“I didn’t expect them to donate the shares to us.”
Tru said that was what made it so important. They didn’t have to pay anyone for them, so it didn’t look like they had taken anything from them in the way of a bribe. Not that any of that mattered. “Each of the people there today have signed off on their paperwork before they left the office. You did good.”
“We all did well today.” They were laughing and hooting around the phone, and Allie stood up. “I think I’m going to gather up my family and go out to eat. This has been a terribly stressful few days for me.” Anna told her that she was there now and she was glad for her.
“Good job today, Allie. I just heard. Why don’t just you and Beck go out? I’ll keep the kids.” She told Anna that it was too much on her. “It’s not really. They love the babies, and it wears them out when they have someone to play with. Even Eddie enjoys having them around.”
It was a date then. She and Beck would be going out on their first date. Laughing, she told him what she was thinking. When he shifted back to his manly self, she realized how lucky she was to have such a wonderful family in her corner.
Chapter 8
Holly wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with the kids on the floor with her. Conor had gone off with Mr. Morgan to look over some things that he was working on. She hadn’t wanted to go, so she was there now with three babies crawling all over her.
“Can you tell them apart? The girls, I mean?” Holly told Anna who she thought they were. “Good. Morgan still messes them up sometimes. But he loves them to pieces. You seem very unsure of yourself right now.”
“I haven’t been around babies before. They’re very clingy, aren’t they?” Anna laughed and told her they would be until they could walk. They were using her as a hand up. “They don’t know how to walk?”
“No. They’re very close, but they are still holding onto things when they move around. Marie is the most adventurous, but she is also the one that is taking her time in learning that she can let go. I think since Renee hurt her head the other day when she let go of the chair, she’s decided that she’s not taking the chance of her head getting bumped.” Holly thought that their mom was wrong, that they could walk, but didn’t say anything. “Eddie has a long way to go yet. He’s watching his sisters get around, and I think he’s jealous.”
“When they start walking, do you think they’ll show him how to do it?” Anna told her that was probably what was going to happen. “Grandpa Robinson said that the cycle of a person is round. That you start out not knowing anything until you learn a few things. Then as you grow older, you start to reverse yourself and don’t know anything again. I think that’s just sad.”
“He’s been thinking about his death a great deal lately. Like he’s going to go to bed every night and not wake up. I’ve been talking to him about it, but he’s a stubborn old goat.” Marie came to stand on her lap. She didn’t weigh much, but it was still a little scary to have her there. “They won’t break, Holly. They just love people.”
“I know. Renee was standing on her sister a few minutes ago, and I thought for sure they were going to have a rumble.” They both laughed. “I’d like to show you something. If you don’t mind.”
“No. Go ahead.” Holly put Renee by the other couch, then she did the same for Marie. “They’ll be dropping down to their butts in a minute to get to you—”
Marie took her sister’s hand, and the two of them walked across the room toward her. They had to stop a couple of times to steady themselves, but they made it all the way to her. When she and Anna clapped, all three of the kids clapped as well.
“You got them to walk to you!” Anna said that she wanted to see if they could do it again. “That way, I can record it. Oh, Holly, you got them to do something none of us have been able to do. They’re walking.”
“They will come to me one at a time, but they’d rather be holding hands. I think if we were to put something in their hands as they walked over here, they’d do it on their own. Marie might not need anything, but Renee does.” She put the girls back by the other couch and handed Renee the stuffed tiger that was on the floor. “Come on, guys. Show Mommy how smart you are.”
They did it again, this time not holding hands but having fun—every few steps, they’d have to stop and clap their hands. By the time they were halfway to her, Renee had dropped the stuffed animal and made her way to her on her own. It was the greatest thing she’d ever witnessed.
“I can’t believe it. They’re walking.” The girls were so happy with themselves that they walked to Anna. Holly wasn’t sure what was going on when Anna started crying. She told her she was sorry. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong, Holly. I’m just happy. So happy that you did this for us. There’s not going to be anything to stop them now. Have you done anything else since you’ve been here? I’m betting if you hung around more, they’d be going to college next week. I’m joking. I’m so happy right now.”
Eddie could sit up, but he was like a little toy. Once he got too excited or even moved too much, he’d roll right over onto his back again. Holly would set him up so that he could try it again.
The girls, pleased with the hand claps and people gushing over them, were all over the living room now. They would fall a few times and had to be helped up, but Anna was right; there was no stopping them now. Also, she noticed that everything within their reach was fair game to them. The room was such a mess that Holly started picking things up. Renee knocked her brother over, trying to knock some of the pretty things off the coffee table, and Holly scolded her.
It broke her heart when Renee’s lower lip came out and quivered a little. Then big fat tears started to fall before she wailed like Holly had hit her. Anna said to not get caught up in her scheme for getting away with something, but it hurt Holly too much not to cuddle the little girl.
