He smiled. “You’re going to have to call me Mask now instead of Forrester.”
I died. I literally died a little right there.
The second I came back to life, I lunged, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him into my body. He grimaced a little because I was too rough, but I didn’t stop. I kissed him in the center of the room. In front of half the family… in front of our kids.
With a growl, I pulled back and ran a tongue over my lips, tasting him again. “I’m getting you a ring.”
“Get one bigger than Rimmel’s. Rome will be pissed,” cracked Braeden.
Drew’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “Okay.”
Oh, I liked when he submitted to me, when he yielded to every demand I made. If it weren’t for his ribs and the people standing around, I would be all over him. I would be in him.
Easing back, I motioned to B. “Help him into bed.”
“I have to go talk to them,” I said of everyone in the hall.
Drew nodded.
I was getting married. To this guy. To my everything. I hadn’t wanted to get married before.
But now I did.
Sweet Jesus, now I definitely did.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, still staring at his face, backing out of the room so I could look longer. My heart thumped erratically, my hands shook, and my stomach… My stomach felt as though I’d just been on an upside-down rollercoaster.
I reveled in all of it.
A week ago, I thought I’d lost everything. I feared my life would never be the same.
I’d been partially right. It wouldn’t be the same again.
It was going to be better.
39
Drew
* * *
Travis’s foster mother left him at the hospital. Basically, she told Gamble she couldn’t handle him anymore and walked out.
The hospital got involved. Ron Gamble got involved.
The mayor showed up.
Yes. The mayor of Maryland.
Ron Gamble didn’t play around. When you asked a man like him to do you a favor, you didn’t get a signed letter of recommendation or twenty bucks. You got a visit from the mayor himself.
The head of the county court showed up too, along with the head of child services.
All of them had briefcases and sensible shoes.
I was lucky my ass wasn’t hanging out of the back of my hospital gown.
You know who else showed up? Joey, Lorhaven, Hopper, and Arrow. The only two people who did not crowd my hospital room were Valerie and Caroline because they were with all the kids.
Child services accused us of trying to intimidate with large numbers to get our way.
But this wasn’t intimidation. This was family. Our family. And it was their way of showing the powers that be exactly who was showing up for these kids.
Kids they accepted as their family within minutes of being told about them. Kids they didn’t even have to know. All we said was, “They’re ours,” and that was it. Total acceptance. Total support.
My parents could have learned something. But you know, I wasn’t sure this kind of loyalty could be learned. This went deeper than that. Deeper than blood.
After ten minutes with us, the director of child services, Colleen Blackstone, understood. We were asked question after question. I filled out papers until my hand literally cramped up and Trent took the pen from me.
We learned that Travis and baby girl’s mother died of an overdose not long after giving birth. If Travis hadn’t taken care of the baby, then carried her to a neighbor’s house for help, it was uncertain where they might be today.
There were no fathers on record. No one to surrender parental rights. No other family. Travis had been abandoned at the hospital by the person chosen by the state to care for him. A person who had also left a visible handprint around his arm.
I’m glad he bit her. Bitch deserved it.
They were calling it an emergency placement.
When it was even slightly suggested Trent and I might have too much going on to be accepted as foster parents, every single couple in the room offered to apply.
Four couples. Four couples offered to take these kids on until we were deemed worthy.
It didn’t really help much because none of them were already registered to be foster parents… but it meant everything.
And it moved all the powers that be in the room. These kids might be getting two dads, but they were also getting one hell of a support system. Many of which were well-liked, well-known celebrities.
The mayor signed off on it, and when the mayor greenlights something, that’s all it takes.
Travis and the baby were placed in our temporary custody until more permanent arrangements could be made.
Permanent arrangements = finalized adoption.
It would take awhile. We had more paperwork, more interviews, classes to take, and God knew what else until we were granted permanent adoption.
I was confident it would go through. We were committed and would do whatever we needed to do to see this done. We were lucky because Ron Gamble was behind us, and he was an expert at cutting through red tape (without breaking the law). Most people wouldn’t be able to foster or adopt this easily, but again, we weren’t most people.
I used to not like that so much. Now? I thanked God for it.
Sometimes things had to go really dark for you to see the stars. And sometimes, when the stars came out, they aligned.
We still had a long way to go to make these kids officially ours. We had a lot of doctor visits, a lot of health checkups… and, ah, some aggression issues to work through with Travis, but that was okay.
The biggest, most important part was that they were with us. Everything else we could take on as it came.
“I need to get out of here,” I said, tired of being held hostage by this bed.
“The doctor said your test results looked good, so it won’t be long,” Trent said, his voice a low murmur.
I liked it when he talked like that. It was like thunder rumbling overhead in the distant sky. It was somehow soothing, somehow demanding, and overall sexy.
He wasn’t wearing a shirt again. He’d shed the layer and was sitting close to the bed, his feet on the mattress, with the baby nestled against his chest. She was dressed in nothing but a diaper, looking like a tiny, dark-headed angel. Skin to skin contact was the best thing at calming her down, so I guessed I was going to have to get used to seeing Trent strutting around this room without a shirt.
