Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
C hance met with the architect he had hired, along with Buck Overton, seeking his new ranch manager’s input on the house being built. They agreed upon the final plans, and Chance told Buck that he would now hire a construction manager and crew to complete the house.
“I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity, Chance,” Buck told him. “Having a house come with the new position is more than I would have expected.”
“I’d originally wanted to give you the cabin Zeke and Maria are living in, but with them having Matteo and Luna, I knew they would need separate living quarters from the bunkhouse. I’m glad we’ve got things settled now and can break ground on this place for you.”
He walked the two men to the front door, shaking hands with them both, and then he returned to his office. He had been working for an hour when Maria tapped at the door, an anxious look on her face.
Rising, Chance went to the door. “Would you like to clean in here?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Mr. Chance, you have someone here to see you. They came just as I was leaving.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn’t give me her name. She only said you’d want to see her. I told her she could wait in the living room.”
Annoyed, he said, “I’ll handle it, Maria. Thank you.”
She smiled uneasily. “There’s a chicken casserole in the fridge. For you and Miss Summer. I left the instructions on heating it on the counter.”
“I appreciate that. I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”
He went to the living room, a little used room, watching Maria head out the front door.
It puzzled him that she’d first mentioned they , but then Maria had only mentioned a she .
Chance hoped this wouldn’t take long. He had a list as long as his arm of things he wanted to get done this afternoon before Summer arrived for dinner.
As he entered, Chance saw a tall, thin woman with her back to him staring out the window. Something about her seemed familiar. Then she turned, and he recognized her.
What in the hell was Astrid Powell doing in Texas?
“Hello, Chance. It’s been a while.”
It certainly had been. He’d met Astrid through one of his co-workers in Seattle.
Chance had taken Astrid to dinner one night, then a night later, they had attended a party together, where he’d gotten rip-roaring drunk.
They had taken a rideshare back to her place afterward, and he had spent the night.
The next morning, Astrid had told him that she didn’t care to see him again.
He’d left and hadn’t given her a thought since then, especially because he’d left Seattle a few weeks later, returning to Hawthorne.
“Three years,” he replied. “I have to wonder why you’re in Texas, at my ranch.”
“I won’t mince words, Chance. We have some business to attend to.”
Astrid took a seat on the sofa and looked expectantly at him. Reluctantly, he sat, wondering why she would have come all this way.
“I know we saw each other a couple of times. I can’t imagine what kind of business we’d have, though.”
“It’s about your daughter.”
Chance shot to his feet. “What the hell? Is this some kind of shakedown?”
“Sit,” she commanded, steel in her eyes.
Once more, he took a seat, wary now.
“You do remember that we had sex, don’t you?” Astrid asked crisply.
“I do. You told me you were on the pill.”
“I was.” She hesitated. “But I wasn’t always good about taking them every day.”
He cursed under his breath. “And you think this …. girl … is mine ?”
“I know she is. I didn’t have sex with anyone after I broke up with Rufus. Other than you, that is.”
Vaguely, he recalled her mentioning that she had been dating Rufus Wheeler, a wealthy investment adviser he was acquainted with.
“Rufus and I had been seeing one another, and then he got the opportunity to open a new office in London. I had no interest in living abroad. I’d already done that.
My parents divorced when I was young, and I was shuffled back and forth between them for over ten years.
Mummy married a man who had homes in England and Switzerland.
Daddy never liked staying in one place for long, and every time I went to live with him for a few months, we were in a different country. Brazil. France. Japan.”
Astrid stood and began pacing. “When I was fourteen, I was fed up with it. With them. Neither of them really wanted me, and I rarely saw them when I did live with them. I finally convinced them that I wanted to live with my maternal grandmother in Seattle. I think they were both relieved to wash their hands of me. So, I came home to the States and swore I’d never go abroad again unless it was for a short vacation. ”
She returned to her purse, which sat on a table, and reached inside, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.
“Not in here,” Chance warned, still off-balance after her pronouncement about him fathering a daughter.
“Suit yourself,” she said, cramming the pack back into her purse.
“Get to the point, Astrid.”
She returned to her seat. “I still loved Rufus when I slept with you. And then I found out I was pregnant. You had left Seattle by then. I asked around and heard you’d come back to Texas to help run your family’s ranch.
I thought there was a slim chance the baby might be Rufus’ child, so I went ahead and gave birth to her. ”
Astrid laughed bitterly. “She came out looking exactly like you. Thick head of dark hair. Those gray eyes.”
His gut clenched. It became hard to breathe.
“I had a lock of hair that Rufus had let me cut. Had the kid tested, just to be certain. She wasn’t his,” Astrid said flatly.
Then she looked into his eyes. “I’ve tried, Chance.
I really have. But just like my parents before me, I don’t want her.
I don’t want kids, period. I have no patience with her.
I know she senses how I feel about her.”
Astrid began fidgeting. “I’ve been in touch with Rufus ever since he left. Casually, at first, then things really ramped up a few months ago. He told me it was a mistake, letting me go. He’s done in London and will be put in charge of his firm’s New York office next month. I plan to join him there.
“Without Daisy.”
Daisy …
“That’s why I’ve come to see you,” she said, her tone now all business.
“I hired a lawyer, who advised me to establish residency in Texas since the father lived here, and it would make this whole process easier. I’ve filed an affidavit to voluntarily relinquish my parental rights.
