“I’m—”
She didn’t allow him to finish. “Did you seriously think I would say no?”
Grabbing the back of her chair, he pulled it and her closer to him. “For the most part, I expected you to agree, but I knew you might have some reason why you’d rather keep the situation between you and Reese as it is.”
And you might need to have your head examined sometime soon. Considering the seriousness of their conversation, she refrained from sharing the thought. “What’s the first step?”
“Talking to Reese. I want to make sure she wants me as her father.”
She expected something more along the lines of having a meeting with the attorney. “You’re kidding, right? Reese loves you, and I am pretty sure she considers you her father now. There is no way she won’t want you to adopt her.”
Her niece had never said she viewed Curt that way, but her actions did. She’d even given Curt the Father’s Day gift she’d made in school back in June. Ever since Reese started making such gifts in school, she’d always given them to her. This year, she’d insisted Curt get the present.
“You’re probably right.” He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “But I still want to ask her. I think she deserves a say in the matter.”
She didn’t doubt for a moment that Reese would agree. Still, she couldn’t fault him for wanting to ask Reese her opinion. “Do you want to talk to her tonight before we go home, or would you rather wait?”
Taylor liked to get Reese into bed by eight on school nights, not that her niece went to sleep then. Most nights, Reese stayed up for at least a half an hour reading. It was already closing in on seven thirty, so any conversation needed to take place soon.
“I’d like to do it tonight. And if she says yes, I can call Christian back in the morning. But if you want me to wait until we have more time, I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow.”
Since Taylor expected an immediate yes, Curt could get the answer he wanted, and she could still get Reese home and into bed on time. “Do it tonight. I’ll go get her.”
She found Reese curled up in her favorite oversized armchair in the living room. Reese loved it so much that Curt had purchased one, just in a different color, for Reese’s bedroom at his house. It would arrive this week along with the rest of the furniture Curt and Reese picked out—furniture Taylor had insisted Reese didn’t need. Her niece had a perfectly good bedroom set at home. Instead of buying an entire room’s worth of furniture, she suggested he let Reese pick out a few extras such as a desk or some bookcases, since her new bedroom was much larger than her current one. He’d disagreed. He’d argue
d that finding pieces to match what she already had would be difficult. Curt had also pointed out Reese would need someplace to sleep when she had overnights with her grandmother. At least on that account, she’d had a counterargument. Even if they moved Reese’s furniture over, hers would remain, and Reese could easily sleep in Taylor’s old room.
In the end, Curt took Reese shopping and, not surprisingly, let her pick out whatever she wanted. The man loved to spoil her niece.
“How’s the book?” Taylor asked, stopping alongside the chair. Reese had started the book she was reading last night. It was the third in a five-book series.
Reese didn’t even look up from the paperback. “Okay. The first one is still my favorite.”
Taylor had read none of the books, so she didn’t have an opinion. “Curt wants to talk to you before we leave. He’s waiting for you in the kitchen.”
“Can I finish this chapter first? I only have four more pages.”
“Nope, what he wants to talk to you about is important. You can finish the chapter when you go up to bed.”
With a sigh only a nine-year-old could conjure, she rolled her eyes as she stuck the bookmark between the pages and stood up. “Do you know what Curt wants?”
“Yep, and I think it’s going to make you very happy.” No way was she spoiling Curt’s surprise.
Taylor’s personal cell phone rang as they entered the kitchen, and she pulled the device from her pocket rather than retake her seat at the table. Unlike her work phone issued by the DEA, few people called her private number, so even before she looked, she expected to see the name Mom on the screen.
“Hi, Mom. Is something wrong?”
Mom was familiar with their Tuesday night routine, which meant she knew they’d be home soon. If she was calling, perhaps she’d gotten another flat tire. She’d gotten one last month, and rather than wait for the auto club to come and change it, Curt had driven over to the library and done it for her.
“I need you to come home. If Curt’s not busy, it might be good if he comes too.”
Mom’s statement sent Taylor’s memory back to the single worst moment in her life: the day Eliza, Reese’s biological mother, and Eliza’s boyfriend abducted Reese from a friend’s birthday party while Taylor was in Newport with Curt at his cousin’s wedding.
Without thinking, she placed a hand on Reese’s shoulder. “Why? What happened?”
Taylor had a handful of aunts and uncles as well as several cousins, although she was only close to a few of them. Something might have happened to one of them and Mom wanted to tell her. But if she’d received bad news regarding a family member, why did she want Curt to come over as well?
Curt and Reese looked at her, but both remained silent.