6. Raina

" H ow did we get here?" Raina mused, perching her elbows on the gleaming wood of the conference room table of Cooper and Broderick, a family law practice on the south end of Amelia Island.

Next to her, Chase gave her a bemused look, his dark eyes glinting, his handsome smile warm but a little wry. "I assume you mean that rhetorically, or were you really not paying attention after we left your parents' house and I drove us here?"

"I meant, how did this happen so fast? I was talking to Tori about it yesterday. It feels like a week ago that I got the call that my dad had a stroke and my ex-husband was showing all the signs of cheating—that I missed, thank you very much—and then I moved to Amelia Island, bought a house, fell for the owner, had two babies, and wham. We're at a family law office arranging for you to legally adopt two baby girls. Oh, and we're getting married." She looked skyward. "One of these days, anyway."

"Do not delay our wedding, Rain," he said, taking her hand. "And do not reduce this amazing time together to a bullet-point presentation."

"Some habits die hard," she joked.

"You miss work?"

She snorted. "Not even a little. Especially when I heard about how you and Blake already have two offers on the new development down on Juniper."

"Hey, that was all your nephew. He's a natural, you know, and he's teaching me the Wingate Properties ropes as much as I'm mentoring him."

She smiled, thinking of how easily Chase had slid into her role to manage the business.

"I'm disappointed that your father wasn't more excited about that deal when I mentioned it today," Chase said, a frown pulling. "He seemed a bit preoccupied."

She'd noticed that as well. "Do you think whatever is bothering my mother is working on him, too?"

"I don't know, but you're right about Suze. She's tense."

Raina shuttered her eyes, worried when her mother did the whole "fake happy" thing again and managed not to whisper a word about what was really on her mind. She still seemed distracted, no matter how much she pretended otherwise.

"I'll make sure you get time with her when we pick up the babies," Chase said, always so in tune with Raina's thoughts. "Maybe you can find out what's going on. Or tell her your surprise."

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise," she said. "Anyway, we'll have to see what the lawyer says. It's probably the dumbest thing he's ever heard—the totally unnecessary adoption of four adult women."

Chase gave an amused look. "Truth? It's so Wingate, it kind of hurts."

"I know, right?" She gave a happy clap, clinging to the idea no matter how dumb it was.

They both looked up at the sound of footsteps, peering through the glass wall at a young man who looked fresh out of law school, and a woman with short auburn hair, her face deep into a legal file, flipping pages like a speed reader.

Coming into the conference room, the man introduced himself as Timothy Sherwood, the newest attorney in the firm, who'd be handling the adoption process. Yes, he was definitely still in his twenties, but he seemed enthusiastic and bright, and how hard could it be to shepherd this adoption through the legal loopholes? Raina greeted him, and turned toward the woman who waited her turn.

"Helen Lensky-Fallon," she said, shaking Raina's hand. "I'm an adoption specialist that legal firms bring on as a consultant and a representative. My job will be to conduct the interviews, visits, and investigation that will uncover anything that could delay or impair the process."

"Nice to meet you," Chase said, getting a raised eyebrow from behind the woman's reading glasses.

"We'll see about that," she muttered as they took seats. At their surprised look, she shrugged. "I'm a stickler for rules and regs, and I assure you that not one T will go uncrossed and no I will be undotted. If you're hiding something nefarious, I will find it."

Raina and Chase exchanged a quick look.

"Nothing that I know of," Raina said, giving him a playful elbow. "Unless you have a secret wife in the attic you forgot to mention."

They both laughed, but Helen with the hyphenated last name didn't even crack a smile.

"From a legal standpoint, this is an easy process," Tim said, flipping a legal pad to a page with some notes on it. "We file for a hearing and before that happens, Helen will do the interview and site visits, conduct the research, and basically ensure that when we stand in front of the judge, there are no surprises. Then you, Mr. Madison, will be named the legal father of…" He glanced down at his legal pad. "Charlotte and Lillian Wingate."

Chase nodded, but shifted his attention to the woman. "How many interviews and visits?" he asked. "We were under the impression this was a fairly quick process."

"We're talking about two children who are too young to speak and have two living biological parents," she replied. "You and Ms. Wingate aren't married, have known each other for less than a year, and have three divorces between you." She flicked her brows. "That I know of."

They both managed not to react, but under the table, Chase squeezed Raina's hand in solidarity.

"The living biological father has relinquished all parental rights," Raina said, glancing at the attorney. "You've shared the documents from my divorce decree?"

"Oh, he has," Helen answered for him. "But look at Tiny Tim." She pointed a pen in the lawyer's direction and the poor guy turned bright red. "Do you think he has the experience I do?"

