Accidental Family Read Online Free PDF Page B

for a third time, gratified when he finally heard it ringing.
    A deep male voice sounded on the other end of the line. “Hello?”
    “I found Rowena Dahl,” Alan said without preamble. “She is pregnant.”
    Brad breathed a long sigh over the line. “So what is she like?”
    A hellcat who could rip out a man’s heart with one glance. “Let’s just say she’s not at all what I expected.”
    “Is that good or bad?”
    Good question. “I’m not sure.”
    “Do you still want to pursue your rights as the father of this baby?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “It won’t be easy,” Brad informed him. “Especially with you a Canadian citizen and Rowena living in the United States. I’m not even sure which country would have jurisdiction over the case.”
    “I don’t care how difficult it is or how expensive,” Alan said firmly. “I have to do this, Brad. I intend to be part of my baby’s life.”
    Brad didn’t need to ask him why. As a child, Alan had once overheard the Haleys refer to George Rand as the invisible man. Maybe that’s why they’d gone out of their way to make Alan feel like a part of their family. Inviting him to spend a week with them at Lake Temagami and trying to help him overcome his fear of water. His father might not care about him, but Bradford Haley, Sr., had shown him the way a good father should act. The way Alan intended to care for his child.
    “Okay,” Brad said, resignation in his voice. “How do you want to handle this?”
    “I want to be the one to make the first move,” Alan replied. “Catch her off guard.”
    “I can do that, but these kind of fertility cases are new and messy. It could literally take years, Alan. Are you sure this can’t be settled amicably between you?”
    His mind flashed to her slamming the door in his face. “Positive. I didn’t handle it well.”
    “Do you want liberal visitation with the baby?”
    “Yes. Full summers and at least every other weekend.” He hesitated. “Any chance I could share joint custody?”
    Brad whistled low. “That might be a tough one. I won’t sugarcoat it, Alan. A mother’s rights have traditionally trumped a father’s in past court cases. Unless you have something we can use that would make joint custody appear to be in the best interests of the child.”
    “Like what?”
    “Anything that casts a questionable light on her character. That means we’d have to start digging into her past. Like I said before—it could get messy.”
    Alan rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. It was already messy. His confrontation with Rowena tonight had left him unsettled and strangely restless. “I don’t want to do that. But what choice do I have? She wants me to just walk away.”
    “You still might want to consider it, Alan. I understand how you feel, but as your lawyer I have to tell you that this isn’t going to be an easy fight. It will cost money. Time. Custody battles are never fun.”
    “I’m not looking for fun,” he retorted. “I’m fighting for my child. And I don’t care how much time or money it takes. I won’t stop until I win.”
    * * *
    E ARLY THE NEXT morning, Rowena sat in her lawyer’s office in New Ashford, her fingers twisting together in her lap. She hadn’t slept at all last night, her imagination too busy concocting the many ways that Alan Rand could screw up her baby’s life.
    Now she prattled off those fears to Bobby Claymore, an older man with silver hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. Originally from Montana, he wore a black string tie, a crisp white shirt and a pair of snakeskin cowboy boots. But his gentle cowboy persona had led more than one courtroom opponent to underestimate him.
    At last Bobby held up both hands to stop her in midsentence. “Whoa, there. I know you’re upset, Rowena, but take a deep breath. That’s right. Now slow down and let’s start over from the beginning.”
    Rowena gave him a shaky nod, furious with Alan Rand for causing this turmoil in her life.