by Anya Summers
“Got it. You’re the best, Linda.”
“Um hmm,” Linda said with a wink.
First hurdle overcome. Sadie just hoped she wouldn’t run into Luc or any of the nurses from the ICU. She did not want to explain why she was here, especially when she couldn’t really explain it fully herself.
She flashed her nurse’s badge at the pediatrics desk and they waved her on through. She rode the elevator up and realized she was strung tight. She rolled her shoulders, trying to diffuse the tension. She was just visiting a little girl who was alone in the hospital. Then again, she likely had family with her—grandparents, aunts, uncles, someone who was with her.
And they would likely think she was a crazy woman for wanting to visit a strange toddler she didn’t know. She forced herself off the elevator when the doors slid open with a ding, and located the room with ease. Each wing of this hospital was similar in design and once you figured out the layout, it was simple to navigate.
The door to the room was wide open. In the pediatric ward, in deference to it being children they were treating, they had opted to try and make the rooms cheerful and bright, with soft blue walls and a scene depicting kids flying a kite in a meadow. It was a nice touch. But what struck Sadie was the tiny girl in the hospital bed who had no one, not a single soul, in the room with her.
The television was on, playing cartoons. And the little girl with dark black hair stared listlessly up at the screen. Sadie’s heart ached for the child. She pasted a tremulous smile on her face and entered the room.
“Hi Grace, I’m Sadie.”
Grace’s doe eyes the color of dark chocolate met hers with curiosity and hesitation, along with a flicker of fear. She likely thought Sadie was here to make her do more tests.
Sadie padded over, keeping an approachable smile on her face while assessing Grace’s arm and leg, both in casts, and the IV in her arm. She was hooked up to a heart monitor. A glance at the screen told Sadie that her vitals were good and strong.
“I brought this for you. I thought you might like some company.”
Grace reached out and took the bear, then hugged it close to her chest. It wasn’t a small bear, either, probably half Grace’s size. Some of her guarded expression diminished.
“I also brought some books with me. Would you like me to read some to you?”
That got her attention. She perked up and nodded, with excitement in her gaze. Sadie’s heart broke for Grace. She wanted to cuddle the little girl close. Sadie moved a chair up next to the hospital bed and handed Grace the stack of books.
“You pick the one you want me to read.”
Grace nodded, then looked through them one by one until she came to one about a boy with his purple crayon. The nurse’s board listed Grace as non-verbal. Sadie wondered if it was because of the trauma of the accident. The poor thing probably was terrified, looking toward the door for her mom, dad, or brother and never seeing them walk in. Sadie had been thirty when she’d lost her parents, she couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for the little girl.
Sadie moved the chair as close to the bed as possible and lowered the hospital bed down about half a foot. This way, she was close enough so Grace could see the images on the pages. With an eye on Grace, Sadie began to read all about Harold and his adventures with that crayon. When she’d finished, Grace was smiling, displaying dimples on both cheeks.
Sadie shut the book. “Okay, which one would you like to read next?”
Grace pointed at Harold.
“Are you sure? This one? Again?”
Grace nodded with a small smile and pointed at Harold.
“Harold it is.” Sadie read Harold’s story three more times before they moved on to another book in the stack. This one was a Dr. Seuss, with his red fish and blue fish. And as Sadie read, a strange and rather magical thing happened. Grace leaned closer and put her small hand on Sadie’s forearm, rubbing her arm slightly in what Sadie knew to be a comforting gesture.
Sadie wanted to pull the little girl onto her lap and cuddle her. She’d lost everyone, just like Sadie had, only Sadie had been an adult capable of understanding the loss. But Grace? Had anyone explained to her as best they could that her mom and dad were gone? That her older brother was gone?
They were halfway through The Cat in the Hat when a woman entered. She was about ten years older than Sadie, wearing gray business slacks on her rounded hips and a bright blue blouse, her dark hair cut in a short bob that ended at her angular jaw, framing her face.
“Oh, I didn’t expect to see anyone here with Grace. I’m Victoria Morales, and who might you be? Are you a member of Grace’s family?”
Sadie rose from her seat, leaving Grace with the books. “No, I’m Sadie Montgomery. I’m an RN from the ICU who treated the rest of the Sanchez family.”
Victoria’s eyes lit up with understanding. “I see. Well, it was very nice of you to come visit. Grace, would you look at that! Books, and who is this?” Victoria indicated the purple teddy bear.
Grace pulled the bear to her chest in a defensive move.
“I see she’s your bear. Does she have a name?”
Grace nodded yes but she refused to speak. Sadie’s heart rolled over in her chest and exposed its soft underbelly. What would it take to make her talk? Besides the obvious, but there was no power in the universe that could bring her family back to life. Sadie knew that because she had looked.
Victoria sighed in defeat when Grace refused to speak.
“I’m going to go get some lunch. Would you like some snacks, Grace?” Sadie asked. Grace nodded. “Okay, I’ll be right back and will let Victoria visit with you for a bit. Victoria, could I speak to you outside for a moment?”
Sadie couldn’t explain what she was feeling, even to herself.
