by Parker, Ali
Harry
It was the first time I had been in Michael’s office without freaking the fuck out in a long time.
I knew that Allison would want to meet to discuss custody at some point or another, and frankly, I was more than ready to have that conversation with her. I had hoped that the way I had acted when we were at the hospital had been enough to convince her that I was worthy of this, that I was ready for it.
That said, I was still a little nervous. What if she told me that she wanted me to keep my distance? That would have been her call, and there wasn’t a lot I could do about it—not a lot I wanted to, anyway, given how ill she was and how little I wanted to apply extra pressure to her in her current circumstances.
By the time she arrived at the office, I had been waiting nearly ten minutes. Given everything that was going on, I didn’t blame her for being a little late. I got to my feet and gave her a hug as soon as she came through the door.
“How’s Nico?” I asked.
She nodded. “He’s good,” she replied. “He’s with his auntie right now. He loves her to pieces. I’ll bet he’s just happy to have the chance to spend time with her.”
“And how are you?” I asked with concern.
She looked more tired than usual, though that could have been the stress of the weekend catching up on her. It was Wednesday now, and even I had struggled getting myself back on track after all that chaos.
“I’m fine,” she replied firmly.
I knew better than to press the issue. I opened the door for her to head through to Michael’s office, and she entered ahead of me and sat down. I joined her.
Okay. It was time to find out just what it was that she wanted from me.
Michael was waiting for us, and we all shook hands before she reached into her bag to lay out what she had planned for this meeting.
“Okay,” she announced. “I know this is going to be a lot for you to take in, and I want you to bear with me on this one. Can you do that?”
“I can do that,” I promised her.
She laid some documents out on the table. At once, Michael snatched them up and started looking over them. She turned her attention back to me.
“I want you to share custody of Nico with me,” she told me.
My jaw dropped. Of everything that I had expected to come out of her mouth, that had been about the stone-cold last.
“You mean that?” I replied, utterly stunned.
She nodded. “And I understand if you don’t want—”
“I want it,” I told her quickly. “I want it. What... what made you decide this?”
She sighed heavily, rubbed her hand over her face, and looked me in the eye. “I’m going to be honest with you, Harry. I should have told you about Nico a long time before this. I knew that it was always wrong to keep him from you, and I should never have done that. But I was so fucking scared when I got pregnant with him, and I didn’t think you were going to want to have anything to do with him, or me, not after we had just hooked up once. And as time went on, I realized that I was just putting more and more distance between you and me. I couldn’t start then, you know?”
“You could have started whenever you wanted,” I replied, and there was a harsh edge to my voice that I instantly tried to soothe. That wasn’t going to help anything or anyone. She was trying to come to me here with an apology. The least I could do was actually listen and let her try to make it up to me.
“I know,” she admitted. “And I’m ready for it now. We both are. I don’t want this to be just about the money, not when I can see what a great dad you would make to Nico. I should never have kept him from you in the first place, and I’m sorry for that. But I want you as part of his life, if you want. And I want to know that he’ll have somewhere to go if... if I don’t make it.”
Her voice wavered painfully, and my heart ached for her. I patted her shoulder.
“You know he will,” I promised her.
She glanced away from me, gathering herself. “And besides, I saw you and your girlfriend together,” she went on. “You look solid, and I want him to have something like that in his life. And I know I haven’t met her yet, but your niece? I’m sure that it would be amazing for him to have a big sister, even if they aren’t really siblings. I want him to have a family outside of me, you know? I never realized it before, but I want that for him. I want more for him.”
“You’ve done so much for him already,” I told her gently. “It’s not like you haven’t worked your ass off for him, Allison. But you know we’re more than happy to help out if you want us to. More than happy. I want him to be part of the family. I do.”
She nodded, and I could tell that this conversation was taking a lot out of her. I could hardly say that I was surprised. After all, she had raised him all by herself for so long, the thought of letting anyone else in on this was probably more than she was ready for.
But I was beyond touched that she had offered me this chance. And I knew I wasn’t going to blow it, not for anything. Yes, it would be a lot to take on, another addition to the family like this, but I was ready for him. I was ready for anything.
I had assumed that part of her reason for reaching out to me was so there was someone there for Nico if the cancer took her, but the fact that she wanted me in his life either way was beyond touching.
And the fact that she wanted Raina, too, and Winnie. This was about more than just me. This was about creating a full-blown family for her child. And I was proud that I had done enough to convince her that I deserved to be part of that family.
“I had my lawyer draw up these agreements,” she explained.
Michael lifted his head from the papers that he had been going over. He nodded, looking satisfied with what he had seen.
“Everything seems like it’s in order to me,” he remarked. “Harry, if you want to take a little more time to go over these and think about the decision, we can hang on to them for you—”
“No, I’m ready,” I replied. I was dead certain. Nothing was going to change my mind. Nothing at all. I was happier than I’d been in such a long time. We had the house, I had Raina, and now, it looked like I was going to have my precious, perfect son on top of all of it. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Not one little thing.
