and he acted as if this was just another meeting for him to attend. As if he had no interest at all in the outcome.
But then he shouldn’t have any interest in her and Maggie’s life. He shouldn’t even be here.
The pain of her nails biting into her hands had her uncurling her fingers. So far she had managed to rein in her temper. Now, running her hands through her hair, she pushed it back from her face and wished she had left it up in the clip. She could feel the heat of anger in her face and she knew the sight of her reddened face and scattered hair couldn’t be a pretty picture.
She would have to get herself under control before she reached panic mode. That was not something she wanted either of these two people in the room to see. Taking a deep, steady breath, she willed her body to relax. Turning back toward the social worker, she pleaded her case once more.
“What about when she was just born and she was going through withdrawal? Was there anybody from this so-called family interested in Maggie then?” Lana said, glad that she no longer heard a tremor in her voice.
“I’m sorry,” Trent said. “I wasn’t aware of the child until a couple of weeks ago. If I had known I would have seen to it that my brother was here when she was born.”
“And where is this brother of yours, huh? Why is it that you’re here without him?” Lana asked. “If he’s Maggie’s father why isn’t he here?”
Lana watched the man she had earlier thought of as cold turn glacial.
“My brother passed away three weeks ago.”
The shock of the statement stunned her into silence. The man who was supposed to be Maggie’s biological father was dead? She stared at the man sitting across from her, who had shown no emotion while discussing his brother’s death. He was just full of bombshells, wasn’t he?
“So why are you here? Why are you so interested in Maggie’s life when apparently your brother had no interest at all?” Lana asked.
Turning toward the social worker, she noticed that the older woman had shown no reaction to this new information. Realizing that Ms. Nelson must already know about the death of the supposed biological father, she felt the relief of earlier fade.
“There is no way you can expect me to give Maggie up to a man who isn’t even her father. It’s one thing to consider the father’s rights, but this man is a stranger to Maggie. You have to see that Maggie is better off in a home where she feels safe and loved. That’s why Chloe didn’t take her. Why she left her with me. She wanted to make sure Maggie would always be in a stable home. She didn’t want to ever have to worry that her baby was not being properly taken care of,” she said as tears spilled from her eyes.
No way. No way would she let them take Maggie.
“We’re not making any changes as far as Maggie is concerned until we investigate the situation, Lana,” the social worker said as she took Lana’s hand and squeezed. “The first thing we’ll do is have a DNA test done on both Maggie and Mr. Montgomery.”
“I’ll give you the information you need to contact me,” Trent volunteered.
“Thank you,” the social worker responded. “And your lawyer has given us the information you have in relation to your brother’s alleged paternity.”
“And, having given you that information, I would like you to consider allowing me some visitation with the child,” Trent said.
“‘The child’ has a name. It’s Maggie. And why should I let you anywhere near her?” Lana asked.
“It’s your decision at this time, Lana, but we do have good reason to think that Mr. Montgomery’s brother was Maggie’s father,” said Ms. Nelson. “And if the DNA tests come back to show Mr. Montgomery as being her uncle, he will be able to ask for visitation while the court decides on custody.”
Lana looked at the man across from her. Cool blue eyes watched her from beneath thick dark lashes. She’d seen that calculating look before, only then it had been on the face of a toddler trying to figure out how to get another cookie after she had eaten her limit.
There was no denying the similarities this man shared with Maggie. And she feared that the DNA test would only confirm what her eyes were telling her now. Chloe had never said much about Maggie’s father, but she had said she’d written him a letter telling him she was pregnant when she hadn’t been able to get him to answer her calls. She had listed Maggie’s father as “unknown” on the birth certificate when she hadn’t heard anything from him, and she had refused to discuss him any further with Lana.
Lana rubbed at the tight knot she felt forming at the back of her neck. How could this day have gone so wrong? She was suddenly bone-tired. She knew she had to accept the fact that this fight wouldn’t be won here today.
“I’ll consider it,” Lana said. “But if I agree, I will be present at all times.”
“Thank you,” Trent said.
“About the DNA, Mr. Montgomery... I’m sure your lawyer has made you aware that the results when testing for an aunt or uncle of a child will not be definitive. It will give us more of a likely match than proof of a biological relationship.”
“Actually, it’s Dr. Montgomery, Ms. Nelson. But please call me Trent.”
For a moment Lana thought her brain would explode at this new piece of information. While she knew the court wouldn’t show any prejudice as far as financial circumstances were concerned, it would surely still consider if a child’s needs could be met. What if they felt that this Dr. Montgomery could provide better for Maggie?
“I’ll contact you both after we receive the DNA results and set up another appointment,” Ms. Nelson continued as she stood, letting Lana know that there wasn’t anything else to be said today.
Lana stepped out of the room and drew her keys out of her purse with trembling hands. She was glad she had sent Maggie home with Amanda instead of having them wait for her. She would have to use the time it would take her to get home to get herself together.
Thank goodness she had found Amanda, a medical student, while she had been looking for a roommate. With Amanda able to fill in as babysitter in exchange for rent, she had the extra help that a single parent needed.
She’d go home and get Maggie into bed, call Nathan to see what her options were, and then she would come up with a plan. Dr. Trent Montgomery might think that he had everything going his way, but they said possession was nine-tenths of the law and right now Maggie was hers.
Lana had only been fifteen when she had beaten the cancer that had been growing in her body. She’d lived through chemo and radiation treatment. She’d stumbled a bit when she had learned that the treatments that had saved her life had destroyed her dreams of having children, but she had managed to keep going even though she’d been hurting.
She was a fighter and she didn’t give up. And she was about to make a certain cowboy wish he had never left Texas.
LANA WALKED OUT of LDR Four and headed for the OB nurses’ lounge. The delivery had been complicated, due to the size of the baby boy, and the new mom had needed extra reassurance that everything was fine with both her and her baby. Now she would have to hurry back to the office as soon as she’d finished signing off on her orders.
She could hear the whispers and laughter of the nurses as she turned the corner of the nurses’ station. There had to be some new rumor spreading through the hospital, because she noted that everyone was gathered around Kat, the queen of hospital gossip. Usually she would have paused to hear what the newest bit of gossip was, but today she didn’t have time.
As soon as her paperwork was completed she changed out of her scrubs and headed back to her office. She