Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 117820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 589(@200wpm)___ 471(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
“Where do you think you’re going?” Kane asks, doing the belt of his jeans that are hanging low on his hips. “Sneaking off during my nap.”
“I wasn’t sneaking, I just wanted to go for a ride.”
He raises a thick brow and smirks at me while leaning against the door jam. His arm muscles bulge with strength when he folds them across his chest. “You can’t lie to me.”
I huff and yank off my helmet. “I was just gonna ride, Kane. Leave it.”
“You’re defensive.”
“Yeah because suddenly I need your permission to go for a ride.”
He chuckles like I’m hilarious which I absolutely am not. Then he sobers and his look is one of understanding. “We’ve gotta wait, Babe. We’ve gotta do this the right way.”
I open my mouth to argue but then my phone rings at the exact same time the doorbell goes.
I scramble for my phone and Kane takes my bike keys before heading to the door.
“Webber,” I say, keeping my tone firm.
“Your man there with you?” His tone sounds entirely too upbeat.
I inwardly chant, please be good news, please be good news.
“Just a sec,” I rush out of the garage and into the house, shrugging off my jacket and dropping the heavy clothing on the wood floor behind me. “KANE!”
“Poppy’s here,” Kane calls back and I hear the door close.
“It’s Webber. He has news.”
Kane appears in the kitchen where I stop, faster than I’ve ever seen him move.
I put it on loudspeaker as Poppy enters behind him, looking curiously at my phone on the countertop. I look at my phone and add so Webber understands, “Our closest friend Poppy is here but you’re free to talk.”
“Hi there folks. Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. I can only go as fast as I can get the information.”
“It’s cool, lay it on us,” Kane insists, his mind is on the edge, I can see it in his eyes.
“We got the confirmation,” Webber states clearly and my heart starts thudding against my ribcage.
Poppy pulls herself up onto the other counter, hands ringing in front of her. She’s been as invested in this since we told her around ten days ago. Kane said I needed a friend in my corner and he was right. She has been every bit the rock we knew she would be. I wish I’d confided in her all those years ago but I guess in my warped, fucked up brain I made a lot of mistakes I’d do again now.
“She’s yours, guys. Her DNA matches ninety-nine-point-eight percent.”
I’m trembling. This is the news I’ve been needing to hear.
“So, can we meet her? Have her adoptive parents been notified?”
Kane wraps his arm around my waist and Poppy grins at us both, her own excitement evident.
Webber clears his throat. “Well about that.”
“More waiting,” I grumble.
“There was always gonna be a waiting period but… I have good news and bad news.”
Kane tenses. “Just let us have it, no need for a buildup.”
“She was adopted, as we first suspected, and moved to Austin as we already knew. But…”
“But?” I prompt, wondering why he’s pausing and making me suffer.
“She was given up to the state when she was five,” he continues sadly. “Apparently she was an unruly child—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kane snarls and I calm him with a hand on his chest as my own smile fades.
“Truthfully, looking at the records, her adoptive parents got pregnant. I think that had a lot to do with their decision.”
It’s like they thought she was a fucking dog or something. Not that a dog deserves that fate, but it’s exactly what people do, they get pregnant and get rid of their adopted dog.
“And they were allowed to keep their baby after abandoning a child they swore to love and protect?” Poppy snaps also agitated now.
“The system is fucked, but then we already knew that,” Webber says with a heavy sigh. “Anyway, that’s the bad news. The good news is… for you guys… she’s in an all-girls’ home in Austin, Crestview. She’s been there since she was six and she seems to be happy there.”
“You’ve met her?” I question and he hesitates again.
“I met her with a court-appointed social worker. She’s an incredibly bright kid but she has some serious abandonment issues according to her main carer who is a brilliant and loving woman called Stacey Deegan.”
“Oh my God,” I choke, and this time Kane tries to comfort me. “Does that mean I’m not allowed to see her?”
“On the contrary, it means you’ve got every chance to get her back.”
You could hear a pin drop, the air turns still and suddenly I feel faint.
“It wouldn’t be as easy as showing up and taking her home, we’d need to assess your accommodation, figure out a support group, you’d need parenting classes to help you deal with and understand her issues.” He sounds so happy but also cautious. “But, this all means in a couple of months, maybe more maybe less, you could have your daughter back.”