Bryson groaned softly before lifting her once more, gently tossing her back on her side.“Well then, get off my lap, woman.We have somewhere to go.”
Mary Elizabeth spentseveral days overthinking every aspect related to the DNA results.The impact on her husband and marriage, her children.
Ever since Adam had walked out of the room that day, things had remained strained between them.They spoke about general everyday topics like the mail and his work schedule, ate silently at the table together, and went about their daily activities like before.But the tension was there, building with every unasked question and moment that slipped by.
She sometimes caught Adam staring at her with the saddest expression, and she hated that she’d hurt him.Hated that she’d hurtallof them, whether they knew it or not.
She debated how to tell their girls, what their response would be.When they were little, they’d talked about wanting a little brother.Would an older one at this late date traumatize them?
And Hadley.Hadley would understand, of that Mary Elizabeth had no doubt.But then Mary Elizabeth did wonder about the impact it would have on Hadley’s relationship with Bryson, and on Bryson himself.He was nearing fifty.What man wanted to find his birth mother at fifty?Did he even know he was adopted?
She let out a small cry of frustration and turned to find Adam watching her from the doorway of the kitchen.She met his gaze and her heart pinched, emotions crumbling.“I’msorry.”
Adam dropped the newspaper he carried into the recycle bin.
“Does that mean you’ve made a decision?”
A decision?How could she possibly make a decision when… “Every time I think I have, doubts creep in.I don’t know what to do.”She wet her lips and took a fortifying breath to prepare herself for his response to her next question.“I know I should’ve talked to you before doing the test.You deserved that but I didn’t, and it’s too late to change that.So I’m asking you now…what do you think I should do?”
Adam moved toward her, and for the first time since that fateful, awful day, he wrapped her in his arms, cradled her against his chest, and kissed the top of her head like he had thousands of times in the past.She curled her arms up around his back and clutched him tight, breathing in the scent of him that brought such comfort and love.
After a long, long moment, he spoke.
“I guess the question boils down to whether you want him in your life as a son.If the answer is yes, you know what you have to do.”
“But the girls…”
“They’ll be fine.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because every time we had a baby, we learned to love more and so did they.We can all do it again.”
She squeezed her eyes tight.“Bryson’s hardly a baby.”
“No.But that might make it easier for them.And me.”
She lifted her head to stare up at him.“How so?”
“He’s a grown man.And…since you told me, I’ve had some time to do some digging.”
“Oh, Adam.You had him investigated?”She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“If he’s going to be around you and my girls, did you really think I wouldn’t?”
She supposed not, but she felt she’d already invaded Bryson’s privacy enough without adding a private investigation and background check to the mix.“I understand, it’s just… What did you find out?”
Adam released a low chuckle and drew her close again, lips brushing her forehead as he said, “He was adopted within hours of birth by a family who had lost a baby the night before.The couple had the same doctor as you.”
“Were they kind?”
“No history of domestic violence or police interaction.The father was a carpenter Bryson apprenticed under during school, and he later took over the business.”
She plucked at a button on Adam’s polo shirt, afraid to ask about the woman she wanted to know the most about.“And…his adoptive mother?”
“A homemaker and seamstress.She died of a stroke when Bryson was thirty-four.”
“And the father?Is he alive?”