Love, Tussles, and Takedowns (Cactus Creek #3)(37)

“I heard you two talking one night. I was midway through my junior year and the shop was going through some rough times, apparently. It was horrible timing because that was the year of the big stock market crash that wiped out all your investments. Plus, you’d both had a few medical scares, not to mention the new car you’d bought Max, and of course, Gabe’s braces.”

Gabe flashed his perfect pearly whites in an interjectory thanks.

“Since Max and Gabe and I were each only a year apart, you were worrying so much about college tuition. I specifically heard you say that funds would be really tight by the time Gabe’s turn came since you’d be paying for my tuition too.”

Staring hard at the lace edge of the tablecloth, she shrugged. “I didn’t think it was fair that your own biological kid would get less than I did for his education when I wasn’t even your real child.”

Grace looked up with dawning understanding. “That’s why you suddenly started talking about working part time to save up money to go to China and see if you could find your ‘real’ relatives first, and then finally get a place of your own somewhere ‘other than Phoenix.’”

Lia winced. She really had thought she was doing the right thing for the Spencers. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated to take care of me.”

“We thought you were trying to drop hints—of the giant fireball variety—that you didn’t want us to adopt you.”

“Honestly, I would’ve if it would’ve helped you with finances…but no, that wasn’t what I was trying to do. Because…” She took a deep breath. One of the bravest breaths she’d ever had to take. “I’ve always wanted you to adopt me. Always. Even before I’d started talking again, and probably even before I’d fully gotten over my parents’ death.” A single wayward tear slid down her cheek. “Every single one of my ‘first-star-of-the-night’ wishes throughout high school used to be that one day, you’d ask me to be a Spencer. For real. Forever.”

At Grace’s stunned look, Lia quickly shot her hand out. “But it’s okay. I get it now. And now I’ll always know that—”

“Jack!” Grace called out, in what sounded like alarm…but also, not.

“I’m on it!” he called back from the next room.

On what?

And when had he left the dining room?

“Sweetie, we had the adoption papers drawn up a month after you moved in with us and to this day, I have never ripped them up.” Grace gave her a fierce mama bear look. “I think in my heart, I always knew. Always believed.”

“I got his voicemail; trying his home phone next,” hollered Jack. “The old guy better not be asleep already.”

In wonder, Lia watched her foster dad pace back and forth. “Who is he calling?” She’d never seen him so on edge.

“Jack can get our lawyers to draw up the papers again in a snap. He’s probably trying to get them delivered here tonight.”

“What? No.” Lia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You guys can’t adopt me now. I’m twenty-seven years old.”

“I wouldn’t care if you were fifty years old, young lady,” asserted Jack as he popped his head back in. “As far as I’m concerned, you’ve been our daughter since the minute Caine brought you to us and we’re damn well going to have the papers that make it official.”

She looked around to see her whole family grinning at her.

This couldn’t possibly be happening.

Then she turned to see Hudson gazing at her with such quiet, but deafeningly irrepressible alpha male happiness and suddenly, the reality of the situation hit her square in the heart.

Her ‘first-star-of-the-night’ wish was actually, finally coming true.

And the man she was quickly starting to see as the man of her dreams was holding her hand throughout it all.





CHAPTER TEN


THE NEXT MORNING, Hudson cracked his eyelids open to find post-dawn sunlight filtering through Lia’s apartment blinds.

He’d actually slept in late. For the first time in…he couldn’t recall when.

Feeling the warm, sexy body beside him in the bed, he remembered why he was only just now waking up. They’d been at it till nearly dawn, pushing the boundaries of second base in every unique way he’d been able to come up with.

In fact, the only reason he wasn’t still asleep was because his phone was ringing away.

With a yawn, he leaned over to grab his phone, careful not to wake Lia.

“H’lo?”

“Reyes? It’s Clint. Is now a good time?”

His former commanding officer’s voice always like a cracked whip.

And Hudson fell back to old habits at the same speed. “Yes, sir.”

“Good call on forwarding that info to us a few weeks ago. Turns out your informant’s intel was dead-on. We’ve found remains from Private Lawson’s missing unit.”

Clint’s words echoed in Hudson’s ears, his brain bouncing them back out as if unable to process them. But then he looked over and saw Lia pause and look at him in concern. Sweet, beautiful Lia tilting her head, silently asking if he was okay.

That’s all it took for his brain to start functioning again, for his gut to twist into knots, and for hope to build for her, despite everything. Because this was Lia’s past and future they were talking about here. Everything she’d lost, everything the universe had taken from her.