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)
“Road trip!” Hallie exclaimed from the back.
I smiled and eyed her in the rearview before backing out.
One hell of a road trip, yeah. To bring Micah and little Lily home.
“Did you bring the presents, sweetheart?” Nate asked, peering back.
“Yes, Nana helped me,” Hallie confirmed. “We wrapped everything yesterday.”
They were a godsend, our folks. Throughout this whole process, they’d been there for us. Whether we needed help watching the kids or we had questions, mainly for Ma. This was happening thanks to her—again. An old colleague of hers in Ohio had a case with no foster parents willing to take in two children. Micah was a shy boy at almost four, who’d once been abandoned at his aunt’s house. But said aunt was battling her own demons, all while being pregnant. She’d shown up for her last ultrasound high and screaming that she hadn’t asked for any of this.
The story had hit me hard since I’d been born with a drug addiction.
According to our caseworker, this adoption process was going to be much quicker because all biological parents involved had given up their rights as fast as they could.
But all Nate and I cared about was giving these two angels a safe home.
Micah was withdrawn and anxious but loved comfort and affection. He lit up like the sun every time Nate and I flew out to visit, which we’d done as frequently as we’d been able the past two months. Hell, we would’ve brought him home sooner if we hadn’t determined it was best he stayed close to Lily while she recovered. She no longer needed hospital care, so that was a relief.
Imagine that. Three months old and already having gone through so much.
It broke my fucking heart.
A couple of days later
Columbus
Nathan Riley
I hoped it would be a long time before I saw another waiting room’s pale-yellow walls after this. Lily’s new doctor at home—I already knew they had light-purple walls. A slight improvement.
I smiled at Hallie as she inspected the lackluster kiddie corner, eventually settling for one of the children’s books. Knowing her, she’d return it in a minute—and not because she happened to be a fast reader for her age, but because she was about as impatient as Ash. But at least Ash was in there with Lily, for her final exam.
The room was too small for all of us, so I’d offered to wait with the others outside.
“Dylan,” I whispered.
He glanced up from his comic.
“Is he asleep?” I gestured at Micah in my arms. His forehead had dropped to my shoulder a minute or so ago, and I couldn’t see him properly.
Dylan quirked a little smirk and nodded.
I exhaled, relieved and happy. Micah had been surprisingly quick to get comfortable around Ash and me, and now we were preparing ourselves for an adjustment period of worries, fretting, and clinginess. Hallie had been similar at Micah’s age, refusing to let go of us, sometimes even if we’d only left the room.
Something told me Micah was going to struggle a skosh more to trust that we were always coming back.
That had been the worst part about leaving after every visit, seeing his worry. How his little chin had trembled, how his big eyes had welled up—
I cleared my throat and felt my eyes burn at the mere memory.
I rubbed his back gently.
No more visits. He was coming home with us soon.
I pressed a kiss to the dark locks that covered his head.
Fucking hell, it had been an emotional couple of months.
“Daddy, how long is it gonna take?” Hallie tossed her book on the chair next to her and huffed.
I checked the clock that ticked annoyingly every full minute. “It shouldn’t be much long—” I cut myself off when I heard Ash down the hall. “There we go. Do you hear Daddy?”
“Yes!” Hallie bolted out of the room and down the hall.
My heart started beating a little faster, and it wasn’t long before everyone returned. Ash, holding our little miracle, the doctor, and our caseworker. And Hallie, of course. She was itching to hold Lily again.
“All good news, I hope?” I carefully rose to my feet, not wanting Micah to wake up.
“Yeah,” Ash murmured. His gaze was firmly fixed on the baby girl in his arms, so the doctor took over and confirmed that Lily’s recovery was almost complete. A whole other brand of special care waited for us now, which was why we had a pediatrician picked out already.
Because we simply didn’t know if Lily would suffer any long-term effects. Throughout her childhood, she was going to need checkups so the doctors could keep close watch on every developmental curve.
I shook the doctor’s hand before he wished us a safe trip back to Virginia, and he excused himself.
So did our caseworker. “You take all the time you need, and we’ll see each other back at the group home after lunch.” She gently touched Lily’s cheek and smiled. “Precious little fighter.”