“Exactly, and since you’re a surrogate grandma right now, isn’t it your place to spoil the kid?”
“Look at you, already learning. You’ll be great at this, Nick, and whatever you don’t get, Kelsea will. The two of you are going to make a great team.”
“Speaking of.” He picks his phone up as it buzzes. “She’s on her way.”
“Alright, I’ll get out of your hair. I love you.”
He stands up, walking me to the door. When we get there, he opens his arms up wide, hugging me tightly. “Love you too, Momma. Thanks for taking a chance on me.”
Pulling back, I kiss him on the cheek. “Best chance I ever took.”
Seventeen
Kelsea
The last two days have been the longest of my life as Nick and I have prepared to go before the judge. From what we heard, his dad was served and he’ll be appearing. I’m not sure how I feel about that exactly. He’s always been a faceless enemy to me.
Nick and I sit in the court room; we’re not allowed to sit next to our attorney, but we’re in the front row, right behind him. Nick looks spectacular in his uniform, and I took extra care with my dress and curling my hair this morning.
Yesterday we had the home visit, which expedited us to serve as foster parents to Darren, and I’m scared to death we won’t leave here with him today.
“You okay?” Nick asks as he leans in.
“Scared to death they’ll think we aren’t the best thing for him,” I admit, my hand shaking slightly as I smooth my dress over my thighs.
He reaches over, grabbing my hand in his. The warmth feels fills a spot in my body that’s been cold for longer than I can remember. “We’ve got this.” He smiles widely at me, one dimple popping on his left cheek.
“Are you faking it ‘til you make it?” I whisper. “You can tell me, I won’t blow your cover.”
“Like a motherfucker. I’m scared to death.”
And that admission right there is why I love Nick. “Same,” I agree.
He takes his hand from mine, putting his arm around my neck before leaning in, dropping a kiss on my forehead. These tender moments while unexpected, also give me hope. Hope we can move past where we are and maybe, just maybe, be the family we’re pretending to be.
The court is asked to be vacated as they explain there is a minor involved. We keep our seats, but I feel Nick stiffen. When I follow where he’s looking at, I see a man who looks like life has beaten him down, dressed in jeans and an old University of Tennessee t-shirt. There are stains on both the jeans and the t-shirt, his hair is disheveled, and it smells as if he hasn’t had a shower in a few days. He’s definitely been on a bender. I grab Nick’s arm as the man looks over at us, smiling.
That smile though, it’s not the type I’m used to getting from older men. This one gives me the creeps, I shiver at the thought of being alone with him. “Is that his dad?” I ask quietly.
“Yup, that’s the son of a bitch,” Nick answers just as quietly.
I force an impassive look on my face; I don’t want him to know he gets to me. Even when I hear the judge ask if he has an attorney. Learning that his name is Ezra bothers me since that’s biblical and this man standing in front of us? He’s way more sinner than saint.
“No sir, I don’t have counsel,” he answers, looking back at us.
I listen intensely as they call our counsel, explaining that Nick and I want to take custody of Darren. With pride I hear them talk about Nick being a decorated officer and the certifications I’ve been able to accomplish while working. I’m proud of us, how far we’ve come. Even though we both had great parents, that’s not an automatic road to winning at life. We’ve still had to work very hard.
“They agree to take custody of this child?” the judge asks our attorney.
“Yes, your honor.” He shuffles some papers in front of him. “They’ve both had the required courses from the state because of their professions, the home visit was done yesterday. They are certified.”
“Mr. Metcalfe, I’m looking at your history here. You’ve been arrested numerous times, and accused even more times of harming your son. What do you have to say for that?”
“He’s got a smart mouth. I grew up the way he has, and I don’t see anything wrong with me.”
I gasp because no matter how smart someone’s mouth is, they don’t deserve what this child has lived through. Beside me Nick is tightly wound, I legitimately think the only reason he’s still sitting here is because I’m resting my hand on his thigh.
“What a fucker,” he growls.
“That’s the problem, Mr. Metcalfe. Obviously you and I have very different expectations on how to care for a child. Because the court believes it’s typically in the best interest of the child to have their biological parents, I’m going to ask you two things. Number one, where is the mother?”
He cocks his head to the side. “Dead. Drug overdose when he was three. He don’t even remember her.”
I tip my head back trying to hold back the tears. This kills me to hear these words come so matter-of-factly from this man. The judge makes some notes in his notebook.
“I’m going to give you ninety days, Mr. Metcalfe. The child will remain with the foster parents, while you prove to me you can be his father. You’ll have certain goals to meet. There will be home visits, anger management, and I’m expecting you to do all of this, show me you want to keep your child. If you’re in trouble before the ninety days are up? This child will go to Mr. Kepler and Ms. Harrison permanently. If in the allotted time you haven’t completed what I’ve asked? The child will go to Mr. Kepler and Ms. Harrison permanently. Do you understand?”
He doesn’t speak, just nods his head as he looks at me and Nick. I still don’t like the way he’s looking at me, and I can tell Nick doesn’t either.
