Bye-Bye Baby Page 31
“I know how much you loved the thing,” Lily had said as Beth hugged the painting. “I guess I was always hoping you’d come back.”
Beth had hugged her next. She’d never had a sister, but Lily was it for her.
True to his words, Cole had converted one room into the perfect dream room for little girls. Calla and Willa loved it so much, it was near impossible to get them to leave. The other room had been done up for Damon and the final room was left empty, but Beth didn’t miss the subtle hints Cole kept dropping about filling it with a crib. Hell, if she wasn’t tempted.
“Beth?” Laura poked her head inside. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Giving Mrs. Turner a wave, she followed Laura out into the hall.
“Who is it?”
Laura shrugged. “Some woman.”
Beth recognized the snappy, flashy outfits and that dark wave of hair anywhere. Stacy Barns turned to watch her as Beth returned to the front desk. Her dark eyes revealed nothing.
“Ms. Doan,” she said in the way of greeting.
Beth inclined her head. “Ms. Barns.” She stopped in front of the woman. “How are you?”
Ms. Barns nodded like that was an answer. “I was hoping we could talk.”
Beth glanced towards Laura, who waved at her.
“You’re due for a break anyway,” she said.
Thanking her, Beth led Ms. Barns to the cafeteria.
“Do I need to call Cole?” Beth asked.
Ms. Barns checked her watch. “Perhaps that would be best.”
Hands trembling for unknown reasons, Beth tugged her phone free of her scrubs and dialed.
Cole answered on the third ring. He must have run up the stairs from the basement, because he was breathless.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me. Are you busy?”
“Just installing a motherboard. What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Ms. Barns is here at the hospital and she’d like a word with us.”
There was a pause where she was sure she knew exactly what Cole was thinking: they were about to lose Damon.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
She hung up and stuffed the phone back into her pocket.
“He’s on his way,” she told the woman.
With a nod, Ms. Barns moved to an empty table and sat. Seeing no other choice, Beth took the seat opposite her.
“I’ve been meaning to congratulation you on your many wonderful new changes,” Ms. Barns said. “You must be excited.”
Beth nodded. “I am.”
“How is the new house? And have you set a date for the wedding?”
“We haven’t yet,” she murmured. “We might wait a year to save up for a nice wedding, but the house is great. Cole and Damon just finished painting Damon’s room. He picked pink. It’s not like pink-pink, but a soft, almost white with a hint of pink.”
Ms. Barns raised an eyebrow. “Pink?”
Beth nodded. “It’s Damon’s favorite color.”
“I see,” was all she said. “How is Damon adjusting to the change?”
“Great,” Beth said. “Fine. Willa and Calla are just down the road so he’s always playing with them and his friend Jared lives a few roads over.” She tried to smile, but it fell flat. “The house is full of kids.” Which it wouldn’t be anymore if Damon wasn’t there.
“So Damon is still getting along with the girls, Calla and Willa?”
Beth laughed thickly. “They’re practically inseparable. Willa adores Damon. She calls him every night before bed to say goodnight and…” Her voice broke before she could control it.
“Beth?” It was strange hearing her name come from the other woman. “Is something wrong?”
It was hard to control the tears this time.
“I know why you’re here,” Beth said. “You’re taking him.”
The woman sighed. Her gaze lowered to the table and it was all the answer Beth needed.
“Was … is it the aunt?” She sniffled. “Cole and I talked about this day. We knew it would hurt, but if it’s best for Damon … that’s what we want. That’s all we want. We just want him to be happy and safe.” She wiped at her tears. “We just hope she’ll let us write to him, maybe fly down and see him on holidays, or something.”
Ms. Barns shook her head. “She never got back to us. We’re assuming that means she’s not interested.”
“Not…” Beth broke off. “How can she not be interested? He’s her blood, her family. He’s just a baby!”
The woman shrugged. “That’s how it works sometimes. Most people won’t take kids in after a certain age, that age being as old as Damon is. They want a baby who doesn’t remember the pain and abuse so they won’t have to deal with it. That is why there are so many teens in the system.”
Beth took a deep breath. “So, where are you taking him then?”
“I would prefer to wait for Mr. McClain so we can discuss it together.”
It only took Cole twenty minutes to get there, but it felt like hours. The silence that stretched between her and Ms. Barns wrapped around her like a hot shroud, cutting off her air. She wanted to scream, and then Cole was there and the pain was worse.
Cole took one look into Beth’s tear filled eyes and his body stiffened. His face darkened. He slid into the chair next to her and placed a hand over hers.
