Country Romance - Carolyne Aarsen Page 0,1

her.

That may be, but Adele just hoped he had married a good woman. An understanding woman.

Adele zipped up her down coat, pulled the hood up, tugged on her mittens, and stepped out of the car into the frigid air. Shivering, she walked around the car and opened the back passenger door.

Dean lifted his head and smiled at her.

The sight twisted her stomach. Dean was only three when he and Sally moved in with Adele. He'd been a part of her life for two years. How could she just drop him off?

Because you're not his mother and he needs to be with his father. Family stays with family. Family stays together.

And her other reality was, she couldn't take care of Dean on her own. She and Sally managed because they worked different shifts, so Dean spent minimal time in day care. They had pooled their money for expenses. They shared the rent.

There was no way Adele could do this on her own. Not while trying to save money for the dream bakery she had planned for ever since her foster mother first taught her how to make cookies.

Adele knew firsthand what it was like to have no roots. She'd bounced between her foster home and her father's home too much in her life. Dean needed the stability Adele couldn't give him.

Then there was the whole faith issue.

Sally had been raised in a strong Christian home and, despite her momentary lapses, still taught Dean about God and Jesus.

One more thing Adele couldn't give Dean.

Dean stretched his arms over his head then yawned, shivering as the cold winter air seeped into the car.

"Do we need to put gas in the car?" he asked, blinking as he sat up and looked around, confused.

"No. We're finally here. At the ranch."

Dean gave her a huge smile that tore at Adele's heart. All the way here he'd talked about how fun it would be to have a dad. How excited he was to live on a ranch. Though he was still grieving his mother's death, what had kept him going was the stories his mother had spun about how much fun he would have with his father.

Adele had expressed her concerns to Sally about raising his hopes. However, Sally seemed to transfer her own need that things would work out onto Dean.

"Do you think he'll like me?" Dean asked as she zipped up his coat and tugged his toque down over his ears. He had asked this question several times, never wondering what Wyatt's wife would think of him. She probably didn't figure into his imaginings.

"You're a sweet boy," was all she could say.

"Will I stay here tonight?" He looked up at the house as she helped him out of her car, and it seemed the reality of what they were doing finally hit him. His smile shifted a bit, and Adele could see a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.

"It's just a visit for now," she assured him, taking his hand.

She and Dean would stay in Millar's Crossing tonight and visit the Sutton ranch during the day for the first few weeks. Ease him into the family, so to speak. Adele had booked three weeks off work—her entire block of holidays—but she knew she couldn't just drop off Dean and leave.

Not for the first time she mentally chastised her friend Sally for her casual attitude toward her son’s paternity and his family. If she had been more honest and forthright, this would be easier.

Once Sally told Adele who Dean's father was, Adele had gone onto Facebook, Instagram, and Google and gleaned a few tidbits about Wyatt Sutton. He owned a ranch with his father and raised pure-bred cows. She found that out from a sales flyer she had discovered on Google. He had served on the Wheat Pool board and was a member of the Millar's Crossing Chamber of Commerce. He'd also been involved in Millar's Crossing Community Church's fundraiser last year. Nothing about his wife or children.

In the few pictures she saw of him, he looked solemn and serious.

Handsome in a rugged, I-don't-care-what-you think kind of way.

What if Wyatt rejected his son? Didn't believe her? What if it caused a huge rift between him and his wife?

Adele and Sally had thought of various scenarios.

So, Sally had written a letter, explaining the situation. And Adele had ordered a DNA paternity test kit.

But what would she do if Wyatt refused to take the test and wouldn't read Sally's letter?

She stopped her whirling thoughts. One step at a