“If I may say something?” he asks the court. “Why is he being placed in a home where they aren’t married? Doesn’t that set an even worse example than I was?”
“Seeing as how there was a home visit, no drugs were found and neither of them have a documented history of beating a child, I think the fact they aren’t yet married isn’t as much of a problem for the court as you are. They’re in a committed relationship, and for now that pleases the court.” He bangs his gavel. “Ninety days, Mr. Metcalfe. I’ll be watching.”
As the judge leaves, he walks by Nick and I.
“He may be watching me, but you can bet your ass, I’ll be watching y’all.”
Nick gets up, walking over to where he stands. I follow because I don’t know what else to do. “Make a threat against me, I’m begging you to.”
“Have no doubt I’ll be gunning for you, motherfucker. He’s my ticket. You don’t get it, do you?”
“I don’t,” I pipe up. I don’t understand if he obviously doesn’t care for Darren, why is Darren so important? “So why don’t you explain it to me.”
He looks at Nick and then back at me. “Oh I get it. You got yourself a rich bitch,” he laughs.
Nick makes a noise, but I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to prevent him from making this worse than it already is.
“She didn’t grow up in the system like us, did she?”
He looks me up and down, which makes me cross my arms around my midsection. “Because Darren is such a slow fuckin’ kid and he doesn’t have mommy dearest around anymore, I was getting almost two grand a month for his sorry ass. The two of you? You’ve fucked that up for me, but don’t think I won’t fix this.”
“If you worked as hard at keeping a job as you do cheating the goddamn system, you’d be a hell of a person.” Nick levels him with a glare. “This child, he isn’t a meal ticket for you. He’s your flesh and blood. He came from you, how can you say he’s your meal ticket?”
“Same way your mama did.” He grins.
I can almost feel the anger radiating off of Nick’s body. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” I push him toward the exit, hoping we don’t make a scene.
“Remember where you came from, Nick Cooper.”
We hear him until the door shuts. Outside, Darren’s attorney is waiting with our attorney. “Alright, let’s go get him.”
As we follow these two people who’ve made it their job to make sure justice is served, I feel like I’m about to puke. My life has never been what I would call exciting, but I have a feeling all of that? It’s about to change right now.
Eighteen
Nick
To say I’m nervous would be an understatement. Darren rides in the back seat of my extended cab truck. I wasn’t precisely sure if we’d leave court with him today, but after meeting with the foster family who was taking care of him at the attorney’s office, here we are.
I’d be lying if I said we were completely comfortable with one another right now. To be honest, this ride is downright painful. Luckily for me, Kels can talk to a fucking brick wall.
“Are you excited to start a new school? You’ll have quasi-relations there. My niece and nephew go to the one you’re going to go to, and my mom teaches for the district. She used to teach high school, but last year she took a position that allows her to go into all classes and observe. So you may see her, too. Eventually you’ll meet everybody, but I can assure you my niece and nephew are the cream of the crop.” She grins proudly back at him. I can see that even from where I sit.
“That’s good.” Darren speaks softly. “I didn’t have too many friends at my old school. People didn’t like my dad, and I never had cool clothes.”
“You’re in luck, both of our parents,” – she points between me and her – “are super excited to welcome you into our families. We’re going to have dinner with them tonight at Nick’s parents’ house. I’ve heard there’s some gifts for you there.”
“Gifts?” I can hear the excitement in his voice.
It fucking guts me because I know exactly what he’s gone through. So many birthdays and holidays, he probably saw all the kids at school come the next day in all their new shit. Yet, there he was, trying to make a small pair of shoes last another month, trying to make sure his one good shirt stayed pristine.
“So many gifts you’ll think it’s Christmas.” I smile at him in the rearview. “You have a ton of people who are very excited to meet you.”
“Why?”
At first I had asked the same thing, why would someone be interested in me after my parents hadn’t been interested in me. I struggled with the same questions.
“Because they love us, and we care for you. It’s what family does,” Kelsea answers.
“Is that true?” he asks me.
“It is, and you’ll see how true it is the longer you’re around us. We have a large, obnoxious family. They sometimes get on our nerves, but they love us.”
“What’s that like?” Darren asks quietly.
I hear Kelsea make a noise in her throat. Reaching over I grab her hand in mine. She’s never dealt with someone like this, I know it’s hard to even believe people live like this. It’s up to me to answer this question.
“It’s the best feeling in the world.”
“He seems to be handling it well.” Ransom nods over to where Darren is sitting with my dad and Kelsea’s nephew, playing some video game.
“He does,” I agree. “I thought for a minute when he saw the amount of gifts he was gonna cry or hyperventilate.”
“Hell, I thought I was going to, too,” Ransom laughs. “It’s amazing how lucky we are. The family we have is one of the best.”
“Here, here.” I lift my can of Coke up to his. “How’s Stelle?”
“Working on her second plate of cake, so I’m assuming she’s doing awesome.” He laughs.
“Don’t mention that second plate of cake.”
“Fuck no,” he shakes his head. “I’ve learned very quickly what I’m supposed to say and what I’m not supposed to say.”
