“It’s not going to be easy,” I warned him. “Alec won’t let me just walk out of here with Reid.”
“Then we’ll have to make sure that enough people are available to help. I swear to God, Florrie. I won’t let him be taken from you.”
I clasped his hand in mine, relief pouring through me. I was so grateful to have Craig on my side, but then, he was still on my team when Alec had walked away. I was beginning to wonder if Alec and I were just drifting apart and heading in different directions with our lives.
✯✯✯✯✯
“So, how’s it going with the Fullers?” I asked Reid after two weeks of visits. I didn’t want to bug him all the time and make him feel like he had to have it all figured out, but I needed to know how he was handling this.
He shrugged, not looking at me. “I don’t know. They seem okay, but…” I held my breath, waiting for him to answer. “The last time I went to a new home, it didn’t turn out so good.”
“Well, that’s why I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you stay with us.”
He sat quietly for a minute. I knew he was thinking about what he wanted to say. He was usually very thoughtful with everything he said, like he was making sure that whatever he said wouldn’t get him into trouble. He’d come a long way in the time he’d been with us, but since this whole process started up again, I could see a little of that scared kid peeking out more and more every day, and I hated it.
“Alec said that they’re nice people. He said that he checked them out and he would never let me go stay with them if they weren’t good people.”
Of course Alec would say something like that. He was a good guy, but he was dead wrong on this subject. Reid had been moved around enough as it was already. He didn’t need another change. He needed to stay where he was comfortable, and that was right here with us.
“You know, Alec is always looking out for you. He loves you too, but if you don’t want to go with those people, you just say the word and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“You can do that?”
“Reid, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You’re mine and it’s always going to be that way, no matter what happens.”
He nodded and I could see his shoulders sag in relief. No kid should have this much on his plate. It wasn’t fair to him to keep moving around from place to place. But there was one more move we would be making with Reid, and I really hoped he liked it.
“Florrie, you’re still going to marry Alec, right?”
I was shocked by his question. What kid thought about that stuff? Then again, not too long ago, we were talking about getting married and how he would be involved. That was before. Now all of that had hit the back burner, and at this point, I wasn’t sure if we would still get married. We were so far apart on what was happening with Reid that I didn’t know if we would make it. But I didn’t want Reid to feel like any of this was his fault. He didn’t deserve a side of guilt with what he was already going through. So, I pasted a smile on my face and nodded.
“Of course. As soon as this is all over, we’re going to plan a kickass wedding, and you’ll be there to watch us get married.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said quietly.
I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and pulled him against me. Whatever happened, I would make this right for him. He was mine and there was no way I was letting him go.
“Hey, Alec and I have a surprise for you.”
“Yeah?” He looked up at me with an enthusiasm that made me laugh.
“Yeah. How would you like to have a new, really awesome room in a brand new house?”
His face paled and he shifted away from me. “I thought…”
“Our new house,” I clarified. “Our house is finally ready to move into. I was thinking we would move this weekend.”
“Really?”
“Yep. We just have to pack up your stuff and we can move in.”
“I’ll start now,” he said, pushing up from the couch and rushing into his room. I heard Alec enter the room behind me and I stiffened, my smile faltering.
“So, you told him about the house?”
“I wanted him to have something to look forward to,” I said, pushing off the couch and stalking out of the room. I would always put on a good face for Reid, but I didn’t know how I was going to keep this up with Alec, not when we were so far apart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONEAlec
Our time was almost up with Reid. In another week, we would know for sure if he was staying with us or not. My chest ached every time I pictured letting him go, but I had watched for the past few months as Reid slowly opened up to his aunt and uncle. Every time I watched them together, I couldn’t help but smile. He was going to a good family, even if it broke my fucking heart. I was struggling so hard with this. I didn’t want to watch him go, but I didn’t want to tear him away from the family he should have had all along.
I watched Florrie sleeping from the doorway of our bedroom. It was still early, but lately, I hadn’t been able to sleep for shit. I knew that if we didn’t win custody of Reid, she would lose her shit, and that didn’t bode well for me. I was used to conflict and making hard decisions, but there was nothing that could prepare me for watching my relationship with Florrie slowly slip away. I loved her so
