His Unexpected Family Read Online Free PDF Page A

really coming down out there. I should have just waited in my car till it let up, but then I thought I could make it and—” she waved her hand “—it doesn’t matter.”
    Greg laughed. “Well, it’s nice to see you. Cora looks dry.”
    Emily looked down at Cora with a tender smile. “Warm and dry,” she agreed.
    “Here.” Greg helped her to peel off the black suit jacket she wore, and he took his sport coat off the hanger on the back of his door. Draping it over her shoulders, she shivered involuntarily and looked up at him gratefully. “Have a seat.”
    Emily sank into the chair across from his desk. He could see the tension in her face, along her jaw and around her eyes.
    “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
    “It’s a welcome break.” He gestured to the pile of paperwork. “So how are you?”
    “I’m fine.” She gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, then she shrugged. “I’m not fine. Today was Jessica’s funeral.”
    “That’s right. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” He avoided the funerals. It was part of his attempt to compartmentalize the suffering he had to see in this line of work.
    “No, it’s all right. Don’t worry about that.” She shook her head, dismissing it. “Steve was there.”
    “Oh, how is he?”
    “Steve is Steve.” She gave him a tight smile. “He wants me to give him custody of Cora.”
    “I see.” Greg wasn’t entirely surprised to hear this. Custody was a complicated thing at the best of times, but it got worse when the children were so tiny. Everyone wanted to raise a baby. It was the kids who were old enough to have attitude and emotional issues that got shuffled around a lot.
    “He was pretty pushy about it. Sara was... I don’t know how to describe her. She was pretty intense. I got the distinct impression that they expected me to hand Cora over, and they’d go home with her today.”
    “Did they say that?”
    “Not exactly.” Emily sighed and looked away for a moment. “I know I probably sound like a crazy person right now, but they kind of scared me.”
    “No, you don’t sound crazy.”
    “Thanks.” She gave him a grateful smile. “I just wanted to come by and pick your brain a little.”
    “My pleasure.” He leaned back in his chair, and just then, the door opened again, and Joyce came in with a couple of towels from the women’s locker room.
    “Thank you,” Emily said, taking one and shaking it out. She blotted her face and hair. Joyce slipped back out without a word.
    Emily peeked down under the blanket at the sleeping baby and then let the towel fall to her lap. She looked at Greg silently for a long moment, worry creasing her brow. He let the silence stretch, waiting for her to speak.
    “Greg, what happens in these cases?” she asked finally.
    “You’re the guardian named in the will,” he said. “That makes you her legal guardian, and Steve can’t just bully you into changing that.”
    She nodded. “Is that final?”
    “Well...” He didn’t want to scare her, but he didn’t want to lie to her, either. “Nothing is ever entirely final, I suppose. Unless you adopt her.”
    “Can Steve contest the will?” she asked.
    “In theory. Do you think he’d go that far?”
    Emily sighed. “I have no idea, but he was pretty focused on convincing me to give her up today at the funeral.”
    A finger of irritation wormed through his stomach. He didn’t like the thought of someone trying to bully her, and it made him want to throw his weight around a little. Instead of voicing his feelings, he asked, “Did he threaten you?”
    “No.” She laughed softly. “This is Steve we’re talking about. He got snide and condescending, but that was it. He’s my cousin, after all.”
    Greg made a noncommittal sound. Yes, he remembered Steve well. He’d been both snide and condescending in high school, too. He’d never been cruel on the level of Richard Pike, but he’d made a couple of junior guys pretty miserable senior year, and