearness. Her body was a traitor to her mind.
“Oh, I gave you a choice, but you took the chicken’s way out,” Jackson whispered.
Hannah was about to open her mouth to make a smart reply when Santa jingled his way over to them. Santa, Hannah noticed with a frown, had a slight limp, a very disheveled appearance, and a tummy that looked like it had one too many beers in it. Jackson shoved a twenty-dollar bill at the man without taking his eyes off her. Santa rewarded him by jingling the bell in his ear. Hannah burst out laughing. Jackson cursed under his breath and opened the door for her. He grumbled something about small towns as he closed her door.
Five minutes later they were pulling up outside her home. It was the only place they could have complete privacy, but it was also a little unsettling to know that Jackson was now entering her territory. Her house was her own private sanctuary, the only home that had ever truly been hers.
Neither of them said anything on the way. Hannah knew that if she spoke she was only going to end up yelling at him, and considering that his hands were white as he gripped the steering wheel she figured he’d had about all he could handle at the moment. Which was fine, because now she was out of a job and she had Jean launching an all-out war against her and the adoption. She truly hoped Jackson was still as confident as he said he was about adopting Emily.
…
“This is your house?” Jackson asked, shutting the ignition and leaning forward to get a better look.