Rose nods, which makes me grin. “Want to see what I did?”
“I would love that.”
She pulls her coloring book over and shows me a very tidy effort, all the lines honored in a sketch of zoo animals, but the colors are creative. The elephant is blue. Giraffe, purple. Penguins, pink and red.
“That’s really beautiful, Rose. Thank you for sharing that with me.” Carter’s hand wobbles at the picture and she pushes it closer to him so he can touch it. This completely undoes me, because she could have pulled it away, protectively. But her instinct to share says a lot.
“Look, Carter, isn’t her drawing pretty?” He makes gurgling noises, slapping his hand on the paper. A smile lights behind Rose’s eyes and she flicks a glance to me.
“He likes it.”
“I think he does.”
A month later I find Tanner in the library, which is now Margaret’s office. She’s rarely in it since she’s an active overseer, a social worker with a PHD in child psychology who absolutely adores her job here. So my husband finds himself using this warm, mahogany space more than she does, especially since the coalition has kept him so busy these days.
“Remind me to become an asshole again,” he mutters as he hears me walk in, glancing up to ask, “Where’s my son?”
“Hannah has him. She and Tobias are here for lunch.”
Tanner’s eyes cloud. “It’s noon already? The people in charge of one of these places, stubborn as hell. It’s like I’m asking them to cut their arms off by suggesting things they can do differently. Even though it will help them and the children!”
Running my hands through his salt-and-pepper waves I stand by his chair. “Some people refuse to change. Just move onto the next one and do what you can.”
He sighs, takes my hand and presses a kiss into the palm. “You’re right. I’ve been going to the hardware store for milk.”
“Exactly.”
Pulling me onto his lap he frowns. “Wait, if Hannah has Carter who has—”
“Tobias is holding Clara, silly.”
Tanner gives a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “When she grows up he’ll probably train her how to fight.”
“Probably. He taught Hannah.”
“Still hard to imagine that beast with a daughter.”
“Speaking of…”
Tanner’s eyebrows go up. “You have something to tell me?”
“Oh, no, I’m not pregnant.”
He relaxes, even looks a little bit disappointed. “Okay.”
“But I wanted to ask you about…Rose.”
He eyes me, a smile sparking his lips. “I’ve been waiting for this.”
“What do you mean?!” I laugh.
Tracing the side of my face with his knuckle he murmurs, “You think I’m blind, Emm? I’ve seen how much attention you give her.”
“I wanted to help!”
He pulls me in for a kiss, and asks the serious question. “What about Henry and Isabella?”
“They’ll love her.”
“The other children here at A.L.A? How would we explain?”
Frowning I burrow into Tanner’s chest, and he rests his chin on my head. “I don’t know. But so many of the other kids have gotten placed, and I don’t have any doubt that they all will be, especially with all the publicity we’ve done. Even the new ones who arrive will all find homes.”
“Right, and you don’t feel Rose will find a home? Continue going to school here like the others?”
Hugging him I whisper, “I don’t want her to find another home, Tanner. I want her in ours.”
He rocks me for a second and pulls back to meet my eyes. “What if we fostered her for a little while, to see how it goes? A few children have been fostered by the teachers here before. They’re used to the concept. It will give us a way to ease them into it. They’ll grow used to Rose arriving with you, or me, and leaving with us, too. And she’ll get a chance to see if she likes us.”
Relieved and hopeful, maybe even very excited, I ask, “Really? You’re open to this?”
He nods, “She’s a special little girl. She reminds me of Riva, not in her looks, but she tries so hard in school. Margaret told me she stays after the other kids run out to play—that she’d rather stay in and keep learning how to read.”
“You’ve been watching her, too? Oh, Tanner, that makes me so happy! And if she doesn’t like us, then I will of course drop it and we’ll find her a forever family of her own, I promise. I just want to try!”
He kisses me and I throw my arms around his neck, squeezing him. The man can drive me crazy sometimes, because he’s such a bull with many opinions and a knack for going silent when he’s angry. But it’s a small price to pay for all the wonderful things I love about him. How often he supports me, how he cares for Carter and snuggles with him all the time, saying things like, “I’m going to teach you all about finance.”
And on days like this he’s just a miracle.
As the months pass, Rose finds her forever home…with us. She blossoms and finally reaches out to the other children, shows them who she is. Takes chances and laughs a little bit more each day.
She isn’t the last child we adopt. And Carter isn’t the last I give birth to, either. We had Henry and Isabella early in our marriage, then thought we were done, and Carter changed that plan. Now Rose. Why stop there? We have the means and the space. As our family grows, the children don’t act like they’re not blood related. To them, they’re brothers and sisters, looking out for each other, and driving me and Tanner out of our minds with pride and love.
The world has grown, emotionally, accepting families of all types without even raising its eyebrow. What a blessing for our hearts to be open. So much more fun this way.
THE END.
Emma & Ethan’s younger brother, Eric is next! Completing Jake and Drew’s immediate family.
One of my readers was wearing a shirt with