I didn’t mind, but neither did anyone else, which was something I did mind.
“That’s the only girl I will ever be okay with you holding without a shirt on,” I told him.
He chuckled, and that low, rumbly voice made my skin prickle with goose bumps. “Your voice like that…” I said, sliding a casual glance at Travis, who was currently drawing all over my cast with a marker. “I like it as much as you like my scruff.”
Trent lifted an eyebrow, interest clearly piqued. “Is that so?” He countered in the exact same tone.
I knew it was so he didn’t disturb the baby, but fuck… that voice was disturbing me. Grabbing the blanket, I bunched it around my hips, hoping to cover the stiffening rod between my legs.
Trent smiled a cocky, knowing smile.
“Look.” Travis patted on my knee. His small hand filled me with tenderness.
“What’s up?” I asked, glancing down and trying not to grimace at the shit ton of black drawing all over the white cast.
“I made a road,” he announced, placing the Mustang he always carried on his drawing to drive it around.
“Look at that,” I said appreciatively. “Looks like that cast is useful after all.”
Trent chuckled.
“Look, ‘Rent,” Travis called. Even though he was five, when he said T’s name, it sounded more like “rent” than Trent.
We’d been given a lot of info on the kids, but not everything. I had an entire file beside th
e bed to read, but I hadn’t gotten through it all yet. I would. It was important. But to me, it was more important that I actually paid attention to these kids. That I actually saw them and got a feel for who they were instead of letting a piece of paper tell me.
We were told that even though he was five, he had yet to go to school. When he’d been with his mother, he’d basically fended for himself and then for his sister when she was born. He didn’t have any education, so he would need time and effort to catch up.
“I’ve seen a lot of car tracks, but that’s the best one I’ve ever seen,” Trent told him.
The baby started to fuss, and as Trent soothed her, Travis climbed off the bed, picked up her pacifier, and carried it over to her. Without any hesitation, he stuck it in her mouth and patted her back. “It’s okay, baby.”
Amazingly, she stopped fussing and sucked on the pacifier as he patted her back.
Trent and I looked at each other, a new kind of electricity buzzing between us. It was the layered kind. The base was familiar and exciting, but now it was coated with something a little heavier, something binding all that zinging chemistry together.
We were best friends first.
Then we were secretly in love.
Finally, we’d become lovers, which turned us into partners.
And now?
Now we were parents. Family.
“Husband,” Trent whispered in that sexy-as-fuck voice.
My teeth sank into my lower lip. “Sometimes I think maybe we can read each other’s thoughts.”
“Not thoughts. Heart. I can read your heart.” After a second’s pause, he added, “Baby.”
One thing about having kids? I couldn’t jump him whenever I wanted to.
He smiled lazily because he knew I was thinking that too.
The door to the room swung open, and two girls who looked like our sisters but were partially hidden by bags came into the room.
“We’re back!” Ivy said.
“Shh.” T and I both admonished.
Ivy lowered a giant bag in her arms and grimaced. “Sorry,” she mouthed.
Braeden and Romeo came in behind them, Romeo carrying a giant box and B pushing a stroller.
“Did you buy the entire town?” I asked.
“This is just the essentials.” Ivy informed us. “We’ll get the rest later.”
“The essentials?” T replied dubiously.
“Babies need a lot.” Rimmel confirmed.
“Is there pink?”
I laughed because Trent had been pretty adamant about wanting pink shit for our daughter. Something about wanting everyone to know she was a girl. The “pick a gender” hat, as he called it, was quite offensive to him, and it was also scratchy just like the lame blankets in this place.
Rimmel and Ivy started fishing through the bags, pulling out item after item, declaring how cute it all was, and making Romeo groan.
“They’ve been like this for hours,” Braeden told us.
Rimmel brought a fuzzy pink blanket over to Trent, along with a pink hat with what looked like a giant furry ball on the top and an entire pink outfit that looked like a long dress.
“She needs pants,” I declared. “She can’t be wearing a skirt.”
Ivy groaned. “Here we go.”
Rimmel held out the garment. “It’s a long gown. It will cover her feet, and look. It has little mittens on the sleeves so she can’t scratch her face.”
“I like it,” Trent declared.
I pursed my lips. “Fine.”
Trent lifted the blanket off the baby, dropping it on the floor, and Rimmel gently covered her with the furry one.
“We got a car seat, a stroller, diapers, clothes, hats, socks,” Ivy listed. “Bottles and blankets.”
“Basically the entire store.”
Ivy stopped talking and shrugged.
Travis had quieted since they all came in and had squeezed closer to Trent, pushing right up against the side of his chair.
“We didn’t just buy baby stuff, though,” Rimmel said, smiling at him. “Want to see what we got you?” She held out her hand, but Travis shrank more into Trent.
Rimmel just smiled, knowing it would take some time.
Ivy carried over a bag, setting it beside Rimmel, and reached in. “We heard you like cars.”
Travis nodded, glancing at the bag.