The lawyer gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I—"

"This is not an open-and-shut adoption process," Helen said, steamrolling right over young Tim. "So you two will need to exercise patience, restraint, and be ready to offer up your lives and families to scrutiny."

"That's fine," Chase said. "But we want this done as quickly as possible."

She regarded him over half-moon reading glasses. "What's your hurry, Mr. Madison?"

"My hurry is a powerful desire to be legally, financially, emotionally, spiritually, and morally responsible for two tiny babies I already love like my own," he said without a nanosecond of hesitation. "You are welcome to scrutinize anything you like, ma'am. We're just asking that it be done expeditiously."

She shuttered her eyes and shifted her attention back to the file.

"As I said, legally, it's rather easy," Tim said, trying to recover from the insult to his age. "While Helen does her part, I will submit a motion to get on the judge's calendar. Once we have that date fixed, we'll take it from there."

"Do you have any other children?" Helen asked Chase.

"I don't."

"Are you sure?"

He gave an uneasy laugh. "As sure as I can be."

She flipped a page. "I see you have family in Italy."

He lifted a brow. "The only family I have is in Palermo," he acknowledged. "My parents, an American mother and Italian father, have passed. I have no siblings. Will you need to go to Italy and interview my cousins?"

"As much as I'd like to, we can probably do that by video conference," she said. "And you, Ms. Wingate? Do you have family close by?"

She almost laughed. "I'm one of seven sisters, and we're all on Amelia Island."

"Then I'll meet every one of them. Parents?"

"Yes, both living and currently watching the babies." She considered the special favor she'd wanted to ask, but thought better of it. Helen would not be the right person to coordinate a "surprise" adult adoption. In fact, she might be the most wrong person in the world.

Maybe Tim could help.

The woman asked a few more questions, making random notes as the attorney looked through a calendar, and they discussed various dates that were blacked out or unavailable.

After that, they signed some papers and then Tim closed the files to end the meeting. When he said he'd walk them to the elevator, Raina decided to take the chance.

As they headed into the hall, she shot a look at Chase, who nodded, of course knowing what she was thinking. How wonderful it was to have a partner in life who could read your mind.

"Mr. Sherwood," she began. "I have one other request, and it's, uh, a little unorthodox."

"You can call me Tim," he said. "Just not Tiny Tim," he added with a dry laugh. "And ask me anything."

"Thank you. I wanted to know if you think it would be possible to arrange to adopt an adult stepchild without letting the adopter know until the hearing."

Tim gave a soft laugh of confusion. "I'm not sure I follow."

"My mother, who is technically stepmother to three of my sisters and me, never finalized our adoption when she married my father," she told him. "She went on to have three more daughters, and we're all very close. But I recently learned that my mother didn't legally adopt us and I would like to make that happen."

"We can set up a meeting with her and—"

"I want to surprise her," Raina interjected. "I'd like her to find out the adoption is happening at the same hearing when Chase adopts my daughters."

He inched back, a frown pulling on his face. "I doubt that is something that could be—"

"Oh, yes, it can." Helen popped into the conversation from around the corner, not even trying to hide that she'd been eavesdropping.

Raina turned to her, stunned by that, and her response, not sure how to react.

"I assume I'm interviewing all the same family members," she said when all three of the others stared at her. "Well, then, I can ask a few questions. How many years back are we going?"

"They just celebrated their fortieth anniversary," Raina said. "And Suze—that's my stepmother—has been in my life since I was three."

Helen the hard-hearted looked like she might melt, putting a hand to her chest. "Then I want to be in that courtroom when she gets the good news."

"But I'll need signatures—"

Helen wiped away Tim's argument with the sweep of her hand. "You just fill out the motion for this family, get the hearing on the calendar with this one, and the adoptees and new mother can sign everything that day."

"Oh!" Raina gasped, suddenly overwhelmed by the support from such an unexpected corner, and warmed by the words adoptees and new mother . Susannah would love that! "That would be so wonderful!"

"I'm not making any promises," she said, "but it shouldn't be that hard."

"Thank you," Chase said. "I admit I'm surprised by this, considering your love of crossed T's and dotted I's."

"I had a stepmother I loved very much," she said. "She's the reason I chose this business." She gave a tight smile. "She tried to adopt me but couldn't for long and complicated reasons, and eventually, we let it go. But at the end of her life, I wasn't allowed to go into the ICU when she was dying because of a legal technicality."

"Oh," Raina muttered. "That's beyond wrong."

"I don't want anyone to go through that," she said. "And I love your idea of surprising her."

"Thank you," Raina said, seeing the woman in an entirely different light. "I'm sorry you lost your mother."

