“But what did you think would happen?”
She tried to pull away, but I tugged her even closer, afraid that the moment she moved out of my grasp that I would never be able to touch her again. My chest ached in a way I’d never felt before. I’d never fought for something I wanted before. If it didn’t come easily, I gave up. I thought it was noble, giving up my dreams to take care of my mother and sister. I thought it was the right thing to do, so I didn’t fight it. But this? I felt something slipping between my fingers and I desperately wanted to hold on to it.
I pressed my forehead against hers, my lips brushing hers.
“You have to understand. I never knew about JT. And when I found out, I wanted to rush in here and take him back. But I waited—“
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to hurt him.”
She laughed. It wasn’t the kind of laugh that made my heart sing when I heard it. It was dark, filled with so many emotions that I couldn’t even begin to sort them all out. Tears began to stream down her face. She pushed at my chest, tried to pull away but I only tightened my grip on her wrists.
“Let me go!”
“Please, Penny,” I said, my own voice so raw that I hardly recognized it. “There’s got to be a way—“
“You started this fight.” Her voice was suddenly filled with steel. Determination. “And I will finish it. JT’s adoption is legal. I don’t know what happened between you and the mother all those years ago, but you aren’t taking him from me.”
“We can find a way—“
She shook her head. “You will stay away from him. Do you understand me?”
“He’s my son.”
She jerked her arms, managed to break free of my hold.
“Get out!” she cried, tears still streaming down her face. “Get out of my house!”
“Penelope, we need to talk about this.”
“Get out!”
She was nearly hysterical then. I could see it in her face, hear it in her voice. And then JT stepped into the room, his gaze jumping from his sister to me.
“What’s going on?”
The panic that burst across Penelope’s face was a warning. I held up my hand, a useless gesture meant to keep her calm.
“I’m leaving.”
I glanced at JT, wanting to explain everything to him before Penelope could. But I knew she wouldn’t have any of it. So I just nodded to him, silently praying he wouldn’t hate me forever when she told him. Then I walked out of the house, slamming the door behind me.
How the hell did this get so out of control so quickly?
Chapter 9
Penelope
“What’s going on?”
I brushed past JT and gathered the papers on the counter, afraid he might see his name in them and want to know what was going on. I had to get a lawyer. I had to get someone to stop this, to make this craziness go away.
Harrison was his father.
I just couldn’t wrap my mind around that. This teacher who marched into our lives and threatened to report me to child protective services. Some of it was beginning to make sense despite everything. And I didn’t want it to make sense. I didn’t want to see any of this from his point of view.
We had sex. He kissed me and made me feel…and all this time he had this secret.
“Penny?”
I turned and focused on JT. Only when his eyes narrowed did I realize that I was still crying. I reached up and rubbed my cheeks, got rid of the evidence.
“Everything’s fine,” I said. “You should go get ready for school.”
“Why was Mr. James here?”
I shook my head. “We just…” What was I supposed to say to that? “We were just talking.”
“About me?”
“It’s not important, JT. Go get ready for school.”
“Penny—“
“Go, JT.”
He stared at me a moment longer, but he didn’t push it. He turned and walked off and the relief that settled on my shoulders was almost enough to knock me off my feet.
How was I going to explain this one to him?
*****
“What does this mean?”
Jack Sullivan, my parents’ lawyer, studied the papers I’d been served that morning. He wouldn’t look up and that made little fingers of fear dance up and down my spine. His face reminded me of those bitter few months after their deaths when I learned just how much financial disaster they’d left behind for me to deal with.
“Jack…”
“It’s not good, Penny.” His dark eyes were filled with compassion as he finally looked up. “They’re claiming that the adoption was never legal because he never gave his consent to it.”
“But I distinctly remember my parents talking about it. They had paperwork that showed both parents gave up custody. That was important to them.”
“Yes, well, this document claims that his father’s signature was forged by his father – JT’s grandfather. And—if they can prove that is true—that makes the adoption invalid.”
“So he can just come in and take my brother away from me?”