“I’m sorry I hurt your heart, Renee. But you have to be careful of your brother. He’s littler than you.” The little girl looked up at her, still crying tears that made her own eyes fill with them. “When I was a little girl, the little boy across the street was forever hurting my feelings too. He was older than Conor and me, so neither of us wanted to tell on him. Besides, his mommy and daddy weren’t nice anyway. They said that they had raised him right. Perhaps it was just us that was making him lash out. One day Conor and I were waiting at the ice cream truck for our turn. Billy, that was his name, watched us. I knew he was going to try and take our treats. So you know what we did? We bought him a treat as well. When he came toward us to do his nastiest, Conor handed him the cone we’d bought, and we walked away. He was a little bit nicer to us after that. Not all the time, but he wasn’t as mean.” She looked at Anna. “I have no idea why I told her that. It just came out.”
“You comforted her with your story. Not the words, but that you were talking to her in a calm voice. Look, she’s ready to fall asleep now.” She was too. Blinking longer and longer until she just left her eyes closed. “You and your brother haven’t had an easy life, have you?”
“I don’t think we were as bad as some families were. The homes they put us in when we lived at the foster place were terrible places, but it wasn’t so bad since we were together. But the people were getting meaner about things as we kept failing to be a family with them.” Anna told her it wasn’t them. “I guess I sort of know that too. When those people tied me to the bed, all I could think about was that I was going to die. I closed off my mind to what was going to happen and thought of something that Conor and I had done that was fun. Conor saved me. He was hurt, but he told me he’d die for me. Beck and Allie, they’re nothing like the others, are they?”
“No. They’d die for you as well. You understand that, don’t you?” Holly said she didn’t know. “Trust me when I tell you, honey, they’d do anything in the world to save you from harm.”
“Conor gets into trouble a lot. Not as much as he
used to when we first moved in with them, but he said that he hates them sometimes. Like I said, not so much as he did the first day or two. Then he tells me that he loves them too. I do like them a great deal, but they scare me. Not them, I guess, but that they could turn us back over to the home. Conor said he’s feeling that too. Like they’re just waiting for us to be happy, then they’ll take it away from us.”
“I know you have no reason to believe me, but they’re never going to get rid of the two of you. Ever. They’ve fallen in love with you.” Holly said that she heard Allie crying sometimes. “Have you asked her why?”
“No. I’m not sure how to ask her.” Holly looked at the baby sleeping in her arms. “I’ve been thinking that as soon as they have their own kids, they’ll not want us anymore. I mean, you have three babies here. Would you adopt another one and treat them the same?”
“Holly, these three babies aren’t of my body. I didn’t give birth to them. But they’re mine the same as if I had. I love them that much. But they’re adopted the same as you and your brother, as well as Jimmy.” That shocked her. No one treated them like they were castoffs, and she told Anna that. “Castoffs? I can only assume that someone called you that. Well, it’s not true. All of us, the entire family, is waiting on the two of you to show that you want to be a part of the Robinson family. We all feel like you don’t want to be a part of us.”
Holly thought about that, what Anna said when she went to get on the computer for Rogen. Was it their fault that the others treated them differently? She knew she was trying her best not to get close to them. That way, it wouldn’t hurt so much when they were sent away. She’d done that before, gotten attached to the dog that the Hendersons had, and it had hurt her badly when they were taken from the little mutt.
These weren’t dogs, however. They were real people. People that had made sure she and her brother had everything and anything that they needed. Even Conor had himself a job, picking up the sticks that had fallen out of the trees last week. It wasn’t even a just do it job, he told her. He was getting paid real money and not just promised. The Robinsons told him that picking up the sticks and piling them up meant that an animal or two could either use the pile in the winter months or take some of them to his home to make it stronger.
“Beck said that the entire ecosystem depends on all of us doing our part so that everything in the next part will have what they need to make the next part of the circle work. I never knew that so much depended on me just picking up sticks in the yard, did you?” Holly had told him that she’d read it once in a book. “I’m learning so much from Beck and Allie. I hope we get to stay long enough that we can learn more stuff.”
It hadn’t occurred to either of them that this would be long term. That they could be there forever, as Allie had been telling her. Neither Allie nor Beck included them in things just to make themselves look good, but they asked them what they wanted to do. Like today.
When Anna joined her again, Renee was awake and jabbering to her sister. Eddie was joining them some, and Holly thought it was adorable. She still couldn’t believe these kids weren’t Anna’s real kids. No one seemed to care.
“I don’t know what to do about this.” Anna asked her what she wanted to do. “Be in this family. To be able to stay here forever. I don’t want to leave here, ever. I like having food all the time when I want it. And a warm bed. Last night, it was so wonderful to be able to get into bed and know that no one would bother me there. That I could even, if I wanted, stay up later so long as I knew I’d have to get up early for school. No one has ever done things like that for us.”