She nodded and turned, and they all stood in a moment of awkward surprise.

"I'll call you, Raina," Tim said. "And you can email me the names of the adoptees and your mother's information. I'll add them to the hearing schedule when I file."

When they said goodbye, Raina and Chase floated out to the car on a cloud of laughter and anticipation. They were certain the hearing would be one of the best days of their lives.

"What is going on here?" Raina asked as they pulled into her parents' driveway. "Was there a Wingate party I didn't know about?"

With a quick scan of the cars, it looked like a lot, if not all, of her sisters were here. Had something happened to her parents? The babies? She slipped her phone out to check to see if there'd been an emergency text on the 7 Sis group chat.

Nope. Nothing.

"Let's see what's going on," she said, shooting a worried look to Chase.

They hustled to the front door, which was unlocked, and when they opened it, they heard chatter and laughter, which was a relief.

"Hey, who had a party and didn't invite me?" Raina asked as she came up the stairs to the main-floor living area.

There, she saw a group of familiar faces all hovering around one—no, two—babies. Charlie was in Madeline's arms, and Lily was tucked as close as she could get to her Aunt Rose.

"Here's your mama!" Madeline, Raina's oldest sister said, as she turned the baby to see her. "Charlie's refusing a bottle. Can you feed her?"

Raina brushed her hand over her swollen breasts. "Happily. Where are Suze and Dad? And what are you all doing here?"

"The bat signal," Chloe joked. "Out it went and here we are."

"What bat signal?" She walked toward Madeline, not surprised that Charlie's little arms extended toward her.

"Well, first, I was at Chloe's," Sadie said. "Because of a cat emergency."

"A what?" Raina asked, taking Charlie.

"But Chloe was whining because of a…kid emergency," Sadie added.

Raina whipped around to Chloe, who did indeed have red rims around her blue eyes. "Who's kid? What's wrong?"

Chloe raised her hand. "Long story, but we came here to see Mom, because she called to say Dad had a work emergency and had to go to Wingate Properties to help Blake. She wanted help with the babies, and since Sadie and I were together, we came as a BOGO."

Chase glanced at his phone for the first time in hours. "Oh, yes, there's an issue with the Juniper property. I should run over there. Can you stay here for a while, Raina, and I'll pick you and the babies up later?"

"Absolutely. I have all the help I need and the fridge is stocked with pumped bottles."

He gave her a kiss and a wave to the group, leaving them with a promise to call as soon as he knew what time he'd be back.

"Where's Suze?" Raina asked as they migrated to the living area, where she grabbed a blanket and tucked Charlie under it to nurse.

"Right after Chloe and I got here," Sadie said, "she got a call from a client who was waiting for her at Wingate House. She said she'd totally forgotten that meeting."

"And how did the rest of you get here?" she asked, looking from Rose to Grace to Madeline.

"The babies fussed," Rose said, "so Chloe called in for experienced backup." She patted Lily. "On my way out, I bumped into Grace and she decided to come over with me."

Raina laughed softly. "How many Wingates does it take to babysit two infants?"

"Any excuse for a party," Rose joked.

Raina shifted her attention to Madeline. "And you?"

"I came to see Suze, separate from all of this, because…" She made a face, her dark eyes clouded with concern. "I called her earlier and she seemed kind of preoccupied and I sensed something was wrong."

"Yes! Tori and I noticed the same thing," Raina exclaimed.

She shared the whole story about Susannah's puzzling drop-in visit the day before, letting all of them take turns at theorizing what might be wrong. Was she working too many hours at Wingate House? Was Dad sick again? Was planning Tori and Raina's wedding too much for her?

They didn't know, but all agreed they'd be on the lookout and help Susannah any way they could.

As the topic slowed, Raina leaned back and turned to Chloe and Sadie, who were side by side on the floor. "And now for the cat and kid emergencies?" she asked.

The two of them looked at each other with a question in their eyes.

"You go first," Chloe whispered. "The cat's…easier."

"Not for Scout," Sadie murmured, then looked around. "Rhett Butler's missing."

Raina sucked in a breath, knowing full well how serious that was. Kitty's biggest concern about taking the trip had been leaving her cat, since her husband had headed up north for the summer.

"Kitty will freak out," Raina said. "Sorry for stating the obvious."

"I know!" Sadie moaned, dropping her head back so her curls fell over her shoulders. "Scout didn't even go to work today, and he's still looking. But I thought I had a good idea to fix the problem."

"A ridiculous idea." Chloe rolled her eyes. "You can't just exchange one orange tabby for another, Sadie."

