Coda Books 06 - Fear, Hope, and Bread Pudding (MM)

across from Thomas in his downtown office.
    “When do we meet her?” Cole asked.
    Thomas held up his hands, patting the air. “Slow down,” he said. “I know this has been a long time coming, but give me a minute to tell you what’s come up.”
    After waiting so long, it annoyed Cole to delay even one more second, but he took it well. He nodded stiffly and tucked his hands under his thighs as if to anchor himself to his seat.
    “The woman you’ll be meeting is named Taylor Lewis. It’s funny, really. No matter how long I work in this business, it never ceases to amaze me how things always come back to word of mouth. I believe you know a woman named Julia Dawson?”
    “Yes,” I said in surprise. “She was my neighbor.”
    Thomas nodded. “Taylor apparently works for Julia’s husband’s sister. Do you know her?”
    “No.”
    “Well, she knows about you, and she must have had good things to say, because Taylor contacted me.” He pulled a file folder toward him and opened it. “The first thing I want to tell you about Taylor is that she’s currently employed and has full benefits.”
    Cole and I looked at each other, and I could tell he was as confused as I was. “So?” I asked.
    “You may remember me telling you how your money could attract a certain type of person. The truth is, I’ve had two other women ask to meet you before now, but I didn’t call you on any of them because they both sent up red flags.”
    Cole sat quickly forward in his seat, and I reached out to put my hand on his shoulder to keep him from flying across the desk. “Are you telling me we could have had a baby by now?”
    “As I said, they both raised red flags.”
    “But you could have been wrong!”
    Thomas shook his head. “I wasn’t. Neither one of those mothers ended up releasing their child to the adoptive parent.” Cole slumped in his seat. “But,” Thomas went on, “I think Taylor’s different. She already has medical coverage, so she’s not just hoping to have her bills paid. She’s twenty-two years old. She’s young, and she’s found herself in a bad spot, but she’s not stupid. Before contacting me, she’d already talked to several adoption agencies and half a dozen potential couples and turned them all down. She’s determined to do this right.”
    “So there’s a good chance she’ll turn us down too?” Cole asked.
    Thomas tipped his head in acquiescence. “That’s a possibility, yes. But she really likes the two of you on paper. She’s excited to meet you.”
    “How far along is she?” I asked. The earlier it was in her pregnancy, the more time she had to change her mind.
    “She’s at thirty-five weeks.”
    “Almost at term already!”
    “Yes. She wasn’t sure at first if she was keeping the baby or not, but three months ago, she decided it would be in the child’s best interest to give her up.”
    “What about the father?”
    “The father is significantly older than her and is already married to a woman who wouldn’t be pleased with his indiscretion. I’m not at liberty to divulge his identity, but believe me, it wouldn’t be in his best interest to claim the baby. He wants nothing more than to pretend this entire incident never happened.”
    “But he could still contest the adoption down the road, right?”
    Thomas shook his head. “No. As per Arizona law, he was served with a notice of Taylor’s intent to relinquish the baby. He had thirty days to file a paternity action.”
    “But he didn’t?”
    “Correct.”
    “And so he can’t come back and claim the baby later?”
    “No. Under Arizona law, he has now waived any paternal rights to his daughter, which means you’re dealing solely with Taylor now.”
    Cole reached over and took my hand. His grip was unusually tight. “Daughter? The baby’s a girl?”
    Thomas smiled at him. “Yes.”
    Cole turned to look at me, and the excitement in his eyes nearly broke my heart. “We could have a daughter!”
    I put my other hand on top of his and stroked his fingers. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
    Cole ignored me and turned back to Thomas. “What happens now?”
    “We set up a time for her to meet you both and see your home.”
    “And after that?”
    Thomas smiled, the calming smile of a man used to dealing with impatient people. “One step at a time.”

    A FTER a bit of discussion and a couple of phone calls, it was decided that Thomas would bring Taylor to our house for dinner. The day we were to meet