"Life is full of surprises. You never know who you are going to meet that will change your life forever."
~•~
High in the sky, the blazing sun's rays washed over the abundance of ranches, farms, rolling hills and wide-open spaces of Llano, Texas. It was hot and the heat bared down heavily on Samuel Taylor's bare arms and shoulders on his family's cattle ranch. Already the tank he wore was drenched from the hard labor of the afternoon. Sweat glistened as it ran from his neck and down his back.
He'd been up since 4am that morning, working non-stop. Even though his youngest sons helped by doing their morning chores of feeding the animals and cleaning out stalls before they left for school, there was still so much left to do. A lot of the more difficult tasks were done by Samuel and his oldest son; Wyatt, who was in town at the moment picking up more feed and hay to put out for the animals and in the fields. Sometimes if the work required more than two of them, he'd enlist his second eldest son; Angel, but after he got home from school.
Samuel and his late wife Cassandra were the proud parents of five amazing children, all boys. The two of them had known each other since kindergarten, but hadn't started dating until their late middle school days. They'd been in love ever since. After graduating, Samuel proposed and later found out Cassandra was pregnant with Wyatt, the two married that same year. They were happily married for four years and had just moved into Samuel's grandfather's ranch house when they had Angel. Two years later Christian was born. In the following years they were blessed with two more sons, Isaac and Jacob.
As their family grew, so did the home and ranch as Samuel steadily bought more land to expand. But while the two were very happy with the home they created with their boys, Cassandra wished to have a little girl. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be after discovering she was in the late stages of pancreatic cancer. By the time the doctors had caught it, it was too late.
The kids lost their mother and Samuel lost the love of his life.
It was difficult raising the boys on his own. Wyatt and Angel took their mother's death extremely hard. They'd acted out a lot during that time. Seven years passed since then and the two had straightened out. Wyatt graduated high school and decided to stay home to help his dad with the ranch and his younger brothers. Angel was on track and in his final year.
But even after the time passed, raising them hadn't gotten any easier. Even the youngest three still caused trouble.
Samuel supposed part of it was the death of their mother, but no matter what he did or how hard he tried to be there for them, it was never enough. They got into fights almost daily at school and caused trouble nearly every other day. Sometimes they got so out of hand, that even the police got involved.
Over the years, Samuel would open up the door to greet the local sheriff or his officers and sometimes the faces of angry parents who threatened to get one of his boys expelled.
So when he turned around at the sound of a vehicle moving down the driveway and discovered it wasn't Wyatt in the old blue pickup truck, but a black luxury Audi, Samuel immediately prepared himself. It was rare to get visitors on the ranch unless it was about the boys getting in trouble or the occasional rich tycoon wanting to purchase his land for some big real-estate venture.
As he waited for the car to come to a stop, he pulled off his work gloves and grabbed the bottle of water on the ground to take a sip. It was warm, but at the moment any water helped with the dry taste in his mouth. Instead of walking back towards the house to greet the unexpected guest, he staid put.
The doors opened and out stepped one high heeled foot after the other. A woman dressed in black slacks and blazer over a white blouse emerged from the expensive car. From what he could see of her, she had long blonde hair twisted up and rolled into a tight bun atop her head that pulled at the muscles in her face, making her look like an uptight librarian.
She stood there for a moment and after coming to the conclusion he wasn't going to go to her, she made her way to him on unsteady feet. The heels she wore made her treck difficult but Samuel gave her some credit when she didn't fall on her ass. As she stumbled closer, be made out a pair of striking green eyes behind the thick rimmed glasses perched on a delicate nose. Her checks were rosy from the Texas heat and he could tell from the pale skin of her hands that she wasn't use to it.
The stranger was beautiful. He could admit that, but the uptight woman was definitely not his type.
When she made it to him without falling, she took a steadying breath before meeting his eyes.
"Hello. Are you Samuel Taylor?"
"I'm not selling any part of my land."
The woman balked at his harsh and rough tone, confused for a few seconds at his words. "I'm not here to buy land. I'm-"
He cut her off. "What did my boys do now?" If she weren't there for his land, she had to be there because of his kids.
She bristled at his interruption and glared at him behind her glasses. "I'm not here about your sons either. It's about your daughter."
He snorted. "You've got the wrong man then. I don't have a daughter."
Grabbing the gloves from his back pocket, he slipped them on and turned back around to continue working on the fence. The cattle had done a number on the fence posts and knocked the entire length of the fence down the other day. While the herd was out past the closed second gate, he took the time to mend it before opening it back up to give them more space.
"You are Samuel Taylor, born in 1982 and arrested for simple battery in the state of New York six years ago, correct?"
That got his attention. He turned to face the woman once more. "That's me, but I'm telling you, I don't have a daughter. Who the hell are you and how do you know about that?"
She frowned at him again, but answered the question. "My apologies. I'm Samantha Gowen. I work for the Child Protective Services of the state of New York. A little girl has recently come into our care and when we ran her DNA through the NYPD database in attempt to locate next of kin, your name came up."
The woman, Samantha, pulled out a white envelope from the leather bag at her side and held it out. He slipped his gloves back off and took it. When he opened it, he was faced with a graph of some kind and a bunch of things he did not understand.