“Thank you for joining us, Mr. McClain,” Ms. Barns said. “I know this must be very difficult for both of you.”
“You can’t possibly know,” Cole murmured.
Ms. Barns nodded. “Perhaps not, but what you did for him is no doubt a kindness he will never forget.”
“Stop.” Cole closed his eyes and pressed his thumb and middle finger into the back of his eyelids. “Just tell us when she’s coming.”
“Who?”
He lowered his hand. “The aunt. When is she coming to get him?”
“It’s not her,” Beth whispered. “She didn’t want him.”
Cole looked as appalled as she felt. “What?” He turned his furious eyes on Ms. Barns. “Where are you taking him?”
Ms. Barns put up a hand. “We are not permitted to divulge that information, but it’s mandatory that the child only stay in a temporary home for so long before they are removed to avoid attachment. You’ve already had him for much longer than is allowed.”
“So you’re just going to send him from stranger to stranger?”
“He will be taken to a group home until he is adopted.”
“We’ll adopt him!” Cole burst out. “We’ll give him a home and all the love he can possibly handle. Don’t take that away from him. Please.”
Something akin to sadness passed over Ms. Barn’s eyes. “It is not that simple. Something like this has to go through the courts. It could take months, or years. Not to mention no judge will award a couple of twenty-something year olds the power to adopt, not when there’s a chance they could have their own and just send the adopted child back into the system.”
“We’re not like that,” Beth said. “We love Damon as much as we love Calla, or Willa, or any other baby we might ever have.”
“And we don’t care how long it takes,” Cole piped in. “Tell us how to start. We’ll do whatever it takes. Damon is our son.”
Ms. Barns glanced down at her hands folded neatly on the table. A soft chuckle escaped her and she shook her head.
“I was hoping you would say that.” She pulled out her ever present files and set them on the table between them. Her dark eyes went from Cole to Beth. “I need you both to be sure you’re ready for this, because it’s not going to be an easy road.”
Beth squeezed Cole’s fingers tightly. “Whatever we have to do.”
Epilogue ~ Cole
Three years later…
“Mom!” Damon tried to dodge Beth’s anxious, fussing hands. “I’m good! Stop!”
“Your tie’s crooked!” Beth protested, her voice breaking with every word. “Just let me…”
“What if the judge changes his mind?” she croaked. “What if he says no because we didn’t dress Damon properly and it shows neglect, or—?”
“He’s not going to say no because Damon’s tie’s crooked,” he assured her. “Besides, this is our finalization with the courts. We did all the paperwork. We went to every meeting, did every medical, criminal, and background check known to man. We passed every one of their inspections, questions, and examinations. We were approved. They’re not going to say no now.”
“We’re just so close,” Beth gasped.
“It only took three years,” Damon piped in as he adjusted his own tie, making the red sash even more crooked across the plane of his white dress shirt.
The road had been long, and most days, it had been unbearable, but all their hard work was about to finally pay off.
“Because Ms. Barns wanted to make sure the judges didn’t say no,” Cole reminded him. “Your mom and I had to grow up a little, prove to the courts we were serious about keeping you.”
Damon glanced from one to the other, his blue eyes barely masking his apprehension and fears. He was still too little, in Cole’s opinion. The doctors assured them he was growing, putting on weight and height just like a kid his age was supposed to, but damn if it didn’t bug Cole.
“What?” Beth jumped on the scent of uncertainty. “What’s wrong?”
A muscle moved in Damon’s jaw. “Are you guys sure about this?”
Beth and Cole exchanged glances.
“What do you mean?” Cole asked.
Damon shifted his slight frame. “You have Toby now.” His gaze flicked over to where the six month old was sleeping in his car seat. “Do you still want me?”
Beth pulled him into her arms. “You will always be my baby, do you hear me? I love you so much.” She drew back and stroked his face. “You’re just as important to us as Toby.”
“But you’re right,” Cole said. “We don’t want you. But we sure as hell need you, Damon. You’re our son, no matter whose blood runs through your veins. Nothing and no one is ever going to change that. You will always be a McClain.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then he raised his head and met his father’s eyes squarely.
“Dad?”
No matter how many times Cole was called that, it still hit him square in the chest.
“Yeah?”
Damon looked from Cole to Beth. “I’m ready.”
A knock followed his statement. The door opened and Ms. Barns poked her head inside.
She smiled at them. “How are we doing in here?”
Beth placed a hand on Damon’s shoulder and pulled him back into her. “We’re ready.”
Ms. Barns’ smile broadened. “There are a few people out here waiting for you.”
