His Unexpected Family. Patricia Johns

the couch. “I’m going to be the size of a house!”

      “But a cute house.” Nina shot Beth a teasing look. “Oh, stop worrying. You’ll be fine. You’re blissfully married to Howard. He’ll love you, anyway.”

      Emily looked over at her two best friends. They’d been there for each other since their idealistic days when Beth was a feminist with a loudspeaker, and Nina was plotting her financial empire. Emily had been the boring one—taking early childhood education and going to bed at sensible hours. In the meantime, life had unfurled in that way it always seemed to, in the very last way any of them expected.

      Nina looked up with a glint in her eye. “What about this Chief Taylor, Em?”

      “What about him?” Emily pasted on her most innocent look.

      “Well, you’ve dropped his name often enough,” Beth pointed out.

      “There’s nothing to tell.” Emily shrugged. “He was the one who dropped Cora off, so it stands to reason that we’d talk from time to time.”

      Nina and Beth exchanged a look.

      “Actually, it doesn’t stand to reason at all,” Nina quipped with a grin.

      “He knew my cousin, so we’re acquainted with some of the same people.” There was no use trying to explain this to Nina and Beth when they had that look on their faces. She laughed and shook her head.

      “So what’s he like?” Beth asked.

      “Nice,” Emily said.

      “Cute?” Nina prodded.

      “Yeah, he’s a good-looking guy.” Emily tried to keep her tone neutral.

      “Huh.” Beth nodded. “And you manage to keep conversation going between the two of you.”

      “Oh, stop it.” Emily laughed. “He’s the chief of police and nothing more. In fact, if anything, he seems really uncomfortable and serious around me. So don’t be getting your hopes up.”

      “You sure?” Nina pressed. “We’re a little worried about how long you’ve stayed single.”

      “Look who’s talking!” Emily laughed.

      “This baby needs a change.” Nina lifted Cora out of her lap and deposited her with Emily. Just then, the phone rang.

      “Would you mind getting that?” Emily asked.

      Beth leaned over to grab the handset and picked it up.

      “Hello?”

      Cora kicked her legs happily as Emily set to work on the diaper.

      “Just a minute.” Beth pushed herself out of her seat and brought the phone to Emily.

      “A lawyer?” she whispered, passing the handset over.

      Emily felt her heart speed up as she took the phone from her friend’s hand. Beth took over with Cora as Emily answered the phone.

      “This is Emily Shaw.”

      “Hello, Miss Shaw, this is Paul Hanson.”

      “Mr. Hanson. How are you?” It was her lawyer who had been dealing with the paperwork for her guardianship.

      “I’m sorry to call so late, but I thought you’d want to know.”

      “What’s going on?” Emily’s voice sounded breathless in her own ears.

      “Someone is contesting your guardianship.” His voice was quiet and professional. “A Mr. Steven Shaw.”

      “My cousin...”

      “He’s filed the paperwork.”

      “What does this mean?”

      “That’s up to you, really,” he replied. “Do you want to fight this?”

      Emily looked over at her friends, sadness welling up inside of her. “I’d better give you a call back,” she said, trying to control the tremor in her voice. “Thanks for letting me know.”

      “Absolutely. Call me tomorrow morning, if you can, so I know how you want to proceed.”

      “Thank you.”

      As she hung up the phone, Beth and Nina looked at her mutely, their eyes betraying their apprehension.

      “Well...” Emily said, the tears welling up in her eyes. “Steve is contesting my right to raise Cora.”

      “Oh, Em,” Beth breathed.

      Oh, God, is this it? Is this my brush with motherhood?

      “What will you do?” Nina asked.

      Beth just stood there, a hand protectively over her belly and tears misting her eyes. “Let’s pray.”

      They didn’t pray together often. It wasn’t their style; but tonight it felt right. Standing there with her two best friends, the three women bowed their heads.

      * * *

      Nate’s Steak was a local joint that had been thriving for the past thirty-five years. Nate retired and left the place to his son, Mike, who didn’t change a thing. The wings came in three flavors: hot, really hot and honey garlic, and the steaks were grilled to perfection. There was a reason why the officers at Haggerston made this their favorite meet-up place.

      The sun was setting over the town when Greg parked in front of Nate’s Steak and stepped out into the warm evening air. The smell of grilling meat met the sweet scent of hydrangeas that hung in baskets along the downtown streets. Greg looked around the parking lot and spotted three cruisers and a few pickup trucks he recognized from some nearby ranches. He’d be in good company tonight.

      As Greg stepped inside, he was met with the hum of voices, the clink of knives and forks against dishes and the general hubbub from the kitchen. Scanning the few tables, he nodded to the people he knew, then headed toward the back of the restaurant where the other officers were.

      “Hi, Chief,” Benny called, and the others looked up in welcome.

      “Hi.” Greg pulled up a chair. “What’s good tonight?”

      “Does it matter?” Nancy asked with a laugh. She was a muscular officer with a steady gaze and a gorgeous smile. Her hair was pulled back in a low-maintenance ponytail, but she was out of uniform, sporting jeans and a T-shirt from Graceland.

      “You want the regular, Chief?” Mike called from the counter. Greg gave a thumbs-up and Mike disappeared into the kitchen. He ordered the same thing every time he came by: hot wings and an herbal tea.

      “Couldn’t get enough of us, Nancy?” Greg joked.

      “Just can’t stay away.” Her tone was dry. “Actually, this beat grocery shopping.”

      “And reruns on TV,” Benny added. Nancy gave a shrug of agreement. A jukebox started playing a honky-tonk tune, and Benny tapped the table in time to the music.

      “How about you, Chief?” Nancy asked. “Long day?”

      Greg nodded, then frowned. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about that 11-80 the other day—the one with the baby.”

      “How’s Sweet pea doing?” Benny asked with a grin. They’d nicknamed her Sweet pea that night when Greg brought her back to the station, and Benny had settled in with a bottle of formula and held her for a solid hour.

      “She’s doing great.” Greg could feel the smile coming to his face. “She is very well cared for.”

      Emily Shaw had been on his mind more often than he cared to admit, but his concern for the case was more than the beautiful kindergarten teacher with her quick smile.

      “So what’s not sitting right with you, Chief?” Nancy leaned forward.

      “What