Adopted Son

He strolled toward his car, feeling better about the situation. With a little luck, he was hoping that one of Braden’s parents wanted Brady.

Back at his office, it didn’t take long to track them down. Bruce, the father, lived in Dallas and had married a woman with three small children. He said his wife wouldn’t be willing to take on another child. He was sorry and hoped they found Brady a good home. The mother, Eileen, lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her new husband had had an accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. She had her hands full and regretted she couldn’t take Brady.

Tuck stared at the phone, wondering why neither had asked about Brady’s recovery or his well-being. Brady was their grandchild, their flesh and blood. Yet they seemed not to care.

Tuck ran his hands over his face, hoping that Opal could find the perfect family for Brady.

Perfect.

He thought of Grace. Uptight, repressed—that was how he thought of her. How he needed to think of her, but last night was different. For a brief second she’d let down her guard and so had he. The image was playing tricks with his mind.

And it shouldn’t.

His friends the McCain brothers teased him about Grace. He and Grace were the only two single people left in their group and they were often paired together, especially at weddings. His friends saw that as a sign. Maybe he needed to stop being so touchy. Maybe…

His thoughts halted as he noticed the time. It was Friday and he was late for a brother’s meeting. Even though he wasn’t a McCain, Tuck was included because he was Eli’s foster brother and a good friend. Eli’s father was Joe McCain, but Eli had never carried the McCain name because Joe denied he was Eli’s father.

The McCain family had been a mess. He couldn’t understand how a father could walk away from his own son, not like Joe McCain had walked away from Eli. Beau and Caleb had been the lucky ones. They had lived with their mother, but the old man had raised Jake. Now the brothers had all made peace with each other and their dysfunctional father, who had passed away years ago.

Opal was wrong. After a tumultuous childhood, the McCains had found true happiness. It did happen.

He headed for his car and Salado, which was a quaint, historic town between Austin and Waco. It was the midway point for Beau and Jake, who lived in Waco, and Caleb, Eli and Tuck, who all lived around Austin.

When he arrived at the small diner, he recognized all the cars parked in the lot. He hurried inside. It was a typical small-town café: hardwood floors, booths, red gingham tablecloths and a jukebox in a corner. A Willie Nelson tune played in the background.

“Where have you been?” Eli asked in his best grumpy voice as Tuck took a seat.

Tuck ordered a beer and told them about Brady.

“Man, I don’t know how y’all handle things like that,” Jake said. “I’ll stick with raising cotton and corn. That I can control. Well, that is, if Mother Nature cooperates.” Jake ran the McCain farm outside of Waco.

“I see a lot of it,” Beau added. “Then parents who have abused their kids want them back. It’s hard when you get a judge who will grant that.” Beau was the lawyer in the family.

“This is turning into a downer,” Eli said. “Let me tell you guys what Jesse is up to.”

“We know what Jesse is up to.” Tuck took a swallow of his beer. “He’s chewing on everything in sight.”

“That’s the truth.” Eli leaned his forearms on the table. “I think he might be growing fangs instead of teeth.”

Jake raised his beer. “Here’s to a lot of sleepless nights.”

“Oh, man.” Eli downed a gulp of his beer and looked at Caleb. “How’s Josie?”

Caleb was also a Texas Ranger and he and Josie were expecting their first child. “She’s sick as a dog in the mornings. She’s taken a desk job, which I’m very grateful for. But I didn’t tell her that. Can you imagine a pregnant cop with mood swings carrying a gun?”

The brothers laughed.

“I suggested that she take a leave of absence from the force until after the baby comes. That didn’t earn me any points. I just worry about her.”

Eli slapped him on the back. “It comes with the territory.”

Beau sat twisting his bottle, which wasn’t like him. He was the talker in the group.

“You’re going to rub a hole in the table,” Jake told him.

“What?” Beau glanced up.

“What’s up with you?” Caleb asked.

“I’m almost afraid to say it out loud.”

No one said a word as they waited for Beau to speak.

“Macy’s pregnant.”

The brothers jumped up and pumped Beau’s hand, which gave way to hugs.

“Oh, man,” Caleb said, smiling. “When’s she due?”

“In November.”

“Josie’s due in October. Two McCain babies born in the same year.” Caleb beamed with excitement. “Have you told Mom and Dad?”

“We told them last night.”

“And Mom’s kept it quiet all day?” Jake lifted an eyebrow.

“We wanted to tell everyone ourselves,” Beau replied. “And, believe me, Mom’s bursting at the seams to tell someone.”

“This is wonderful,” Jake said, hugging Beau again. “Except Katie is going to start bugging Elise and me again for a baby. When Jesse was born, we heard about it nonstop.”

Eli grinned. “You know how to fix that.”

“Oh, no.” Jake shook his head. “A boy and a girl, we’re done.”

The brothers kidded back and forth. Tuck was the last to hug Beau. “Congratulations, man.”

“Thanks.”

Macy’s first marriage had ended in divorce because her baby daughter had died from a genetic heart defect. Since Macy carried the gene, she refused to have more children. Beau and Macy had adopted Zoë, a baby of Macy’s sister. But now they would have a child of their own. Tuck knew that wasn’t an easy decision for them to make.

All his friends were happy with families and children. It was wonderful to see. Suddenly he saw Brady lying in that hospital bed—he had no one. Brady needed someone to love and care for him. Without even having to think about it, Tuck knew he could be that someone.

“I’d better go,” Caleb said, grabbing his hat. “Josie’s home by now and I can’t wait to tell her.”

“Me, too,” Eli added. “My wife needs a break from the chewing monster.”

“Remember you guys promised to come to one of Ben’s Little League games,” Jake reminded them.