Foolishly, I named you on the birth certificate, so I have to notify you regarding my actions.
You can sign away your rights, too. Right now, Chance.
My Texas attorney is sitting in the car out front, and he has all the paperwork.
You can complete it, and Givens will file it today. ”
He thought her heartless, cruel, and immensely selfish.
“I’m not signing a damn thing, Astrid. I can’t believe you are.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “I can’t make it any clearer to you, Chance.
I had a child I never wanted. I haven’t bonded with her.
I hate spending time with her. I don’t like her—and I will never love her.
She deserves to go to someone who will. Don’t be selfish.
Just sign. That way, she can be adopted. ”
“No,” he said firmly. “I want to see her.”
Astrid sniffed. “Robert thought you might say that. Daisy is in the car with him. I’ll get them.”
She left the parlor and went outside. Chance moved to the window and saw her go to the car and open the door. She said something, and after a moment, he saw her unbuckling a child and lifting her from a car seat, setting her on the ground.
His daughter.
Astrid’s attorney also got out of the car, but Chance only had eyes for the little girl. She looked small and lost and as lonely as anyone he’d ever seen.
She was also a dead ringer for Kelby at that age.
“Come on,” he heard Astrid call as she turned her back and walked up to the porch.
Even though he didn’t have kids, Chance knew you didn’t treat a toddler like this. Quickly, he rushed out and knelt before the girl.
“Hi, Daisy. Do you want to come inside?”
She studied him with large, gray eyes, reminiscent of his own. Then she nodded.
“Okay. Take my hand. I’ll help you up the porch steps.”
She did so, trust in her eyes, and Chance knew he would never let this little girl be taken from him.
They entered the house, and he sat in a wing chair in the parlor, leaving Astrid and her attorney the sofa. Daisy looked at him solemnly, and he lifted her, placing her in his lap.
“I’m Robert Givens, Mr. Blackstone, representing Miss Powell’s interests.”
“Who’s representing Daisy’s?” he asked.
The attorney looked startled and didn’t bother to answer his question.
“Ms. Powell has filed for an Original Petition to Terminate the Parent-Child Relationship, as well as paying the filing fee. In Texas, it is not enough for her to sign this affidavit, which voluntarily relinquishes her parental rights. The court determines what is in the child’s best interests, and the judge must sign a court order to end Ms. Powell’s rights forever.
I gather Ms. Powell asked you to sign away your rights, as well.
Since we’re sitting here, I suppose that you are considering taking the child. ”
“The child has a name. Daisy,” he said firmly. “And yes, I will not terminate my rights. I will be exercising them and will take custody of my daughter.”
Chance glanced down, wondering if Daisy understood anything about what was going on.
“I advise you to seek counsel then,” Givens said. “Someone who is experienced in family law.”
“I can have my attorney here in fifteen minutes.”
Without waiting for the lawyer’s response, Chance called Sawyer.
“It’s an emergency. Can you come to the ranch right now?”
“Sure, Chance. Has something happened to one of your ranch hands?”
“No. The mother of the child I never knew I had just showed up out of the blue,” he said, glaring at Astrid. “She wants to terminate her parental rights. I want to take custody of Daisy immediately.”
“I see,” Sawyer said evenly. “On my way.”
While they were waiting, he asked, “Does Daisy have any allergies?”
“No,” Astrid said. “Why?”
“Because we’re going to go and have ourselves a snack,” he replied. Looking to his daughter, Chance asked, “Would you like some milk and peanut butter crackers?”
The little girl’s eyes lit up, and she nodded.
“Good. Let’s go find some.”
In the kitchen, he got out the milk. Since he didn’t have a sippy cup, he only poured half a cup of milk into a plastic cup, placing Daisy on the counter next to him as he smoothed peanut butter on a couple of crackers.
As she ate, he dialed Maria’s number, and she answered on the first ring.
“Maria, I need some quick help. Can you come back to the big house? I have a little girl named Daisy who needs to be watched while I do some business.”
“Yes, Mr. Chance. I’m coming now.”
Maria beat Sawyer there. Chance asked that she keep the girl occupied, and the housekeeper opened the canvas bag she carried.
“When you said a little girl, I brought a few things with me.”
She handed Daisy a doll, and the girl hugged it to her tightly. Maria smiled, patting Daisy’s head, and told Chance, “I also brought some crayons and paper. Some Play-Doh.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Maria.”
She smiled encouragingly at him. “We’ll be fine, Mr. Chance. You go do your business.”
He headed back to the parlor but was interrupted by the doorbell. After admitting Sawyer, he briefly told him everything he’d learned from Astrid and Givens.
“You really want to assume custody, Chance? It’s a big responsibility, taking on a child. And you need to think about Summer, too.”
He kicked himself mentally. He hadn’t given Summer a thought because he was so angry at Astrid and ready to do whatever it took to get Daisy away from her.
What if Summer didn’t want to raise a child he’d had with another woman?
Chance decided he would have to address that later. The most important thing was Daisy and her well-being.
“Go in there and do whatever it takes to make certain that Astrid Powell will never have a thing to do with my daughter ever again.”
Sawyer nodded. “I understand. Let me speak with this Givens and find out if they already have a court date. If not, I’ll press for one as soon as possible.” He hesitated. “Are you ready to take on your daughter right now? This very moment? Because I think that’s what it’ll come down to.”
“I’m ready,” Chance said. “Go kick some ass, Sawyer.”