“Certainly. I will be right back, Grace.” Victoria followed Sadie outside the room, where they could both still see in but could talk without Grace overhearing their conversation.
“I know her parents and brother died in the accident. Does she have any other family?”
Victoria shook her head with a deep sigh. “No. I was hoping that you were an obscure family member. I’m a social worker with the Division of Family Services, assigned to Grace’s case. It’s looking like there aren’t any aunts or uncles or grandparents or distant relatives who might be awarded guardianship by the courts to raise her. The parents had a will, but no one listed as a possible guardian should the worst happen.”
Dread settled in the pit of Sadie’s stomach. “And what does that mean for Grace?”
“That once she heals, she will likely be put into foster care and possibly adopted one day,” Victoria said, like it was something she witnessed far too often.
No. It wasn’t right. There was something just so wrong about the whole situation.
“I’ll do it. Give me whatever application I need to fill out and I will do it. I will foster Grace,” Sadie blurted out before she could change her mind.
Victoria raised a finely shaped brow at her statement. “You? Really? You want to foster Grace?”
Sadie was just as surprised herself by her outburst. But she had meant every word. “Yes. Just tell me what I need to do. I know she’s going to need help. Possibly a child psychiatrist to help her work through her grief. And a lot of patience. I’m financially solvent. I have a two-bedroom condominium, but if I need to buy a house with a yard and get her a dog, I will. I know it will be an adjustment.”
Still skeptical, Victoria asked, “Why are you doing this?”
Sadie figured honesty was the best route. “Because I know first-hand what it’s like to lose everyone. My husband and parents died in a car accident two years ago. Grace needs someone. And who better than a person who understands what it’s like to lose everyone to help her navigate her grief? I know I will need to change my work schedule, and that’s okay. That’s an easy change.”
“I see. Come see me at my office tomorrow morning, at nine o’clock sharp, because I have a full day
of meetings after that. There’s quite a bit of paperwork to fill out and some hoops to jump through. But I like you. And the fact that you took it upon yourself to visit with Grace says a lot.” Victoria handed Sadie a business card.
“I’ll be there. And I’m going to run to the cafeteria to grab her something to eat. Do you know if she has any food allergies?”
“None that have been listed in her file. I’d stick with the basics,” Victoria said kindly.
Sadie nodded. Basics were good. Basics, she could do. “Okay, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Sadie left Victoria standing in the hallway. She knew she likely sounded crazy. But last night had done something for her. It had revived her, and plugged her back in, like a machine that had been idling for two years. And while she had lost everything, so had Grace, and the little girl wasn’t old enough to understand what had happened to her family. Who better to help her, to guide her, than Sadie? They could help each other heal.
In the cafeteria, she grabbed one of the boxed lunches with a turkey sandwich, salad, and an apple for herself. It was harder to choose for Grace because she didn’t know what the little girl liked. So she bought a smorgasbord of items: kids’ yogurt, some chicken nuggets, goldfish crackers, the small cuties oranges and some strawberries, a packet of animal crackers, some milk, and apple juice. Sadie grabbed so much that the cashier had to give her two bags.
Okay, so maybe she had gone a little overboard. But the listless little girl in the hospital bed had tugged on Sadie’s heartstrings and she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
As Sadie made it back to the room, Victoria was leaving. “I will see you in the morning.” The woman didn’t hide her grin when she spied the bags of goodies.
Sadie’s tiny smidgeon of embarrassment vanished the moment she walked back into Grace’s room and the little girl’s eyes lit up. She held up Harold’s story with a come on and read it to me again expression.
Sadie walked over and set her bags on the bed tray. Grace’s eyes grew wide.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a lot. It’s okay if you don’t eat everything. We can save some for later too.” Sadie put a few of the chicken nuggets, orange slices, and the drinkable yogurt on a plate the cafeteria had provided. She got the milk and put a straw in it to make it easier for Grace to drink.
Grace spied the animal crackers, which really weren’t crackers, they were cookies, and pointed at them excitedly.
“You can have some cookies once you eat some of the healthy stuff, okay? Is that a deal?” Sadie had no idea how to make a toddler eat other than by bargaining with them. But she would learn. It would be a steep learning curve, but she could stop at a bookstore on the way home and get a parenting book.
Sadie sat beside Grace and ate her turkey on wheat. As she ate, Grace became animated, almost dancing in her bed. But her voice was still silent.
Sadie would help her get comfortable enough that the little girl felt confident that she could speak. Sadie knew that taking on Grace would upend her life, but she was okay with that. It had needed shaking up.
Sadie ended up spending the rest of Sunday with Grace, staying with her until she fell asleep that night, promising Grace that she would be back the next day for lunch. That should give her enough time to meet with Victoria and run her errands.
When Sadie left the hospital that night, the sun had set. But for the first time in forever, she had a purpose. She’d figure it out. She had no idea why this, why Grace, was so important to her, but she was.
Chapter 13
The next morning, Sadie met with Victoria, and filled out all the forms to become a foster parent in the State of Louisiana. Then she was provided with a form that she needed to take to a local police station, where she had to get herself fingerprinted. There were also some classes she had to take—there were a few online that she could get squared away rather quickly—and a home inspection to schedule.
