Free Tracie Peterson by The Long-Awaited Child Page B

name and telephone number of a prospect in Seattle. The next two messages were both Kim and each one sounded more frantic than the other. The final message truly worried Tess.
    “Tess, it’s Kim. I need you to call me as soon as possible. It’s really urgent—something’s happened. Oh, Tess, please call me.”
    Tess immediately picked up the phone and punched in Kim’s number. The telephone rang and rang, but no one answered. The machine never even picked up, and Tess could only figure that maybe it was overloaded with messages or had broken down. She replaced the receiver with a frown. Something was obviously wrong with Kim and she hated that she hadn’t been there for her friend.
    Just then Tess heard the front door being opened. “Brad? Is that you?”
    “Yeah, it’s me.”
    He sounds tired , Tess thought. She walked into the foyer and helped him take off his suit coat. “I just got in myself.”
    He pulled her close and kissed her briefly. “I missed you,” he said softly against her ear.
    “I missed you, too.” She lingered a moment at his side, catching the faint scent of his cologne. When Brad didn’t try to kiss her again, however, Tess pulled away and saw the unmistakable look of worry. “What is it? You look upset. Has something happened?”
    “I’m afraid so,” Brad replied.
    “Is it Justin and something about the adoption?” Tess asked fearfully. She held her breath and waited for his response.
    “No.” He reached out to take hold of her arm. “Why don’t you come sit down with me.”
    “Brad, you’re scaring me. What’s this all about?”
    He led her to the living room and motioned her to the couch. “Please sit down and I’ll explain.”
    Tess shook her head and lowered herself hesitantly to the edge of the sofa. “So what’s going on? You look as if you’ve lost your last friend. Oh, Brad, it isn’t your dad, is it?”
    “While you were gone, something happened. I didn’t call because I just found out this morning. I figured you’d be on your way home and fretting all the way, and it just seemed more responsible to wait until you got back.”
    “What!” Tess nearly yelled in her irritation. “Don’t keep going on and on.”
    “It’s Kim and Travis.”
    Tess felt her stomach tighten. “I had three messages from Kim on my answering machine. She sounded horribly upset.”
    “She is.”
    “Is it Laney?” Tess questioned. Please, God, don’t let anything be wrong with the baby , she prayed.
    “Yes. It’s Laney.” Brad bit his lower lip and appeared to struggle for the right words. “The birth mother has changed her mind.”
    “What?” Tess had envisioned the baby sick or even dead, but never had this thought come to her mind.
    “The birth mother has decided to take Laney back. You know there’s always a length of time given the birth parents to change their minds. Well, apparently the mother acted upon that choice. She claims to have been forced into the adoption, and apparently the legal system is on her side.”
    “No,” Tess said, shaking her head. “Laney is Kim’s daughter.”
    “I know, sweetheart,” Brad began. He took the seat next to her and reached out to take hold of her hand. “But the birth mother has rights, too. She and the birth father plan to marry and they want their child to be returned to their family.”
    “So just like that,” Tess said, snapping her fingers for effect, “Kim and Travis have to give Laney up? They’ve bonded with this child for almost two months and now she’s going to be ripped away from them?”
    “She’s already been taken. The social worker came today.”
    “No!” Tess said, jerking away from Brad. “This can’t be right!”
    “I wish I could say it wasn’t, but I’ve talked to Justin. He says it’s all perfectly legal. He says Florida adoption laws are chock-full of loopholes and problems. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to spoil our plans to adopt.”
    Then a thought of