“Thank you for this, Allison,” I said. “Thank you for trusting me with him.”
“Thank you for letting us into your life after all this time,” she replied. “I know it’s more than I deserve. I know you’re being kinder than you should ever be with me—”
“You never have to think like that,” I told her firmly. “You guys are always welcome in my life.”
Before I could say another word, she leaned over and gave me a tight hug. I hugged her back. I was honestly just glad that she had changed her mind about this, even if it had been driven by such dire circumstances. At least this had led to some good, at least Nico was part of my life now, and at least I could be part of his.
I signed the papers and said goodbye to Allison and Michael. Then I called up Raina as I headed out of the office. I had a big grin on my face as she picked up the call.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Raina?” I greeted her. “Are you free for dinner tonight?”
“Uh, I think so,” she replied. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I have something to celebrate,” I told her. “Ask Reed if he wants to come, too. I want everyone in the family around for this.”
“What’s going on?” she replied with curiosity.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” I told her. I couldn’t wait to see her face when I told her what was actually happening.
I called up everyone else after I was off the phone with her. George, who promised to turn out no matter what. Yara, who I told to come along with her boyfriend. And Winnie’s school, to let her know that I would be picking her up at the end of the day. I wanted everyone to be there when I dropped the news.
I picked up Winnie from school and dro
ve her home to get changed. She was badgering me with questions the whole way as to what was happening and where we were going and why we were celebrating, but I kept my mouth shut.
She knew there was something up, though, and in the end, she just relented and asked if Raina was going to be there. I promised her that she would, and that seemed to keep her questions at bay for the moment.
I called around a few restaurants and found a table that would seat all of us. There weren’t a lot of options, but we didn’t need somewhere fancy. I just wanted us all to be together. It was strange. Up until recently, it really felt like it had been just Winnie and me—and sometimes George—out here on our own, handling the family matters together. But now, we had this big, expansive family. People to celebrate the good news with.
What a gift it was to be so surrounded with the people that I cared about the most. And what a gift to be able to give them all this wonderful news together.
By the time that everyone had arrived and greeted one another and taken their seats at the table, it was nearly seven, and I felt like I was going to burst with the effort of having to keep all of this in.
“Are you going to tell us what’s happening already?” Yara asked finally.
“Yeah, I think we all deserve to know what you’re doing, dragging us away from a perfectly good evening of bad reality television,” Raina chimed in.
Everyone laughed, their happy voices overlapping with one another. Their smiling faces gazed up at me, and I let the moment sink in, rush through me. This was what joy felt like. What being surrounded by family was like.
“You’re not pregnant, are you?” Reed joked.
Raina shook her head. “Well, I sure hope not,” she replied, and she looked to me once more.
I shook my head right there with her. “No, you’re not, as far as I know. But there is going to be a new addition to the family. Officially, I mean.”
I filled them in on what had happened that day. And I watched as my extended family toasted to a brand new member.
Chapter 66
Raina
“All right, do you have all the forms ready?” I asked Marjorie as the two of us practically sprinted around the shelter, trying to get everything ready for the adopt-a-thon that was meant to be happening today.
She nodded. “I think so,” she replied, but she was clearly nervous.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” I soothed her. “Everything’s going to be fine. Everyone who’s coming today has already been vetted, you remember? So anyone who goes home with a pet, they’re going to be a good home for them.”
“I know that,” Marjorie said. “I’m just... I don’t know if I’m ready to say goodbye to all these little guys after all this time.”
“Don’t get all misty on me now,” I warned her. “We have to make space for other animals, remember? I want to make sure that we get as many of these guys off to new homes as we can. Think how good it’ll be to have the space so that you don’t have to worry about turning down anyone who needs a home, right?”
“Right,” she agreed, and she nodded and tapped her hand on the pile of papers on the desk. “This is it. This is everything we’ll need. If you do the papers?”
“You’ll do the tours,” I replied. “Of course. Go on. Get yourself ready. This is going to be amazing.”
I smiled broadly as she hurried off to get herself public-facing appropriate. I hadn’t been able to stop grinning all day. There was something about things being a little hectic like this that made me so happy, especially knowing that it was likely going to lead to so many of the animals here getting homes for the first time in their lives.
Today was the first of two charity events that Harry’s company had helped organize for the shelter. This one was an adopting marathon, where we opened the doors to dozens of people in the hopes that a few of them would take home some pets. The company had provided the coverage and promotion and paid for the services to check the homes of the people who were coming, so if they caught sight of a pet that they liked and wanted, they would just be able to walk right on out of there with them.
“Is there anything I can help with?” George called to us. He was sitting by the door at a little table we had set up for him, a big smile on his face as he chatted with Winnie, who had offered to help him out seeing people in and out of the building.