Sharing a bemused glance, Beth and Damon followed the social worker out into the grand foyer of the courthouse. Cole turned to his other son. He bent down and fixed his little blue cap, tucked the blanket more securely around him and touched his downy cheek. Toby never stirred. His ability to sleep through anything was just like his mother’s.
“Come on, little man,” he said. “Let’s officially welcome your brother into the family.”
Sloan and Lily were talking to Ms. Barns and Beth when he left the small waiting room. Calla, Willa, and Damon sat on a wooden bench a short distance away. Willa was holding Damon’s hand in her lap. She and Calla had grown just as much as Damon. The pair had gotten taller. Calla’s face had begun to thin out, but Willa’s was still round and innocent. The bond she shared with Damon hadn’t lessened, if anything, the two were practically joined at the hip now that Willa was in school full time. Cole studied his babies and felt that part of him that had been empty growing up fill with more love than he knew what to do with. All his life, it had always been just him and Sloan. Neither one of them ever imagined they would be so happy. At least he hadn’t. Now he had a wife he was crazy about, two sons he adored more than life itself, and two little imps who would always be his little girls. He couldn’t possibly ask for anything else.
“There’s my handsome man!” Lily gushed, swooping down to take Toby from him and scurry off to the bench with the other children.
Calla’s face lit up when Toby was placed down next to her. Unlike her acceptance of Willa and her more reluctant acceptance of Damon, she took to Toby the minute Cole had placed him in her arms. Whenever she was over at the house, Calla spent the majority of her time following Beth around, asking if Toby needed anything. It was a relief to Cole. He didn’t think he had the energy between three am wake up calls, his computer business, and the other three children to worry about Calla acting out.
Sloan chuckled as his wife unhitched Toby from his car seat and cuddled him to her chest. “I told her I’d give her one of her own, but she says it would throw off the balance.”
Beth laughed. “It’s true. We have an even set of boys and girls.”
“Mommy, let me see!” Calla whined, forcing her mother to sit so they could both fuss over a grumpy-faced Toby, who had opened one eye to glower up at the pair.
Next to them, Willa turned her head up towards Damon. She asked something and he shrugged. Willa frowned and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Should be any minute now,” Ms. Barns assured them.
Beth and Cole both smiled at her.
“Thank you for everything,” Beth said. “I know we weren’t exactly … welcoming in the beginning.”
Ms. Barns laughed. “That’s a nice way of putting it, and I won’t lie, I didn’t think this would work. But you two sure surprised me. I’m happy Damon’s getting the family he deserves.”
Beth closed the distance and put her arms around the other woman. Ms. Barns blinked in surprised, but her features softened and she hugged Beth back.
Cole turned to the man next to him. “Thank you for coming today.”
Sloan frowned like that was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. “I’m his uncle.”
Cole smiled. “Yeah, you are.”
Ms. Barns checked her watch. “Okay, it’s time.”
She held the doors open and every one piled through. Cole waited for Damon. He pulled the boy aside.
“We’ll be right there,” he told the social worker.
Ms. Barns inclined her head and let the door shut.
Cole knelt in front of Damon.
“Do you want this?” he asked. “If you say yes, then you’re stuck with us forever. That means I’ll be your dad. I will love you and support you, but I will also put down the law when I think you need to rethink your decisions. It won’t be easy and I know there will be days we won’t get along, but I will always have your back. That is, if you’ll have us.”
“If I say no?”
Cole gave him a humorless smile. “You’re still stuck with us, because your mother won’t accept anything else. Neither would I.”
Damon broke into a brilliant smile. “I like being stuck with you guys.”
Cole ruffled his hair, then quickly patted the dark strands down before his wife noticed. “Good.” He rose. “Let’s get this over with so we can get ice cream.”
The End
Forever His Baby
The Baby Saga, book #1
(Available in ebook & paperback)
Be My Baby
The Baby Saga, book #3
Coming summer 2015
About Airicka Phoenix
Airicka Phoenix lives in a world where unicorns, fairies and mermaids run amok through her home on a daily basis. When she’s not chasing after pixies and rounding up imps, also known as her four children, she can be found conjuring up evil villains, bad-ass heroines and swoon-worthy heroes to play with.
Airicka is singlehandedly responsible for her greatly anticipated collections, The Touch Saga, The Lost Girl Duology, The Regeneration Series, Games of Fire & Betraying Innocence. She also writes mature
paranormal & contemporary romance under the dark guise of Morgana Phoenix. To date, she is responsible for The Sons of Judgment Saga, In The Dark Series, & The Baby Saga.
For more about Airicka and the realm she rules with an iron fist--and tons of chocolate--visit her at www.airickaphoenix.com.