“You don’t have to raise a bastard child, Abbilene! The part you missed was that I’m second to inherit if you choose not to adopt.” Sterling walks around to the end of the table and drops to a knee at her side.
“Marry me.” He grabs her hand and pulls it to his chest. “We can place him in a boarding school and care for him without having to put you through this kind of degradation,” Sterling demands.
Tucker holds his breath, waiting for her response.
The room falls quiet when she turns to him with fire in her eyes. “Don’t you dare call him that word, ever again!” She pushes back her chair, and Sterling rises to meet her.
“Abbilene, what do you think the community will call him? Think!” Sterling exclaims and grabs her by her upper arms.
Tucker sits back to watch with a smile. He knows Abbie and pushing her into a corner is never smart.
“They will call him mine!” She jerks away from him and shoves him back a step. “He’s a Gilbert. The last of the line! Your family! Anyone who calls him different will deal with me!” She whirls away from him and turns to her lawyer.
“Artley, did you look over the papers? Are they legitimate? Do I have a right to claim him?” She peppers him with questions.
“Absolutely, Mrs. Gilbert.” He replies with a small smile.
“Then, where do I sign?”
“Abbilene, don’t you want to think over my proposal?” Sterling asks.
“No.” She sits and takes the pen and signs her name on every spot Artley tells her too. When she raises her eyes to stare at Tucker, he is struck by the strength he sees in her.
“Sheriff, I would hope that with the information on the other Mills having accidents that this would be sufficient to clear us of any wrongdoing?”
“It is. I will present my findings to the Mayor, and hopefully it will satisfy the families,” he replies.
“Excellent. How soon will I receive the insurance money, Mr. Cochran?”
“In a matter of weeks.”
“Sterling,” Abbie turns to him and takes his hand. “I know you mean well, and I will need your help. You will oversee the review of the plans, Burton had drawn up. We are going to build a bigger, stronger, and safer Mill!”
Sterling turns and grins. “I can do that.”
“Perhaps, you could also soothe the investors.” Mr. Cochran suggests.
“Investors?” All three voices speak in unison.
“We have a lot to talk about,” Mr. Cochran says, “but first you need to claim the child and bring him here to complete the adoption.”
“Go over the details with Sterling. He was the one who managed the Mill. In fact, if he agrees, I’d like to add him as a co-owner with all the rights and responsibilities that entails.”
“Abbilene, you don’t have to do that,” Sterling says softly.
“Yes, I do.” Tears fill her eyes and she forces them back. “Even though I won’t marry you, we are family.” She reaches for his hand and grasps it tightly. “He should have done it long ago.”
“Thank you. My cousin was a fool, Abbilene. I’ll help you in every way I can,” Sterling promises and releases her hand to sit back down.
Abbie swipes a hand across her cheek and straightens up.
“I’ll start the paperwork making Sterling Co-owner,” Artley says.
The room falls quiet again as Mr. Cochran writes down the name of the orphanage along with the address. He slides it to Abbie and watches as she picks it up with trembling hands, along with the papers.
“I’ll leave soon. Thank you.”
“His name is Mason. He’s five years old,” Mr. Cochran says softly. “I don’t know anything about the Mother, perhaps the orphanage can give you more details.”
“Mason,” she whispers softly. Abbie closes her eyes as the pain and betrayal slices through her heart once more. Five! She bows her head, and prays softly, “Father guide my heart and steel my soul.”
Tucker watches her, and his heart falls. Someone should show her the love that she is showing others. He smiles with pride, and when she lifts her tear-stained face, Abbie is shocked to find him grinning at her.
“What’s so funny, Sheriff?” she huffs.
“Not a thing, Mrs. Gilbert.”
Chapter 14
Sitting in the garden, Abbilene smiles when she smells the familiar scent of her father’s pipe.
“May I join you?”
“You don’t have to ask, Dad.” She pulls the afghan tighter around her shoulders.
He sits down next to her. “Your Mama told me about Burton. I’m sorry he broke your heart.” He puts and arm around her shoulder and pulls her close. Abbie lays her head on his shoulder and sniffs. “If he were here, I’d break his nose!”
“Dad!” Abbie gasps and looks at her father in surprise. Deviltry gleams in his eyes, and she laughs out loud for the first time in weeks.
“Well, it’s true, and I don’t know what’s going on in that amazing brain of yours, but I want you to hear me when I say, none of this is your fault.”
Abbie drops her head. “Everyone says that, but I’m having a hard time believing it.”
“I can imagine so.” He pauses for a moment and then looks at his daughter. “Abbs if Burton were here, would you have forgiven him?”
“I don’t know,” she says, but her mind shouts at her, calling her a liar. “Probably. I loved him. Even though our friendship had faded these past few years.”
He sits quietly and waits for her to talk it out.
“What if I wasn’t meant to be a parent? What if I hurt him?” she asks.
“You’re already thinking like a mother, Abbilene,” her mom says from behind them. She sits next to her and takes her hand. “When his feelings and safety come
