Chapter Four
Addie tried to focus just on taking care of the babies and not on the phone conversation that Judson had relayed to her a half hour earlier. But it was impossible for her to shove aside such important details.
Neither the Renegade Canyon PD nor the county sheriff’s office had found Yvette’s body. Or Yvette herself, if she was indeed alive. But they had found lots of blood at the woman’s house. And since they had also found Yvette’s daughter there as well, they were bringing her in for questioning.
Had Jennifer murdered her mother when she’d discovered that she’d abducted Lily and Rose?
If so, then where was the body? Hopefully Jennifer would confess to that during interrogation, because as long as there was no concrete proof that Yvette was dead, the twins were still at risk.
Yvette could return to the Horseshoe Ranch and try to take them again.
Of course, Addie wouldn’t let that happen now that she was aware of the possible risk. Neither would Judson. He had stayed with her throughout this horrific ordeal, and he showed no signs of leaving.
Addie was beyond thankful for that. She wanted all the protection she could get for the babies.
But as usual, whenever she was around Judson, part of her brain always shifted to the attraction between them.
It was always there, a not-so-gentle tug in her body that just wouldn’t go away.
Well, not until her brain shifted to something else.
To their pasts.
Specifically, to conversations they’d had as teenagers.
They’d made a pact of sorts that they wouldn’t have families of their own because of the brutality of their own nightmarish childhoods. Instead, they had agreed to focus on helping other troubled families and kids. It was the reason she became a foster parent and Judson had become a cop.
Addie didn’t think either of them was anywhere near ready to ditch that pact and risk the fallout from those memories. Because, simply put, it was still too hard to deal with their pasts and keep up with the good things they hoped to accomplish in their lives.
The sound of footsteps yanked her out of her thoughts.
Footsteps that she recognized before Judson even appeared in the doorway of her bedroom.
Only fifteen minutes earlier, they’d moved the bassinets and some of the babies’ things in here.
With the CSIs still in the house, the cops coming and going, and the stream of phone calls and texts, Addie had wanted a quieter space for the twins.
At six weeks old, Lily and Rose had endured enough upheavals and disruptions to last them a lifetime, and she wanted to eliminate more if possible.
Judson looked at the baby she was holding, then at the other infant, Lily, who was already asleep in the bassinet.
Rose was asleep as well, and since both girls had already been fed and changed, they might nap for another hour or two.
But Addie had wanted to hold the baby for a while longer.
Correction: She needed to. And she would need to do the same with Lily after her next feeding.
For now, though, Addie could tell that Judson had something to tell her, so she eased Rose into her bassinet. She picked up the baby monitor even though she wasn’t planning on going far. Better safe than sorry was her new motto. And she stepped into the hall with Judson.
“Did they find Yvette?” Addie whispered immediately.
He was equally quick in giving a response. Judson shook his head. “But there are still two teams out searching the area, and a sample of the blood has been taken to the lab. Both Yvette’s and Trevor’s DNA samples are on file, because they have criminal records.”
“Trevor,” she repeated on a heavy sigh.
Addie certainly hadn’t forgotten about Yvette’s husband, but she hadn’t considered that the blood might be his.
It could be, though, since after all, it was his house.
The man wasn’t responding to any attempts to contact him, so he was essentially missing.
But did that mean Yvette or Jennifer had killed him?
That was possible, but Addie was hoping the blood belonged to the woman who was the threat to the babies—Yvette.
“Has Jennifer made it to the police station yet, and has she said anything?” Addie asked.
Another shake of his head. “Eden texted that Jennifer seems to be in shock and just keeps muttering her mom’s name. So Jennifer will need to be examined by a doctor before she can be questioned. They’re at the hospital.”
Addie groaned. She knew that couldn’t be helped, that the cops had to follow the letter of the law on this, but an exam could delay Jennifer’s interview. That meant a delay in getting the answers they needed.
Lily stirred a little, causing both of them to hurry back into the room. But the baby didn’t wake. After squirming around, she smiled and then settled.
“They’re both beautiful babies,” Judson muttered, “but they’re even more beautiful when they smile.”