Ivy pulled out a few Matchbox cars, still in their packaging.
“We got you another Mustang. This one is blue. Like Drew’s,” she told him, motioning to her brother. “And we got you this bright-green car—”
“That’s a Hellcat.” Romeo spoke up from across the room. “That’s my favorite. Gotta have one of those.”
“This yellow one looks like your Aunt Joey’s,” Ivy explained.
“And this black one looks just like Uncle Arrow’s.” Rimmel pointed.
Travis stood there watching, absorbing it all like a sponge but not saying a word.
Trent put his hand on his back. “You like them?”
Travis nodded.
“They’re for you. You can have them.”
Travis glanced at Trent, and I swear every time he did that, my heart skipped a beat. The way that boy looked at him, like Trent was his rock and he trusted him totally, undid me.
Rimmel held out one of the cars, but Travis took a tentative step forward and reached for the blue Mustang in Ivy’s hand.
See? He was my son. Clearly.
“Bring that over here. I want to see it,” I told him.
He brought it over and climbed on the bed, holding it out for me to open. Rimmel laid a few others nearby so I could open those too.
“We got him some clothes and a pair of shoes too,” Ivy said.
“Thanks,” Trent told her.
The clothes he had on were too small, and I was pretty sure they were the same ones he’d had on the day I met him. It turned my stomach, and my gut reaction was to rush out and buy everything. To give him everything I knew he’d never had.
I had to rein it in, though. He would have everything he needed. And then some. But overwhelming him with stuff was not what we wanted to do.
First, we wanted to love him.
“Try that one out on the track,” I said, handing him the new car. Still clutching the old Mustang in his other hand, he crawled down the bed to try out the new one.
“I smell fries,” I announced, suddenly getting a whiff of my most favorite food.
Trent chuckled.
Braeden reached into the stroller and pulled out a white paper bag and waved it around.
I groaned. Oh my God, something that actually tasted good.
Braeden handed them over, and I stuck my face into the top, inhaling.
Like alcohol to an alcoholic.
“Oh, I missed you,” I whispered to the still-hot, salty fried goodness.
“You need a moment alone with those?” B teased.
I pulled one out, groaning again when I wrapped my fingers around it and slid it in my mouth. I chewed appreciatively, practically melting against the bed. “I need ketchup.”
“It’s in the bag,” Romeo mused.
Reaching into the bag once more, I noticed little man watching me.
“You like fries? They’re my favorite.”
He nodded.
Instead of grabbing a packet of ketchup, I pulled out the container of fries and held them out to him.
“Am I hallucinating?” Braeden declared, rubbing over his eyes like a damn drama queen. “Is that fry monster actually offering to share?”
Travis glanced at Braeden, then between me and the fries.
“Here,” I said again, holding them closer. “I’ll always share with you.”
Travis tugged the fries into his lap.
“We actually got food for all of you,” Ivy said, hurrying to grab the rest.
“Do you like chicken nuggets? Or a hamburger?”
Travis shoved a fry into his mouth and nodded.
Tre
nt laughed. “Guess he likes both.”
Ivy opened a box of nuggets while Rimmel unwrapped a burger. The girls fussed around, spreading the food out in front of him like a feast. This time, he wasn’t so shy. He started eating like no one had fed him in days.
I exchanged a look with Trent, both of us clearly filled with sadness, anger, and regret.
“Can’t have all that without a milkshake,” Braeden announced, handing him a cup with a fat straw sticking out. “You like ice cream?”
Travis nodded, his eyes wide.
My heart turned over again when his hands wrapped around the cup and he smiled at B.
“Good man,” B said, pleased, and ruffled his already messy hair.
Rimmel produced another bag of fries, setting it in my lap.
“Bless you,” I said but didn’t dig in. The way Trav was plowing through the food, I was afraid to eat them. He might want them too.
“Want me to hold her so you can eat?” Rimmel offered to Trent.
He gazed down at the baby asleep against his chest. Whenever he looked at her, his entire face softened. “Nah.”
“Did you give her a name yet?”
I made a sound. I hadn’t even thought of that yet.
To Travis, I said, “Did you give your sister a name?”
“Baby,” he said around the straw between his lips.
That really wasn’t much help.
“I have one.” Trent informed the room.
Everyone looked at him. Except for Travis. He kept eating.
“You have a name?” I asked.
He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.
“Well, let’s hear it.” Braeden pressed.
Trent’s eyes stayed on my face, the small smile still lifting his lips when he spoke. “Andy.”
It took a second to realize. When I did, emotion clogged my throat.
“You mean like Andy after Andrew?” Rimmel asked, then sighed.
“After Drew.” He confirmed. “After her father.”
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Isn’t that a boy name?”
“It can be a girl name,” Ivy announced. “It’s trendy. Spell it with an ‘I’ at the end, and I think it’s perfect.”
“Andi Mask,” I echoed, feeling emotion swell inside me again. Unable to keep my eyes away, I put them on Trent. He wanted to name our daughter after me.
#Fate Page 24