Adopted Parents by Candy Halliday Page A

climbing onto Janet and David’s big four-poster bed, pulling the covers over her head and closing her eyes did.
    At least two hours mental shutdown time. That was all she needed.
    And when she got up, Hallie was going to suck it up and deal. She was going to take charge of the situation the same way she took charge at the station every day.
    It had taken Roberta’s indifference to Ahn’s special needs to make Hallie realize she’d made the same mistake. She’d assumed all Ahn needed was a nanny to take care of her basic needs until they found new parents.
    But Hallie couldn’t lie to herself anymore.
    If she were going to be the type of aunt she wanted to be, she had to put Ahn’s needs above her own. And whether she was emotionally ready or not, she had no choice.

    N ATE STEPPED OUT of the shower and dried himself off, hoping Hallie had spent the afternoon thinking over their circumstances so they could talk about it after dinner tonight. The evening meal was the only one Nate ate at the main house and he did that because he knew if he didn’t, Roberta would be insulted. When she cooked, she expected people to eat. She was a hard woman to stand up to.
    Now that he and Hallie were on speaking terms, Nate was relieved his plan to have a talk with Roberta wouldn’t be necessary. He never quite knew what to expect from her. She could be nice and friendly one minute, then could shred a person to pieces the next. As a result, he did his best to stay on Roberta’s good side.
    Nate checked his watch. It was only 5:45 and Roberta served dinner promptly at six—being late wasn’t an option.
    Nate walked out of the bathroom, grabbed the clean boxers he’d placed on the bed and stepped into them. Jeans and a T-shirt would have been his preference, but Roberta insisted everyone dress for dinner.
    He slid his arms into the sleeves of a dress shirt, and pulled on a pair of pants. As he looked around for his shoes, Nate thought of how Janet had also preferred dressing for dinner. Made sense. She had, after all, grown up with that tradition.
    Instead of being commanding like Roberta, and jerking the plates right out from under you the minute you finished eating, Janet had been the nurturing type. You could tell Janet enjoyed making the evening meal special, eating in the dining room, putting out the good china, serving after-dinner coffee and encouraging everyone to linger for after-dinner conversation.
    Not once had Nate sat at Janet’s table and not been thankful she was David’s wife. After David met Janet, everything his brother had always wanted seemed to click into place. He had a beautiful wife who loved him. A beautiful home. They’d finally adopted the child they’d always wanted.
    Deb Langston didn’t have to tell Nate what a committed father David was. David’s entire life had revolved around Janet and Ahn. They were the center of his world. His reason for existing.
    All the things Nate didn’t want. He’d learned a long time ago that what you wanted most was what life didn’t let you keep.
    Weren’t David and Janet proof of that?
    They’d had everything they wanted most, then a drunk driver had taken their lives in the blink of an eye. As cynical and coldhearted and as guilty as Nate felt about the thought, he was still glad David and Janet died together.
    Neither of them would have survived without the other.
    Just like his mother hadn’t been able to survive without his dad.
    That was why he lived in the moment. No personal attachments. And no promises life wouldn’t let him keep.
    Too bad his own convictions didn’t excuse him from the promises other people made, however. And too bad that even though he’d been successful in shutting down his heart, he’d been less successful in turning off his conscience.
    In truth, Nate’s conscience was all he had left.
    That was why he was fully committed to making sure Ahn did have the type of future David and Janet had promised to give her. Whatever it