We’re laughing when I hear a throat clear behind me.
“Ransom, you mind if I have a conversation with Nick?”
There’s no one I respect more than my dad, no one except Mason “Menace” Harrison. I’ve been waiting on this, and I knew it was coming soon. Kelsea is his baby girl, and I’ve known he’s wanted to say his peace.
“Mason.” I nod to him.
He nods back, and I wait patiently, hoping like hell he doesn’t notice my hand shaking as it holds my can. “I’ve been waiting on you.” I take a drink.
“Bet you have. Honestly, I only have two things to say to you, and you’re free to say to me what you want. Two things, Nick. That woman will always be my little girl. You treat her with respect and you don’t lie to her. I’m not getting in the middle of your relationship because she knows her own mind, and if I ever tried to butt in, she’d hand me my ass on a platter.”
“She would,” I agree.
“Promise me.” He holds out his hand.
“I promise to respect her, not to lie to her, and protect her. She could have done so many other things when I asked her for help. She’s basically put her life on hold to help me give him a good life. I’ll never forget it. I’ve never had a friend like her.”
Mason looks over at her, smiling while she rubs Stella’s non-existent baby belly. “She loves you, and if you aren’t able to return that feeling, believe it or not, I do understand, but don’t ever pretend to be something you’re not for her.”
I’m sweating because he can see me so clearly. Things I’ve tried to hide from others. He’s so much like the daughter we’re talking about. “You have my word. You know there are lots of situations in my life where my word wouldn’t count for shit, but I promise you, she’ll be taken care of.”
“That’s all I need to hear from you.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Your word is good enough for me, but just know, you fuck up? I’ll be right there, ready to make you wish you hadn’t.”
“Completely understood, Mason. I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Then we’re on the same page, and I thank you. What the two of you have decided to do is wonderful, and I think we all have a little bit of a stake in it.” He moves his hand around the room, indicating everyone whose come out for this dinner/welcoming party for Darren.
He leaves me, going over to talk with Havoc and Leigh. Looking around, I realize everyone in this room is considered a friend of ours and how lucky we are. There were moments in my life where I have been able to count my friends on one hand, and it was too many fingers. All the people here, tonight? They’re my family and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
The best part about this? I get to introduce Darren into the best family anyone could ever ask for.
Nineteen
Kelsea
“Is he asleep?” I ask Nick later on that night.
The two of us are getting ready for bed, and I have to smile at the picture of domesticity we make. Who would have thought a month ago, I’d be sitting on his bed putting moisturizer on my face while he came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist, a kid asleep in the bedroom a little down the hallway from ours.
“Out like a light. He didn’t even move when I went in to turn his light off.” Nick uses another towel to dry off his hair.
I take that moment to look at him. His skin holds a slight tan all year round, and it’s obvious he’s worked hard on his body. It’s cut in places I didn’t even know it could be cut, the vee leading down behind the towel is enticing enough it makes me want to follow the path with my tongue.
He’s got his signature scruffy – not quite a beard, but not clean-shaven face. His biceps and forearms ripple as he vigorously works the towel through his dark locks.
When he stops, he drops both towels where he stands. I inhale sharply.
“Don’t worry, Kels, I’ll clean up my mess in the morning.” He yawns loudly. “Too tired to do it right now.”
“Trust me, I didn’t make that noise because of you throwing your towel on the floor.”
He turns, a grin on his face,
his eyes showing interest. “What did you make it for then?”
I roll my eyes. “Give me a break, you know you’re hot as hell.”
He flexes his hands, causing his forearms to tighten, and I do my best not to fall in a puddle at his feet. “If I wasn’t so tired tonight, Kels, I’d completely take advantage of how much you seem to love my body.”
“If I wasn’t so tired, I’d let you,” I fire back at him.
We watch each other as we pull down the covers, getting ready for bed. He’s fallen asleep with me every night since I moved in, and I’ve only caught him not here in the morning twice. This time, I lie down, pulling the covers over me while he turns out the lights.
There’s a dip in the mattress as he gets in. I can feel him turn over, and when the heat of his breath hits my neck, I know he’s facing me. His arms go around me; for a moment I stiffen because we haven’t done this before.
“Do you mind? I want to be close to you tonight.”
“Nick.” I lean in, kissing him softly on the lips. “You never have to ask. Your arms are the safest place I’ve ever been and my favorite place to be.”
He inhales deeply. “You could kill me, Kels. You know that, right? You make me want to give you everything, let all my guards down, and just lay myself bare to you.”
“You could kill me too, so I guess we’re even.”
For a long time neither of us speaks, and as we drift off, I hold on tightly to the man holding me in his arms.
Tired doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel. Who knew being the guardian of a pre-teen kid was so exhausting? I’m on my second cup of coffee this morning. Nick’s already left for the day, and I’m struggling to pack Darren’s lunch. He comes in wearing some of the new clothes he got at his welcome dinner.
“Looking slick.” I whistle. “Those shoes are awesome.” I look down at a pair of basketball shoes on his feet.
Suppression: Laurel Springs Emergency Response Team #2 Page 10
