Page 4 of Brokered Betrayals

A chuckle rumbled in Eddie’s chest as he shook his head. “I can hear your wheels turning, son. I’m not thinking bad thoughts about your man or disapproving of the situation with your baby girl.”

“I know.” Or he was mostly sure. “What is going on?”

“I’ve just been wondering about how the adoption will work,” Eddie said. “You guys haven’t discussed it much.”

“Because it’s not a simple process,” Royce replied.

Eddie nodded. “I figured as much, and I didn’t want to be nosy or bring up sensitive subjects.”

“I’m sure most people are curious. I just figured they cared more about the outcome than the process.”

“But I’m your dad, and I do care,” Eddie said. “What makes your adoption so difficult? Is it because you’re a same-sex couple?” Eddie’s tone had turned gruff, and he crossed his arms over his chest as if ready to go to battle on a moment’s notice.

“Not in this case,” Royce said. “Our complication has to do with the type of surrogacy we’ve chosen.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side. “There’s more than one?”

Royce chuckled, then leaned against the dresser. “There are two: gestational and traditional. The gestational surrogate is not the baby’s biological mother, where a traditional surrogate is. The gestational surrogate is the preferred method, but Sawyer and I didn’t want to go that route. We love that Kelsey is Darla’s biological mother, even if that causes us additional legal hurdles.”

“How so?”

“Our adoption process can’t start until after Darla arrives,” Royce explained. “If Kelsey wasn’t her mother, we’d be able to arrange a pre-birth order so that both my and Sawyer’s names would appear on the birth certificate from the jump. We’d have the legal documents ahead of time, granting us custody and the rights to make decisions about Darla’s medical care.”

“But you’re her biological father. Doesn’t that count?”

“I am, and no one is contesting that, but mothers are considered the primary parent,” Royce explained. “The hospital won’t release Darla into my custody without a court order.”

“Jesus,” Eddie said. “Does that mean Darla has to live with Kelsey until the adoption goes through?”

“No. We hired a legal team to guide us through the process before our first visit to the fertility clinic. We signed a surrogacy agreement up front, and we’ve known all along what to expect.”

Eddie’s big, meaty paw landed on Royce’s shoulder and squeezed. “Doesn’t make it any easier though, does it?”

“Not at all.”

“So, what has to happen before Darla can come home with her dads?” Eddie asked.

“The three of us are meeting with our legal teams to finalize the documentation tomorrow evening. I had to prove mypaternity, which wasn’t hard since we used a clinic, and Kelsey will sign a document to waive her parental rights. Once Darla is born, the documentation goes to a judge, who will then grant temporary custody to me so I can bring her home.”

“When does Sawyer get to become her daddy too?” Eddie asked. “Legally, I mean.”

“We’ll have to complete a home study and—”

“Home study?” Eddie bellowed. “What kind of homophobic shit is that?”

Royce patted his broad shoulder. “Take it easy, killer. Home studies are required for all adoptions, not just those involving same-sex parents. The court will also require physicals, background checks, and character reference letters.” Royce could tell by Eddie’s scowl that he was getting worked up. “Everyone has to do this with adoptions. We could face homophobia with the person completing the home study or with the judge who signs off on the post-birth order or approves the second-parent adoption later, but I can’t let my mind go there.”

Eddie released a little growl. “How does the second-parent thing work?”

“Once we complete the steps I mentioned, the paperwork goes to family court, and they’ll set a finalization date where we go before a judge to get the adoption approved. A new birth certificate will be ordered that names Sawyer and me as Darla’s parents. It shouldn’t take long for everything to process because we’ve already done most of the legwork. We’ve completed our background checks and physicals and gathered enough reference letters to paper the courthouse.”

Eddie’s brow furrowed slightly, and hurt registered in his gray eyes before he blinked it away. “You didn’t ask me to write a letter. Is it because I’m a felon?”

“Of course not.”

“You don’t trust me to write a letter?” Eddie asked, his voice ticking up a notch as if offended.

“No,” Royce replied. “We didn’t ask any of our family members to write letters for us.”