He looked a little frail, but he was clearly pleased to be there. Probably because he would get a chance to flirt with dozens of the young women who were likely on their way to the shelter right now.
I shook my head. “You just sit there and look pretty,” I called back.
He laughed and nodded. “I think I can manage that,” he agreed, and he and Winnie started going through the little spiel they had put together to welcome the people to the shelter.
I paused for a moment and watched them. They were so sweet together. It was clear that George totally adored Winnie. I wondered how he was going to be with Nico when he got the chance to meet him.
I got the feeling he would be a total softy with the young boy, given the soft spot he seemed to have for his granddaughter. When Harry had told us that he was getting to share custody of his kid at the dinner we had all attended, I thought George was going to start crying, he looked so happy. There were more than a few tears around that table—mostly from me, to be fair—but I knew that after all he had lost, the extension of his family was a more than welcome change.
By the time the doors opened, Harry had just turned up with Yara and Quincy. She was acting as an ambassador to prove just how lovely it could be to welcome a new dog into your life, even if it happened to be a senior. She was totally protective of her little dog, and it made me so happy to see that we had made the right choice handing him over to her.
“How’s he been settling in?” I asked.
She smiled and reached down to pet him. “He’s been great,” she replied. “I love him so much. Can’t believe it took me this long to actually get a dog, you know?”
“But when you see the right one, you just know,” I told her. “Just like people, huh?”
“Just like people,” Harry echoed, and he greeted me with a kiss. He put his arm around my waist, and I leaned into him happily.
“Thank you for getting all of this set up,” I told him. “You have no idea how much this is going to help get people to start taking notice of the shelter.”
“Well, it’s what you deserve,” he replied. “You’ve worked so hard here for so long. I wanted to do what I could to make it easier on you.”
I kissed him again. “You know, you’re way sweeter than you have any right to be,” I murmured.
He grinned. “Is that an insult or a compliment? I can’t tell.”
“You decide,” I replied, and it was right then that I saw Rita and her son coming through the door. She had promised to put in an appearance, and she beamed as soon as she saw me.
“Oh, how’s my favorite baby?” I greeted him with a coo, and I came over to hold him in my arms for just a moment.
Rita handed him over to me at once, apparently glad to have a chance to put him down, if only for a moment. “Oh my goodness, I think I’m in a lot of danger being here,” she remarked as Marjorie emerged from the back room with a couple of lively puppies on leashes.
“Don’t worry about it. These dogs are totally gentle—”
She laughed. “Not from the dogs. I mean, I’m in danger of taking them home myself!”
She leaned down to say hello to them, and I bounced my favorite nephew on my hip and cooed to him. He laughed delightedly. He had the sweetest laugh in the whole world, the kind that seemed to light up the whole room around him. By the time I had to hand him back to Rita, she was giving me a hard look that told me there was something very specific running through her head.
“You getting broody?” she asked.
I shook my head, glancing over at Harry to make sure that he hadn’t heard any of that. Last thing I wanted was to freak him out
by letting him believe that I was out here trying to get pregnant.
“I thought that holding a baby was meant to get your biological clock ticking,” she teased. “No such luck?”
“No such luck,” I replied. “We already have a surprise kid in the works, remember? I have to figure him out before I do anything else.”
“Point taken,” she agreed. “Come on. Show me some of these dogs. I feel like testing my reserve.”
But before I could attend to her, someone else came through the door, someone else that I hadn’t been expecting to see for a long time.
“Allison?” I exclaimed in surprise. She was holding Nico protectively in her arms, cradling him tightly to her, and I couldn’t stop staring at the two of them. I didn’t even realize that they knew this was happening today, but here they were, fresh out of nowhere. Harry appeared by my side and put his arm around me.
“I mentioned it to her a few days ago,” he murmured to me. “I hope that’s all right?”
“Of course, it is,” I replied, and I waved the two of them over to George’s table. “Can we get you signed in?”
“Right, of course,” Allison said, and she seemed a little dazed. But not as dazed as George, who was staring at the little boy in her arms like he could hardly believe he was actually seeing him.
“Are you sure he’s all right here?” Harry asked. “With the animals and everything?”
Allison nodded. “He’s taking his allergy meds. He’s totally fine. Besides, I want to get him out more. And this is a good cause to support, right?”
“Is this Nico?” George asked quietly.
Allison turned her attention back to him. I doubted she had any idea who this guy was, given the rush with which she had been introduced to the rest of us.
I noticed Winnie staring, too, wordless, and realized this was the first time she had ever met her cousin. I backed off, giving them a little space and taking care of the first crowd of people who were coming into the shelter.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as the family got to know one another, and I had a difficult time keeping the smile off my face as it happened. It was so beautiful to see them all falling in love like that.