Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
I knew from day one that Ha-joon and Ji-ho would be nothing like me and Sue. They would always be there for each other and have the other’s back. Family would always be something safe to them.
“There you are, sweetheart.” Micah’s mother, Marsha, padded into the front room and kissed me warmly on the cheek. “How was the tour? Did we get any new donors?”
“We got all of them,” I said, making Marsha clap with excitement. “Which is worth celebrating with some... ice cream!”
“Yay!” The boys took off running for the kitchen, championing their coming victory of the icy treat.
“Where’s Lily?” I asked.
“Where else?” Marsha tossed an amused look over her shoulder. “Wreaking havoc on the beach with Taylor. I tell you, Sarah, it’s the biggest injustice of her life that Taylor has to leave at the end of every summer. The two are closer than sisters.”
I groaned. “Believe me, I’ve tried to get Courtney to move down here, but she’s opening up another location in New York, and she insists she needs to be close by to supervise everything. Florida to New York is too long a commute.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “Well, you tell her that they love cookies and cupcakes just as much in Florida as they do in New York, so she can just as well open a location down here and do all her supervising right next to her best friend and godchildren.”
“Yes, ma’am, I will tell her.”
Laughing, she took off for the kitchen. “Lunch will be ready in an hour. Micah took his father and Rhodes out on the boat, but they promised to be back by then. We’re all eating together now that the Stevens family is finally back home.”
Home.
Oh, how I loved that word. My home where I was surrounded by all the people I loved. My home where I was finally safe to be myself with people who encouraged and supported me. It was my guys who gave me the push I needed to go back to school and get my law degree. Even when I thought I’d have to drop out to carry and care for the twins, they held on to me the whole way through, and became feeding, pampering, burping, rocking machines—completely taking on the care of our babies while I studied and passed the bar on my first try.
Now, I was one of the lawyers on retainer for Colin’s Home.
As for Micah, he was never going to fake his death and let his parents believe that they not only lost everything, they lost their only child too. He let them in on the plan first thing, and then flew them over to live with us after the heat died down and the investigation was closed. Now, Marsha and Arthur got to spend all day in a mansion with their grandbabies. They both agreed this retirement was way better than the one my mother stole from them.
But Micah, Alex, and Rhodes were not retired. Even though they could’ve kicked back and cruised through life on my inherited millions, the good and kind men I married felt compelled to join the Colin’s Home family.
Rhodes now taught financial literacy and investment classes. When he wasn’t doing that, he was leading a support group for family members touched by gambling addiction.
Micah also followed his talents. He was officially the home’s football coach. There were a lot of kids to teach, so he held practices five afternoons a week, and taught business classes five mornings a week.
That just left my Alex, who’d finally gone for his dream and applied to med school. He wasn’t finished with that or his residency yet, but he already knew he planned to work for one of the Colin’s Home clinics.
I padded upstairs to my home, soaking in our beautiful, light, airy home for the millionth time. Gone were the dark walls, pressing hallways, and dreary rooms. Everything was cream, light gray, and baby blue. This home of a thousand windows always had them open and letting in the sunshine—making us all one with the sea and sand.
Topping the stairs, I made for my bedroom at the end of the hall. I had a particularly tricky case brought to us by a man who came to Colin’s Home with his two children. Because he didn’t have a steady job or live in a safe area, his ex-wife was given custody of the kids. Unfortunately, said ex-wife was married to an unsafe man, and he simply refused to leave his children alone in a house with him.
Trapped and scared for his children, he picked the kids up from school and drove through four states to find safe haven here with us. Dad was looking at some serious charges—kidnapping at the top of the list—but I chose this career path because I wanted to give a voice to all of those scared kids out there who aren’t believed. And no matter what it took, I would make the system listen to these little kids, and their desire to stay with the parent who loved them so much, he’d give up his freedom to see them safe.