"What is this?"
"At the top is a graph matching up the alleals of her DNA to yours. As you can see, many of them align. 76.3% to be exact. It means you are a familial match."
His mind was racing. This still had to be some kind of mistake. How could he have had a daughter out there somewhere and not know about it? Then again, he supposed it was possible. Almost two years had passed before he'd slept with another woman. Over the years there's been a few, none of which were anything serious nor did he spend more than one night with any of them. But he'd sworn he was careful every time.
"What's her name?"
"Evelyn Walker."
He tested the name. "Evelyn. I don't recognize the last name. Is that her mother's?"
Samantha nodded her head. "It is now, but you may know her mother by her maiden name McCain; Beatrice McCain.
The name was indeed familiar to him. It was hard to forget, even when he'd been drunk off his ass and couldn't really recall her face.
Five years ago he'd visited New York for a friend's funeral. After the service he went to a bar and met a girl. He couldn't remember much from that night, only that he slept with her and before sunrise they'd parted ways. Samuel only remembered her name because she was the first woman he slept with after his wife died.
"How likely is it that this 76.3% match makes me her father?"
"Very likely. Then again, we will of course do a more extensive test to ensure the information is correct by comparing a better and fresh sample from each of you. If you are indeed the child's father, you are her next of kin and we would then begin to start the custodial process, if you so wish to."
Samuel looked up from the papers in his hands. "And if it comes back that I am the father and I choose not to take her in?"
He didn't know why he asked. The answer was clear.
Samantha clasped her hands in front of her. "Then she will go into foster care and become a ward of the New York State. She'll likely enter the system within the week and go from one place to another until we find the right fit for her."
He imagined what his wife would think of this. He knew how he felt and couldn't in good conscious allow his daughter to go into foster care.
"She must be what, five years old now? How is it she came to be in your custody? Did her mother pass away?"
The woman tilted her head at him and debated on if she should tell him without being one-hundred percent certain he was Evelyn's father. "Evelyn's teachers expressed some concerns about her well being. It appears she'd come to and from school on her own, often times without lunch or proper materials, other times they would notice her clothes were extremely dirty. She's quiet and stays to herself, not to mention she doesn't seem to do well around most adults. Sometimes she would shrink away from contact or outright refuse to go near someone. We've tried conducting many home visits, however every time we were stalled.
Before we could officially step in to investigate, four days ago when Evelyn didn't show up for school for the third day in a row, we received a call that she was out wondering the city on her own. We have since learned this was not the first time the child has wondered out alone, but unfortunately Evelyn was crossing the street when she was struck by an impaired driver."
Samuel's eyes widened. "Is she alright?!"
Samantha nodded her head, but said gravely, "She luckily sustained nothing more than a few scrapes and deep bruises, however she slept for three whole days before waking up earlier this morning. X-ray's show she's had previous trauma, likely from physical abuse, though it's not clear at this time if it was her mother who caused it.
Police went to her home and found Beatrice passed out on the couch, drunk. When told the news, she didn't even know the girl was missing. Until a full investigation is launched, we'd like to place her with you."
"And if I want to keep her with me permanently?"
How could he let his daughter go back to a life like that? No matter how far the investigation ran, it was already clear to him Beatrice wasn't fit to care for her already.
"We will cross that bridge when we get there. Once the test comes back to confirm what we already know, a judge will sign a temporary guardian order until the investigation comes to a close. If Beatrice is proved to be unfit, Evelyn will officially be under your custody. However there is a chance the investigation goes in the opposite direction and her mother gets her back. If that happens, though I believe highly unlikely, you can still petition a judge for either half or sole custody. In which case there will be another hearing to determine which parent can best provide and care for Evelyn."
Although still unsure, deep in his heart he knew that if this little girl was his, he'd fight for her every step of the way.
"How soon can we do the DNA test?"
"As soon as you'd like. We'll need law enforcement to send someone out specifically for the DNA swab to ensure it is properly handled, sent, and processed. Depending on how busy the labs are, we could know as soon as the end of the week."
He didn't think as he nodded his head. "I'll do it."
After an awkward conversation with the local sheriff, Samuel's DNA was sent to a lab in New York. Days passed by and he became restless at having no news.
It was starting to effect his work and he was behind on chores. He hadn't told his sons yet, but Samuel knew they had questions.
It wasn't until day six when one of them expressed their concerns.
Wyatt placed a steaming cup of coffee on the counter in front of his father. Samuel could feel his son's questioning gaze, but his eyes stayed on the cup before him.
He heard Wyatt sigh. "What's going on with you dad? You've been acting weird these past couple of days. You're spacing out a lot and have gotten behind on the fences. They should be finished already. The others have picked up on it too. I'm worried."
It was Samuel's turn to sigh. He took a sip of the coffee, relishing in the burn on his tongue and throat. He'd dreaded this conversation. Initially he wanted to wait until the newest results came in before saying anything, but the look on Wyatt's face told him he couldn't put this off any longer.
"You know I loved your mother very much, right? Fuck, I still love her. There's never been or going to be anyone else quite like her."
