Slut - Woodruff Jettie - Страница 60

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I stepped around Paxton even with the attempt to hold me back with a straight arm. “You didn’t know him either. He’s my sister’s little boy, and I promised her I would take care of him. I love him, too, and I’m sorry that it turned out this way for you. I really am, but I will fight for him until my dying breath. I have to.”

The guy placed an arm over his wife’s shoulder when she nodded, a sad smile like she knew. “We brought all of his stuff. It’s not fair to Vander to go through a custody battle that we’re not going to win. Can I stay while he meets you? He’s a little shy around strangers.”

I turned to Paxton for the answer and he nodded, but Mrs. Chadwick stepped in. “Hold up. We need to talk about this. Gabriella, you look exactly like his mommy. I mean for a second I thought you were Izzy, trying to pull a fast one. If I hadn’t checked out your story and found your records from Fort Myers, Florida; I would have never believed it. I’m not sure how he’s going to react.”

“We talked to him about it,” Rick said.

Mrs. Chadwick walked to her office door again and waved her hand while Paxton squeezed mine. One would have thought I would be used to all the damn adrenaline rushes by now, but I wasn’t. I would never get used to that, the nerves that pumped ferociously through my veins, and then—it stopped. It all went away.

Vander let go of the lady’s hand and froze. Everyone froze. The world stood still while this little boy stared right at me, motionless, contemplating whether or not I was his mommy. I knelt on one knee and opened my arms to him, holding back burning tears. The only sound was his feet scuffing along the floor as he walked slowly toward me. I brought his little hands to my lips, trying like hell not to cry. He let me pull him into a hug, and even wrapped his little arms around my neck when I squeezed him.

“My mommy has my name on her heart, and a squiggly line from when I was born. It’s my heartbeat. You don’t have that, do you?” he asked, barely above a whisper.

“No, baby, I don’t.””

You’re Gabby, but you’re really Izzy, because you traded places with my mom because you’re brave. Where’s my mommy?”

That did it. I couldn’t help it. I pulled him closer to my body, feeling something cosmic, a phenomenon that I would never be able to put into words. I felt it, a pull so forceful it couldn’t be described. The same strong energy I’d felt the day I met Rowan and Phi for the first time. Even if I didn’t remember them, I loved them. Even if I never met him, I loved him.

“We’re trying to find your mommy, buddy,” Paxton said from my side. I hadn’t even noticed that he had knelt, too. Right beside me.

“Do you want to come and stay with us for a while?” Paxton questioned.

“I want to stay with June and Rick. I have to play soccer tomorrow.”

“Maybe you can call them later,” Mrs. Chadwick said from behind her desk when nobody replied. June sort of swallowed a whimper, but that’s it. I didn’t know what to say. Not a clue. “Gabby and Paxton would like to take you to lunch.”

Vander’s eyes perked up a bit, losing a little of the sadness. “And get a lobster?”

Paxton high-fived him with a loud, “Yes! Seafood, my man.”

Even with all the sadness, we all smiled, and Vander giggled, something between a cackling chicken, and a goat. Identical to Ophelia’s laugh.

“Wait, what does this mean? We can take him? He can go home with us?” I questioned when June’s words surfaced after all the commotion.

“It’s Friday. I’ll do my best to get the custody papers signed by the judge today, if not, it’ll be Monday. Can you stay until then?”

Paxton responded, coming to his feet. “No way. We have two little girls at home.”

“I can stay. You can go home if we have to wait,” I kindly offered knowing damn well he’d never let me stay there without him.

“No, where’s the judge? I’ll personally deliver them,” he countered.

“Let’s let Rick and June say goodbye to Vander,” she suggested rather than answering Paxton’s question.

I followed her out into the hall, watching behind me. Rick scooped Vander up, saying something about his swing, and to remember to choke up on the bat a little as the door shut. We all strolled down the hall and to a coffee pot. Paxton and I both declined.

“I’ll fax you the paperwork Monday morning. Have them notarized and sent back to me as soon as you get them.”

“We’re taking him home? Today?” I questioned with a point down, like the floor was today.

“The Wagner’s don’t want to have to go through this again in a couple days, I don’t want to put him in another home for a couple days, and he’s going to be there anyway. You win. Vander’s going home with you today.”

“Oh my God. Paxton, go find us plane tickets,” I said, not even trying to hide the freak-out going on in my mind. This was real life. This was really happening. Vander was safe, where I would always take care of him.

Vander was going home.

Sixteen

I can’t even begin to explain the high that I was on. Vander filled a void I never knew I had, and I was proud of my sister for the young man he was. Polite and happy, just like I expected. And Paxton, oh my God, Vander loved Paxton. They ate their nasty lobster and I enjoyed my cream pasta with asparagus and a garden salad, feeling happier than I think I ever had in my life. We walked around a park after lunch hand in hand while Vander ran up ahead, happy and as energetic as a little boy should be.

We sat by a pond and called Mi to tell her the good news and that we couldn’t get a flight back out until the next afternoon. Mi didn’t mind at all, Nick was there and they were going to build a moat on the beach, then build a fire and roast marshmallows. Paxton tried to protest the dangerous fire, only because he needed to be there to supervise. I elbowed him to get him to stop talking over my shoulder while I FaceTimed with Mi, and then the girls.

“Did you go see that little boy?” Ophelia asked when Mi handed over her phone.

“Yes, and guess what?”

“What?”

“He looks like you.”

“No he doesn’t. He’s a boy.”

“But he has the same eyes as you, the same skin, and the same hair. Do you want to say hi to him?”

“Okay.”

Rowan popped her face in, too, causing an instant fight.

“She said me,” Ophelia whined while shoving her away.

“I want to see him, too.”

Vander looked at me with wide eyes and a grin when Mi whistled, stopping the fight as quickly as it started.

“Hi, Vander, I’m Mi. How are you?” Mi said in the phone, her face too close to the screen.

“Good,” Vander shyly replied into the phone.

“This is your cousin, Ophelia. Say hi, Phi.”

“Hi, Phi,” Ophelia said through her crackly laugh.

Van laughed, too, but didn’t say hi. I guess it was a little awkward for all of them. We didn’t really expect things to roll this fast. I thought I had a few weeks, not days. Nonetheless, they were about to be roommates, and I was about to be the mother of three. Holy smokes.

Paxton left us alone at the hotel pool later that evening, telling me he had something to do, I didn’t even care what. Vander told me more about his mommy than I would have ever known. He loved her, he missed her, and the way he kept staring at me, made me feel sad for him. I knew what his little eyes were seeing. His mommy, that wasn’t his mommy. Poor little guy.

Had I not been exhausted from lack of sleep, I could have stared at him the entire night. His little arms moved below his body, and he slept on his tummy. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

“Let’s go in the bathroom,” Paxton whispered from behind me.

Okay, maybe that was the perfect ending. Paxton made love to me with my ass on the sink, and his hand over my mouth. Just a quickie, no foreplay involved, not really. I lay in his arms, staring over to Vander, feeling safe and content.

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