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To give the social worker credit, she didn’t appear to take offense at his growled words. A small smile played around her lips, and she nodded.
“I’m only doing my job, Mr. Bryce, and an intrusion into your privacy is an unfortunate aspect of this.”
Logan barked a short laugh in answer to that matter of fact statement.
“Maybe you need to find another job then.”
Mrs. Offrey inclined her head, and a sliver of genuine amusement showed in her gray eyes.
“Believe me, I hear that a lot. And at times, I do wish I had a different job, but the children keep me going. Someone has to look out for their bests interests and—”
“Don’t you think I know that? Why the fuck do you think I took Rhia under my care after what my dick of a brother did? She’s my goddaughter, and I…” Jeez, why was this so difficult to put into words? Hannah’s small hands snaked around his neck, and she kissed his clenched jaw.
“It’s all right, Logan, we know you love her.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to refute that notion. Love didn’t exist, did it? He cared for Rhia, of course, he did. She was part of his family, his flesh and blood, so to speak, but he’d taken her on out of a sense of duty. Out of guilt over his brother’s actions, not because he loved her. His life had been going along just fine without the added complication of a little traumatized girl.
Mrs. Offrey scribbled something else in her notepad, and nodded.
“I must say the change in Rhia since she has been placed with you has been remarkable. She really is a delightful little girl. I was very impressed with how much more confident she was when I visited her at her nursery. So, you see, I’m not here to find fault with your parenting. It’s clear to me that you love your niece and your wife.” Hannah tensed in his arms, and he scowled at the woman making these ridiculous assumptions. Not that she took any notice, just prattled on. “So that’s a very good start, but I need to cross all the T’s and dot the I’s, especially as this has now turned into an adoption case.”
Still reeling from the woman’s assumption that he was in love with Hannah, he almost missed that last part of her statement.
“Excuse me, what?” He grimaced at the hoarse quality of his voice, and Hannah struggled upright. Clearly this was news to her, too.
“Yes, as of yesterday, your brother renounced all of his parental rights.” Hannah gasped and slid off his lap as Logan shot to his feet.
“The fuck he did? I’m gonna kill him for sure, this time.” Hands fisted by his side, he paced to and fro in his living room, as the red mist descended. Too late he noticed the deathly quiet which had descended upon the room.
Hannah didn’t look at him, and the social worker… fuck, fuck, fuck. He was ruining this.
“Daddy Logan?” Rhia’s sleepy, hesitant voice pulled him back from the brink, and he forced a smile on his face for her benefit. With her dark curls all tousled from sleep, her trusty stuffed rabbit under one arm she stood in the doorway, thumb in mouth looking at him.
“Hey, munchkin, you awake?”
She nodded, popped her thumb out, and looked at Mrs. Offrey.
“Mummy Hannah sick, so Daddy Logan and I gonna look after her.”
“I’m glad to hear that, little one.” Mrs. Offrey smiled at Rhia and patted the seat next to her. “Why don’t you sit down with us? We were just talking about you.”
Rhia screwed up her little nose and made her way across the room. She didn’t sit next to the social worker though, but threw her little arms around Hannah instead, and hugged her close. Something inside Logan’s chest cracked open seeing those two heads together. He tried to rub the ache away, but it wasn’t working.
Maybe he was having a heart attack. Wouldn’t that be the icing on the fucking cake of his life? Rhia whispered something to Hannah that he couldn’t catch. Whatever it was had to do with him because both of his girls looked his way. Hannah shook her head.
“Of course not, Rhia.”
“What are you two whispering about this time?” He aimed for a light tone but his voice came out cracked, and he frowned. What the fuck was that about? He was losing the plot.
“Yes, I would like to hear that, too.”
Hannah glanced at Mrs. Offrey when the other woman sent that query into the room and frowned.
“It’s nothing, really.”
“Little dove?” This time he had no problems at all to project his voice with all the authority he was going for. Probably far too much of his remaining anger showed, because that damn social worker started scribbling in her notepad again.
Hannah sighed, and hugged Rhia closer.