His son gave a ghost of a smile. Of course he knew how much his father loved his mother. The years of her being gone didn't change that. But why did he feel the need to tell him this?
"Are you seeing someone? Dad, I know how much you love mom, but I'm ok if you've found someo-"
Samuel interrupted. "No, no. I'm not seeing anyone. Shit, this is hard." He rubbed his hands over his face before fully looking at his son. "A few days ago, while the boys were at school and you were out picking up the feed and hay, someone came to see me. A woman from Child Protective Services in New York."
Wyatt frowned at this new information. He'd figured something had happened that day. When he got back from town his father seemed unusually out of it.
His father wasn't one to space out. Spacing out could be dangerous, especially while working on a ranch. A lot could happen if your mind wasn't on the task at hand and many accidents on a ranch were near fetal. Samuel had taught them all that when they were younger. They had to be careful.
"Why would someone from Child Services come see you? It couldn't have been about the boys, could it?"
He shook his head. "No. She came to me about a little girl whose been recently removed from her mother's home. Something happened and she ended up in the hospital. While trying to find next of kin, my name came up. Turns out I'm a familial match."
"That means she's related to us in some way? You don't have any family in New York, neither does mom."
"She was over a 75% match to me. "
Silence took over as Wyatt tried to process this. It wasn't long ago when he'd been in school learned about this kind of thing in biology. But did this really mean what he thought it did?
"They think she's your daughter?"
Samuel looked into his son's eyes, trying to decipher what Wyatt was thinking, feeling. He saw confusion and disbelief, but there was something else. Accusation.
"How old is she?"
It took a moment for him to understand what Wyatt was thinking about. When it clicked, he helped his hands up in a defensive gesture. "It's not what you think. I didn't cheat on your mother. Like I said, I loved her. The girl is five years old, almost six."
He figured Wyatt was doing the math in his head to confirm his father's words. "So that was what, two years after mom passed, right?"
Nodding his head, Samuel said "Yes. You know it took a while for me to pick myself back up after Cass died. The night after I went to Jake's funeral in New York, I went to a bar. I was drunk and it was the first time I'd been with anyone after your mother."
Wyatt scrunched up his face. He really didn't want to think about his father in that light. "So you're saying you had a drunken one night stand that apparently lead to this little girl being born?"
Not exactly appropriate for the situation he found himself in, but Samuel couldn't help the small snort at his son's obvious revulsion to hearing his father had sex. "Apparently. They took a fresh DNA swab and sent it to a lab in New York to get it directly with hers. I'm supposed to find out soon, though the social worker was fairly certain I'm her father."
The older boy took a seat on the other side of the island counter on the bar stool. "So you have a daughter. What happens next when it comes back conclusive? Why is social services stepping in?"
"Turns out her mother isn't the best care giver. I don't know the full details, only that an investigation is being open. They want to send her here until it's solved."
His son took another moment before responding. "And when it is solved? Do you want to keep her?"
Samuel had thought long and hard about his situation over the past few days. He'd always been a responsible man - at least he thought he was. If he had a daughter out there that was being mistreated, even if he never knew she existed before a few days ago, he would step up in a heart beat. And although he knew nothing about raising a little girl, he needed to be a part of her life, regardless how she came to be. She became his responsibility the moment Samantha Gowen showed him the preliminary test results.
But how would his sons take this news? Wyatt was working through it now, but Samuel felt he'd be a lot more understanding than the others. Angel had only recently started getting things together and was in his final year of high school. Could this jeprodize his hard work to get where he was? And Christian, Isaac, and Jacob were still having problems.
Even if he wanted to take care of this child surprise, he had to think of his boys as well.
He decided he would have to take it one step at a time.
"I want to be there for her. If she's released back into the care of her mother, I want to do everything I can for her." He put his hands on the still warm coffee mug. "You know before your mother passed away, we wanted to try for a girl. We were so excited and hopeful. Then she got sick. We both wanted it. I gave that up the moment we found out, but a part of me still wanted it. Things may have turned out differently then we both could have ever expected, but I know your mother would do the very same thing if the roles were reversed. This girl is my flesh and blood and no matter how she came to be, she's my daughter."
Wyatt laid a comforting hand on his fathers shoulder. "Everything will be OK. When will you tell the others?"
The sigh he released this time was full of nerves and anxiety. "I don't know. I'm just worried how they'll react."
The boy shrugged his wide shoulders. "You won't really know until you tell them. I'm sure Angel will be alright. It might take Christian, Isaac, and Jacob a little while to come to terms with it, but I support your decision Dad. Besides," Wyatt grinned, " I've always wanted a little sister too."
Even though it was just a small part, the weight of his decision felt a little lighter with Wyatt's support.
"So what's my little sister's name?"
Samuel smiled for the first time that morning. "Evelyn."
The moment was interrupted by the ring tone of Samuel's phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and took a look at the caller ID on the screen. It was Samantha Gowen.
Readying himself for what was to come, he answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hi Mr. Taylor. It's Samantha. We received the results of the test just a few moments ago. You are indeed the father of Evelyn Walker. Would you like me to continue the steps for you to take temporary custody?"
"Yes."