One of the trickier aspects of taking Grace on, if Sadie was approved, was facing one of her biggest fears. The thought of it filled her with an unholy terror. She would be forced to drive again.
The prospect was unsettling and fraught with loads of tension. But if she did it, if she put herself back behind the wheel, it would go a long way toward resurrecting her independence and getting her life back.
And another lightbulb had gone off overnight. When the orgasm she’d experienced masturbating to the memory of her night with Ram left her slack-jawed, Sadie realized that she wasn’t done with BDSM, and perhaps wasn’t done with Ram, either, although she wasn’t ready to examine the whys of that little mystery more closely. What she did know was that her night with Ram and his flogger had altered her, opened her up for more.
After the meeting with Victoria, Sadie went shopping. She picked up a few pairs of pajamas, more books, some cute hair ties, a brush, toothbrush and kids’ toothpaste. She didn’t know whether Grace was potty trained or not. They had her hooked up with a catheter now because of her leg, but that would come out in the next day or so when she began physical therapy.
Sadie even stopped at a furniture store and bought a kid’s bedroom suite with a frilly dresser, nightstand and bed with a unicorn theme, and scheduled to have them delivered on Wednesday. That way, she could have the room put together before she had the home visit at the end of the week.
It was moving fast, but Victoria had indicated that the State would want to place Grace as quickly as possible. That meant Sadie had not a moment to lose.
Then Sadie took the bus over to the club. She didn’t know if Ram wanted her again. He had indicated it had all been a one-night deal. And while her heart hated that fact, she knew that even if he didn’t want her, she had to become a member.
The door to the first floor was thankfully open. But when she went inside, she didn’t spy a soul. She glanced at her watch, still holding her bags. She had promised Grace she would be there by lunch today and was running out of time.
She tried the elevator, but the keypad kept saying her thumbprint did not match. Well, no, duh. She wasn’t a member, but she wanted to be. She put her thumb on the pad again on a whim. No one was more surprised than Sadie when the doors slid open. A man walked out with his eyebrows up and a rather stoic façade as he appraised her. Okay, she wasn’t wearing clothing that screamed sex kitten. And it probably didn’t help that she had bags in her hands filled with items for a three-year-old.
“Can I help you, little one? Are you lost?” he asked in a sinfully dark baritone. The man was Mister Badass personified, in black jeans and a black t-shirt stretched over muscles that should be indecent, he was so ripped. His hair was black and cut military style short. And he had one of those faces on which perpetual dark stubble only made him appear that much hotter. Her girlfriends back in Seattle would call him downright fuckable.
Sadie grimaced. “Um, no, I’m not lost. I was here the other night.”
He pegged her with a stare. “I remember you. Seems you and Master Ram are acquainted with each other, if I recall.”
“Yes. I was wondering what I needed to do to become of member for the floor upstairs. I don’t really know what I’m doing.” As with most of her life, she seemed to be winging it a lot lately.
“And you’re a submissive?” He crossed his beefy arms in front of his chest, the muscles in his forearms bulging, and she noticed the tribal tat covering his left forearm.
“I think I am. I’m new to the lifestyle and have a lot to learn. And I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t even know who you are.”
A hint of a grin spread over his lips as he stared. “It’s all right. I’m one of the owners. One of eight, in fact, at your service. If you would follow me, I can get you set up with an application.”
“Sure. I’m Sadie Montgomery, by the way.”
“Quinten, but in the club, they call me Master Q.” He led her to an office in the back on the first floor, had
her sit, and began handing her paperwork. It seemed that today was a day for it.
“This one is so that we can run a background check, saying you authorize us to do it.” He handed her the form.
“It’s not going to be my first one today.” She wondered if it was like getting hits on your credit report.
“Excuse me?” His eyebrows went up.
“I just applied to be a foster parent this morning. There’s a little girl who just lost her whole family and I think I can help her.”
His gaze warmed, and the corners of his mouth twitched like he was trying not to laugh. “I see. Are you sure this is the place for you? You seem too sweet for a place like Underworld.”
She sighed. “Why, because I don’t look like a hooker right now? Sorry, it’s not my normal daywear, especially not when I’m going to the hospital to visit a three-year-old.”
“I see the kitten has some claws. Just checking. It’s not for everyone.”
“I still have a lot to learn, but after the other night, it’s like there’s a part of me I never knew I had which opened up and now needs it. I know that probably doesn’t make any sense.” Her entire life was changing, and at a clip that left her breathless. Then again, it had been like she had been standing still for two years. She was just finally catching up with the rest of the world.
“It makes perfect sense. Here, you need to read through this packet cover to cover. It’s all about the lifestyle and what is expected of a submissive at Club Underworld. One of us will call you and let you know that your application was approved.”
“Okay, thank you.” She added it into the file folder in one of her bags.
“Is there anything else I can do for you today, Sadie?”
“Not unless you know where the closest police station is so I can get the fingerprinting portion done for Family Services,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, trying to tease him over the whole getting two background checks in a day thing.
He cocked his head to the side and replied with a lopsided grin, “Actually, I think I can help you out with that as well.”
