Lone Star Baby (McCabe Multiples Book 5)
IOLET ?” M EG SAID , putting down the phone half an hour later. “Your dad wants to see you in his office.”
    That sounded...official. Except her dad was chief of staff, not chief of oncology. “Now?”
    Meg nodded. “He said he’d like to talk with you before you head home.”
    Reluctantly, Violet handed Ava to Meg and headed for the business wing of the hospital. To her surprise, her mother was there, too. Both looked extremely serious.
    “What’s up?” Violet took a chair.
    Lacey McCabe wasted no time in getting to the point. “We heard about the plan to take care of Ava in Gavin’s home and we wanted to let you know there are other options.”
    Resentment swept through Violet. “I’ve already been told by social services that my glamping arrangement is not suitable for a newborn.”
    Which, Violet realized belatedly, her pediatrician mom would have known from the get-go.
    “You could stay with your father and me,” Lacey said encouragingly. “Since you and your sisters are all gone, there is plenty of space.”
    Her parents
did
have a big Victorian home in town. Six bedrooms, seven baths. Five thousand square feet of room spread out over three stories.
    There was only one problem. “I don’t think Gavin would be comfortable there.”
    “Gavin could stay in his own home and visit Ava whenever he wanted,” her father intoned.
    Had Rose—or her triplets—been talking?
    Did it matter?
    Expecting her parents to respect her privacy, the way they always had in the past, Violet said tightly, “I’m not sure he’d like that, either.”
    Her mother tried again, even more gently. “It’s just for the short-term.”
    Or longer. And even if it wasn’t... Violet dug in her heels all the more. “It’s until we find a forever family for Ava, and I’m not sure how long that’s going to take.”
    Her father took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Mitzy thought it could be accomplished in just a few weeks.”
    Personally, Violet thought it was going to take a lot longer to find the perfect fit for the orphaned little girl. But for the moment she let that slide. She rose gracefully. “Thanks, but Gavin and I have already worked this out.”
    Jackson gave his daughter a look that let her know the conversation was far from over. “We’re not questioning his chivalry or his hospitality,” he said.
    Violet folded her arms in front of her. She hadn’t felt this called-to-task since high school. “Then what
are
you questioning?” she asked in the same blunt tone.
    Her parents exchanged concerned looks. Eventually, her mother took the lead. “As I mentioned already, babies make things complicated. It’s so easy to get emotionally attached. And when you’re sharing that experience closely with someone of the opposite sex who you’re already physically attracted to—”
    “I never said that!”
    “You didn’t have to,” Jackson grumbled.
    Lacey continued to placate, as only her mother could. “It’s easy to mistake the wonder and joy of new life for something else entirely.”
    “Bottom line,” her father said, “we will fully support you if you decide you want to adopt this baby and raise her as your own.”
    Well, that was good to know. Not that she was planning on doing that, Violet thought with a heavy heart.
    “We just don’t want to see you get hurt,” her dad continued. “So if you don’t want to live in a place that will keep you grounded in the reality of the situation and simultaneously put the brakes on for you while you take care of this baby, then we think you should reconsider the whole arrangement.”
    * * *
    “C AN YOU BELIEVE IT ?” Violet fumed as she paced back and forth on Gavin’s front porch, more furious than he had ever seen her. “My parents want us to put Ava in foster care!”
    Still groggy from the pre-midnight-shift-nap he’d been taking, Gavin took Violet by the arm and pulled her into his home.
    This was definitely not a discussion he

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