Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
So, she was the one. She was the caseworker for Dylan and Hallie.
“I have heard so many great things about you.” She shook our hands and smiled, showing off teeth with lipstick on them. “We’ve set up breakfast in our break room for Dylan and Hallie, if you’d like to join us. They know they’re about to meet you, but so far, you’re here as Lynda’s son and son-in-law.”
That might be for the best. It removed some pressure. If not from us, then from the kids. They didn’t have to worry about who we were yet.
“We appreciate that—we don’t want them to feel any unnecessary pressure.” Nathan responded when I couldn’t, and he echoed my thoughts.
“Dylan woke up in a better mood this morning, so that was a welcome surprise,” Colleen replied. “I don’t think they feel any pressure so much as anxiousness about the immediate future. They’re still worried about having to go back to their parents.”
I cleared my throat, forcing the words out. “Can we expect a fight from the father or extended family? Ma mentioned you looking into out-of-state solutions to get the kids away from Pennsylvania.”
Colleen paused with her hand on the door that led to…somewhere. “Considering the father is facing charges for manslaughter and armed robbery, he won’t be a problem for a long, long time—if ever. I wouldn’t worry about the rest of the family either. I can’t go into detail, but it’ll be a cold day in hell before they become suitable as caregivers in any way.”
I reckoned that could be both good and bad. If any of the children had once had a healthy relationship with a family member, staying in touch and nurturing those connections could make the transition easier. That was how it’d been for my brother anyway. Theo had a biological uncle who was still in his life.
Colleen opened the door, and we followed her and Ma into a small kitchen, where my gaze immediately fell on the two little kids seated at the table by the window.
Jesus Christ, they’re real.
An old TV was hanging off the wall and playing cartoons that the little girl was watching. She and her brother had the same dark brown hair, but the girl’s was long and untamed from sleep.
My heart kept pounding as Colleen and Ma walked over to sit down at the table.
“Are you enjoying the cartoons, Hallie?” Colleen asked.
Hallie didn’t reply. She turned shy and ducked her gaze to her cereal.
Nathan was ready to move forward, so he released my hand and left my side, and I immediately flinched and flexed my hand, realizing just how tightly we’d held each other. Fucking hell, my hand was all pins and needles.
I swallowed dryly and somehow made my feet move me forward too.
“This is Nathan. I told you about him earlier,” Ma said gently to the kids. “He and my son Ash are together. They’re so excited to meet you.”
It didn’t escape my notice that she and Colleen were sharing the head of the table, leaving the two spots across from Dylan and Hallie to Nate and me. I also knew from Ma’s stories how these things worked. She and Colleen might leave the room if things went well.
Nate had just sat down across from Hallie when I reached my chair and found Dylan eyeing me curiously.
“Would you like bagels or cereal?” Colleen asked. “We have coffee, of course. Apple juice and tea too, I think.”
“We won’t turn down coffee, thank you,” Nate answered. “And whatever Hallie is having—that looks great.”
Get your shit together and use your words, idjit.
I cleared my throat and gestured at Dylan’s bowl of milk and Cocoa Puffs. “I’m the chocolate fanatic in the family.” Only candy I ate, aside from the occasional Jolly Rancher. “I wouldn’t mind some milk and Cocoa Puffs.”
Dylan shoveled more milk and cereal into his mouth, all while watching me with the greenest damn eyes. They were almost enough for me to miss the fading bruise on his jaw. Almost.
“I like chocolate,” he mumbled.
I mustered a faint smile, liking his voice already. “The trick is to use only a little milk and a lot of Cocoa Puffs.”
He cocked his head, and Colleen set a bowl in front of me, with the box of cereal and the milk.
“Watch this,” I said, pouring a bit of milk into my bowl. Followed by a generous portion of cereal that filled the bowl nicely. “You can’t even see the milk anymore.” I stirred it with my spoon until the milk turned brown. “This is all chocolate now.”
He didn’t smile or anything, but boy, did he look interested. He side-eyed the cereal box, and I wordlessly nudged it toward him.
“Ash is full of fun tricks like that, Dylan,” Ma divulged. “When he and his brother were little, you know what they did? They took a whole bunch of cocoa powder and just a teensy bit of milk, and that was how they made their own chocolate spread to put on toast.”