“I heard about the case,” Nancy said, sounding unimpressed. It was on the ice and in the past. It had little bearing on Max’s ability to be a dad.

“Freya told me he picks fights in bars,” I added quickly. “He feels like he deserves to be punished, so he instigates things and then he doesn’t fight back. I saw his black eye.”

Nancy nodded slowly. “It sounds like you might have a case.”

My heart leaped. Brian reached over and squeezed my fingers.

Nancy said, “I don’t go to court anymore since I moved here, but I can refer you to a colleague on the mainland.” She reached for a pen and paper, but then paused. “Pursuing this will be expensive. Trial lawyers charge upward of four hundred bucks an hour. You’ll need to travel to hearings, stay in a hotel. It will be a significant financial outlay.”

My eyes flitted to my husband, and despair reflected back at me. We couldn’t afford a lengthy court battle in another city. Brian had handed in his manuscript and received another installment of his advance, but it was just enough to live on until business picked up at the store. We didn’t have the resources to fight for this child.

Nancy clocked our concern. “Alternatively, you could do what they call a curiosity test.”

“What’s that?” Brian asked.

“If you can get access to the baby, you can do a cheek swab. You send it off to a lab with your DNA. The results won’t be admissible in court, but they might give you leverage with the mother.”

“Freya’s not a reasonable person,” Brian said. “She already knows this baby is mine, but she refuses to acknowledge it.”

“Maybe presenting her with scientific evidence will change her mind,” Nancy offered.

“It’s worth a try,” I said hopefully.

“It’s not.” Brian’s contradiction was curt. “And we don’t have access to the baby, anyway.”

Nancy let a breath out of her nose. “Court is going to cost you—a lot of money and a lot of hours. By the time you get a result, the child could be a couple of years old. It could be difficult to form a bond with her.”

Panic fluttered in my chest and tears pooled in my eyes. We were so close to having a child, a little girl who was biologically Brian’s baby. And the opportunity was being ripped away from us. Pressing my lips together to quell my emotions, I stood. “Thanks,” I managed to mumble, “We’ll discuss it.” And then I bolted for the door.

• • •

Brian joined me outside minutes later, where I stood blowing my nose and swiping at my tears.

“You okay?” he asked, rubbing my back.

“We can’t lose this baby because we don’t have enough money to fight for her,” I said. “Nothing is more important than Maggie.