"You want to try and fool Kitty with a substitute cat?" Madeline asked on a strangled laugh. "Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm not crazy, I'm desperate," Sadie said. "But orange cats look…kind of alike, right? If we got one about the same size and weight, would Kitty really know?"

Raina snorted. "Oh, where is Tori when we need her to do her classic Kitty meow?"

"She's at the café," Grace said. "But, Sadie, I'm pretty sure if someone tried to replace Slinky with another short-haired brown dachshund, Nikki and I would know instantly. Have you put up signs around town?"

"Scout is making discreet inquiries," Sadie said. "We don't want it to get back to Kitty, who is at the top of the Eiffel Tower today."

"If Kitty finds out Rhett Butler's lost?" Raina looked skyward. "She'll cancel the rest of the trip and come home immediately, and Val will be back in the house."

"You've made peace with her," Rose pointed out.

"I have, and she's going to start looking for a condo, but…" Raina shrugged. "Not going to lie. I adore having just Chase and the babies and me."

"I know she'll come back," Sadie said. "But Scout is wrecked. He hardly slept last…" Her voice faded out as she realized what she'd just admitted to. "And, hey," she added quickly, poking Chloe, "this is the sister who needs advice from the Wingate brain trust. I only have a missing cat. Chloe's trying to bring home an actual child."

"What?" Several of them posed the question in unison, the attention shifting to the youngest sibling.

By the time Chloe finished her story about Travis's orphaned half-nephew, everything else had been forgotten and the sisters were slack-jawed at the news.

The response was loud, heartfelt, and, whoa, everyone had an opinion.

Raina knew that was a big ask. Likewise, Madeline seemed extremely cautious about whether it could work, and Sadie seemed to agree with them.

Rose and Grace, the softest hearts in the family, were ready to add the child to the family that minute.

"Chloe, you know it would change your life completely," Raina pointed out. "You'd end up taking care of little Judah for long stretches while Travis is at the fire station."

"And those stretches can be endless and frequent," Rose chimed in, the voice of experience as a firefighter's wife. "But we'll all help you."

"It has to be Travis's call," Madeline said. "The financial responsibility would fall on his shoulders."

"It's funny, I just came from a family law office," Raina added after they all shared their feelings and advice. "Maybe we could add yet another adoption to the hearing day. I'm pushing for six at the moment."

"Six?" several of her sisters asked in unison.

She waited, feeling a smile pull. "I really wanted Tori here for this, but—"

"I'm here!" Tori called out from downstairs. "Grace texted me and FOMO hit hard."

Raina waited until Tori jogged up the stairs, through the flurry of greetings and explanations, bringing the one missing sister up to speed on all their discussions.

While they talked, the babies were fed and taken away by various aunts dying to hold sleeping little angels. With her arms empty again, Raina reached out for Tori, got a hug, and brought her next to her on the sofa.

"I got the Big Plan underway," Raina said in a stage whisper. "Shall we share?"

"Yes!"

"So, guess who never adopted us?" Raina asked the group with a sly smile.

"Susannah," Madeline said with no question in her voice. "It's a sore spot for her, too, so don't rub it in."

Raina wasn't surprised that Madeline knew what they didn't in this regard—at about twelve years apart in age, she and Suze were more like best friends than mother-daughter.

"But we can heal that sore spot," Tori said. "She can still adopt the four of us who are technically stepchildren."

"And we can make it a surprise," Raina added, which pleased them all. After she answered their questions and told them what the adoption specialist had said, she leaned back, her arms feeling oddly empty not to be holding either baby.

"But what do you think is bothering Suze?" Madeline asked.

"Maybe we should do an intervention?" Raina suggested. "We can all wait here until she's back and ask."

"No, no," Rose said. "Let's not gang up on her. She'd hate that, plus, I have to go."

"So do I." Madeline stood. "I don't think we should intervene. Whatever is bothering her will come out organically, like I thought it might today. And I bet it will disappear if you can really make the adoption surprise happen, Raina."

Raina nodded, aching to talk to her mother, but suspected they were right. When Susannah was ready to share what was on her heart, she would. In the meantime, she was comforted knowing her sisters shared her concerns and approved of her secret plans.

"I'm going to stay and tell her about Judah," Chloe said. "I need a tie-breaking vote on what to do."

"Travis's is really the only vote that counts," Raina said softly.

Chloe nodded and sighed. "I know."

Feeling her baby sister's consternation, Raina ached to solve the problem for her. Good heavens, they already had two babies and four grown women on the adoption docket. Could they add little Judah and make it their lucky number of seven adoptions at one hearing?

Like Chase said, it would be the most Wingate thing ever. And nothing would make Raina happier.