"So while you were role playing with Barbies she … did what?"
"Acted out her parents' death. Most likely it was in a bombing air raid."
Magda squirmed, and Lori jostled, whispering, "Shhhh, settle down sweetie. Just hang on."
Magda lurched forward, straining from Lori's arms over the rail. "Doc! Doc!"
With a total lack of regard for procedure, Gray shot from the witness stand, his cap thudding to the floor. He charged forward, hands extended just as Magda pitched into his arms.
Gray's gaze collided with Lori's over Magda's head—met, held, comforted. One bottle-green eye winked, before Gray hitched Magda on his hip and turned to face the judge without returning to the stand.
The judge fingered her brass-tipped gavel as her gaze homed in on Gray and Magda. "What exactly is your relationship with Magda that you've spent so much time with her since the airlift operation?"
"I love her." He smoothed a hand over her cap of tousled curls, the small child cradled to his uniformed chest "Just as much as I love Lori, her mother."
Lori grabbed the edge of the table. He couldn't have said what she thought, and if he did, had he meant it? Or was this just another attempt to help her win Magda, give her a child?
Either way, the beauty of his words blossomed into a joy and hope within her far more beautiful than any bed of pansies.
"Ms. Rutledge didn't mention a fiancé."
"That's because I haven't been smart enough to figure out how to get this incredible woman to take me on permanently." He hitched Magda higher on his hip and began swaying from side to side, like any parent calming a restless child. Quilted watermelons along Magda's jumper offered a tender contrast to Gray's military crispness. "But let me make it clear, whether she marries me or not, ever, Lori is still the best mother Magda could have. Lori knows more about building a family than anyone. Believe me, Your Honor, there's nothing this woman can't handle. And no one will ever love that little girl as much as she does."
"Well, Major Clark, or is it Dr. Clark?"
"Either will do."
"Major Clark, your testimony has been enlightening, if a bit unorthodox." The judge turned to Lori. "Ms. Rutledge, I'm not going to ask you to respond to his rather unique proposal. Your bid for custody is that of a single parent. It would be unfair to either of you, and especially this child, to exert undue pressure on your decision on how to respond."
"Yes, Your Honor." Lucky for her, since Lori wasn't sure she could push words through her closing throat.
The judge nodded to Lori's attorney. "Any questions for Major Clark?"
Barbara dropped her pencil on her legal pad. "I think he covered everything quite well on his own, Your Honor."
Judge Tradd quirked a brow at the couple's attorney. "Cross-examination?"
With a poorly disguised wince, the attorney replied, "No questions. As Ms. Rutledge is a single parent, we find his testimony irrelevant."
"So noted." The judge shoved aside a folder of papers. "I believe I have enough evidence before me to render a decision. I'm prepared to rule from the bench." The judge shuffled aside a sheaf of papers before closing a folder. "The basis of the law requires that I rule in the best interest of the child, not in the interest of those contesting custody or adoption. I hereby assign said minor to the foster care of Lori Rutledge with adoption proceedings pending." She rapped her gavel. "Court is adjourned."
Before Lori could clear her throat or her thoughts, the crowd engulfed her. Friends and family, they surrounded her with support, words of encouragement.
And love.
She wasn't going to lose Magda, and she had these wonderful people to thank. Gray and his—their—friends had given her more than any family ever had. She'd been so fixated on a silly little dream house she'd almost missed the real thing. A family wasn't about the house or the place. It was about the people.
One person in particular.
Lori surged forward. "Gray—"
"No. Lori, stop." He passed Magda back to her, their eyes locking over the girl's whispery curls. "Don't say anything now. Not while you're feeling grateful or riding some emotional wave. We'll talk later." Gray shot a pointed look over his shoulder at Bronco, who was leaning not too subtly toward them. "And without an audience."
Lori stared into Gray's eyes as she gathered Magda close, hoping he'd meant what he'd said earlier. She needed him, and that was a strange feeling for a woman who'd prided herself on managing anything life threw her way.
More than anything, she needed for his words to have been real.
* * *