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Tisha Bradley’s office was just outside of town, its entrance hidden among the crumbling brick of decades-old homes. I almost expected a white-gloved butler to open the door. Instead we got Tisha, youthful and bubbly.

She was around Faye’s age, and her outfit would’ve suggested a serious career woman if it weren’t for the multicolored polka dots peppering every article of clothing from the pencil skirt to the blazer.

“Where did you find this woman?” I murmured to Faye.

She gave me an amused glance. “She was highly recommended. She’s legit.”

Tisha had likely overheard us, but she gave us a peppy smile anyway. “So this little cutie has a problem,” she said, gazing adoringly at Gretchen. “I’m not surprised that too many people want her.”

“She’s the light of our lives,” Faye said seriously. “We’re not willing to give her up.”

“Don’t worry, we’re going to fight for that darling little face of hers.”

I gave the lawyer a hard look. “Do you have children yourself, Ms. Bradley? And how long have you been practicing law?”

The smile dropped from Tisha’s face. “I have nieces and nephews that I’d move mountains for. It’s been hard to find time to have my own children since I’ve been working eighty-hour weeks for the past ten years.”

“Okay.”

“So if you’re done questioning my qualifications…”

Mollified, I nodded. “Please go on.”

“This is an interesting pickle you’ve gotten yourselves into. Normally the mother is the default to get primary custody, but from what you’ve told me, this little one’s mama isn’t in the picture at all.”

“Not really,” Faye said. “I’ve encouraged her to get involved in Gretchen’s life, but she doesn’t seem interested.”

Tisha shuffled through the files. “A shame that we haven’t been able to finalize the adoption quicker. If it’d already gone through, that would make this a little easier. I don’t suppose you’d consider some sort of custody-sharing arrangement, would you? It’s not as if you want to wrench Gretchen away from her father.”

“It’s not as if we want to, but…”

“He’s a prick,” I interrupted. “We do want to wrench her away from her father.”

“I see.” Tisha examined the files again. “I’ll see what I can do for you. We’ll look into both biological parents and evaluate how the courts will perceive them, versus you. Judges generally want to provide the most stable living environment for a child.”

“That’s what we want to give Gretchen.” My voice came out higher than I’d intended it to, nearly cracking as I finished the sentence. “We’re a couple. We live together. Gretchen’s spent her entire life so far with us.”

“And that’s a plus,” Tisha said. “But we’ll have to see what we find out about this Derek character.”

“What do you think?” I asked as

we left Tisha’s office.

“I think… I’m glad I have you for support.” Faye grabbed my hand, the one that wasn’t holding Gretchen in her sling.

As we reached her car, I gave her a baleful look. “I’m not just here to support you, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

But I couldn’t tell her.

If she didn’t get it yet, she’d have to figure it out for herself.

20

Faye

The news wasn’t going to be good. I could tell from the look on Tisha’s face.