“Do you want to stay with them for the things they do for you, Holly? It’s all right if that’s what you want. But I hope you’ll also open your heart to love us as much as we already do you.” Holly asked her if she really loved her. “Yes. Of course. You’re a very sweet girl. You’ve been hurt; I understand that too. But no one here will harm you in anyway.”
“They said that they’d die for me.” Anna told her that was right. “I don’t think my parents would have done that for me—I know they wouldn’t have. No one would have before coming here. They only wanted us around for the money, I think.”
“More than likely, that is most of it. You two have been through hell and back. I can’t believe how lucky you were to have survived. And you did too. Survive when all the odds were against you. Now, look where you are. With a couple that loves you, a family that loves to have you around and enjoys your company. Even the kids all love you.” She looked at the girls playing with the blocks she’d gotten out for them. “If you keep this up, keeping a good eye on the kids, you’ll have no end of babysitting jobs. I do hope you know I’m paying you for this. It’s been wonderful for me to just be able to come and go without worrying about what they might get into.”
“I don’t— They’re my cousins, aren’t they?” Anna laughed and said that they were. “So are the other kids. They’re my cousins, and you’re my aunt.”
“I am. So does that mean you’re going to open up a little with us, young lady?” Getting up, she made her way to Anna. Hugging her tightly, holding onto her with just the knowledge that she could, Holly felt her eyes fill with tears again. “Oh, Holly. I have wanted to say this to you and Conor so much. I love you, sweetie. So much. And welcome to the family.”
She was part of a family. Not only that, but she had a family too. Her heart felt as full as it had ever felt. When she sat back down on the floor, all she could think about was that she had a forever home. That she could love them and not have to worry about being broken-hearted when they had to move on. Because no one was going to make them move on.
Anna had another call, and when she left, Holly picked up her cell phone. That was something else that she and her brother had gotten. Phones that were theirs forever too. The word forever was taking on an entirely new meaning for her.
It took Holly five minutes of playing with the babies and finding the right emoji that she wanted to use. Setting up a text, her first text, she told Beck and Allie that she loved them. And that she wanted to be their forever daughter. Hitting send was the hardest thing she’d done. Holding her breath, she only hoped that they’d send her something back that would—
Her phone rang, and Allie’s face appeared. Answering it, Holly just knew that she was going to tell her not to text such nonsense to them again. But the excitement in her voice had Holly thinking they’d be making fun of her.
“I love you too, Holly. Beck is driving, but he said to tell you that he loves you and Conor so very much that he’s glad he gets to say that back to you. Oh, honey. We are so happy that you love us. We love you.” Allie laughed, and so did she. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made us just now. Thank you for letting us know. I will treasure this text message forever. I love you so much.”
When she ended the call a few minutes later, Holly felt on top of the world. When Conor came in, she told him what she and Anna had spoken about. Then she told him what she’d done by texting Allie and Beck. He asked her what they’d said.
“That they love me too.” Conor nodded and told her he wasn’t sure. “That’s okay, I think. You’ll fall in love with them on your own. I just needed to say that to them. Conor, we have cousins. Aunts and uncles. Grandparents. Nobody has ever given that to us before. Do you realize that we have so much right now that I’m about to bust with happiness?”
“I can tell.” He watched the babies with her, playing with them when they walked toward him. “I don’t know yet. I don’t want to love them, then have to tell them that I don’t. Morgan told me that he loved me a bit ago. It felt really good.” She told him it should. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
“Of course you can.” She giggled. “Conor, these kids, they’re adopted. Did you know that? All the kids so far have been adopted. I think that’s wonderful.”
He seemed shocked about it like she had been, but he
didn’t say anything. Holly knew he’d come around. And when he did, he’d feel as good about it as she did. Being with the Robinsons had been everything she used to dream of in being a part of a family. And more, she realized. They were more than she could have hoped for.
~*~
It was strange to be out on a date with a man that she already loved. Allie was so happy right now that she wanted to race home and make sure Holly hadn’t changed her mind about how she felt about them. Beck asked her if she was still thinking about Holly.
“I am. It’s a great feeling to think that a person you’ve already fallen in love with loves you back.” He said that he loved her. “And I love you. But these kids— Holly, I’m sure it was difficult for her to say that. Anna told me they’re afraid to get attached. They don’t want to get heartbroken when we send them back. I’d never do that, but I do understand why they’d feel that way.”
“I do too. I can’t believe how lucky we are to have them with us. And having family around them is something I don’t think they’ve had a lot of. Morgan was showing Conor around the barn and the things he’d thought of as manly. He said that he seemed bored until he let him ride the lawnmower around the yard. That was when it occurred to me that he’d be driving in a couple of years.” They both laughed as they were being seated. “I’ve never eaten here before, but Rogen told me they’re wonderful. I have to thank her for getting us a reservation.”
Beckett: Robinson Destruction – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Page 11