Addie didn’t tell him that it was probably a reaction to gas. Or that’s what some experts thought, anyway. But she chose to believe it was the real deal and that it meant Lily was happy and content being home.
“Home,” she heard herself whisper.
She hadn’t intended to say that aloud, but it was a word she’d been giving a lot of thought to since the twins had arrived. So, Addie went with the rest of what had been on her mind before Yvette had come into the picture.
“I want to adopt them,” she admitted.
Judson tore his gaze from the baby and looked at her.
She saw the surprise in his eyes, which was the exact reaction she’d expected.
She had worked at the Horseshoe Ranch for nearly a decade, and before that, Addie had been a social worker assisting couples who fostered.
Not once during all those years had she considered adopting a baby.
Since she’d already given this plenty of thought, Addie figured that her quickly approaching thirty-fifth birthday was playing into her decision.
She wasn’t past the point of having her own biological children, but she also didn’t want to wait much longer.
But the biggest player in the decision was Mellie’s murder.
Life had suddenly felt way too short for Addie not to latch on to what she wanted.
“Uh, can you adopt them?” Judson asked.
“Legally, yes. No next of kin has stepped up to claim them, so eventually they’d be put up for adoption.”
Of course, there would be plenty of people—couples—who would want them. And there might be a mark against her since the babies had been kidnapped while under her care. Addie prayed that wasn’t the case, but she had to accept that it could play out that way.
“I’m not saying I want to adopt them because of nearly losing them,” Addie went on. “I’d been giving it some thought since Lily and Rose were placed here.” She paused. “You’re thinking about that pact we made about never having our own families.”
Judson shifted toward her, studying her, and made a sound of agreement. “I was also thinking you’d be a great mother.”
That warmed her from head to toe. She hadn’t realized how important it was for her to hear that from Judson. But it was.
“And that pact was made when we were hardly more than kids,” Judson tacked on to that.
True, but it had made sense at the time. They had needed to focus on healing. On helping others. They still needed to do both of those things, but Addie felt she could do that while also being a mother to Lily and Rose.
“If you do adopt them, what will happen to the Horseshoe Ranch?” he added a moment later as he gently brushed his fingers over Lily’s blond baby curls.
“I’ll keep it going.” That would mean hiring some extra help, but Addie was okay with that. “Mellie left me the ranch in her will, so legally it’s mine, and this place is her legacy.”
But there was one other important factor. The Horseshoe Ranch was her home, and it wouldn’t feel like a real home without children around.
Addie’s phone buzzed, and she stepped away from the bassinet and into the hall again.
As she expected, Judson went with her, and both of them frowned when they saw Unknown Caller on her screen.
Normally, calls like that were spam, but it occurred to her that this could be someone connected to the investigation.
She answered it, putting it on speaker, but she didn’t even say any kind of greeting. She just waited to see what the caller would say.
“Addie?” the woman asked.
Even though it’d been a very long time since she had heard that voice, Addie instantly recognized it, and her heartbeat and her breathing thundered into overdrive. Because the voice belonged to the woman who’d kidnapped her and murdered her mother.
Rowena.
Oh, the memories came. Of course, they did. Impossible not to think of, or in this case hear, Rowena and not recall the horrible things she’d done. Some Addie had only read about. Others she had experienced firsthand.
Both before and after the abduction.
For a woman who had seemingly wanted a child badly enough to kill, Rowena hadn’t known how to deal with motherhood. There had been lots of screaming at Addie. Cursing her. Belittling her.
And even more.
In those final months, Rowena had ended up pulling Addie from school and keeping her in a locked room.
That had been the woman’s downfall, because the school and neighbors had spoken up about not having seen Addie, and that in turn had launched an investigation, which, in turn, uncovered Rowena’s crimes.
“How did you get my number?” Addie snapped.
Even though she felt plenty unnerved, she flat-out refused to let that show in her voice. Thankfully, she had enough anger as well, and she did let that come through.
Rowena sighed. “A friend got it for me.”
“A friend,” Addie repeated, and it came out in a snarl. “You mean someone you met in prison.”