Page 108 of Smitty

“She wants him. She’s always wanted him, but Raymond wouldn’t allow it.”

“Really?”

“Really. She’s just waiting for us to give her the okay to come pick him up.”

I leaned back in my chair, feeling some of the tension I’d carried for the past few days start to fade. “But we don’t know anything about her.”

“I looked into her.” He flipped open his notebook and turned it toward me. “She rents an apartment downtown. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s better than where he’s living now. And she’s got a steady job at a local diner, and there’s no history of drug use.”

“Any previous visits from us?”

“Nothing that I could find.”

“So, you think she’s okay?”

“I think she loves her son and wants a chance to make things right. I don’t think we can get much better than that.”

“You’re right. It sounds like this could be the best possible outcome for Jimmy and his mom.”

“I think so, too.”

After everything they’d been through, maybe this was a chance for both of them to leave the fear and hurt behind. And Jimmy could stop wondering what version of his father was about to walk through the door, and he could finally be just a regular teenager. Daniel leaned forward and picked up Jimmy’s file from my desk. “I’ll get the paperwork started.”

“Thanks, Daniel.”

“You bet.”

He disappeared down the hallway, leaving me feeling hopeful in a way I didn’t expect. Maybe, just maybe, Dylan wasn’t going to be the only one to get his happy ending today.

21

SMITTY

A WEEK LATER

It was official.

We had a house, and what a house it was. The place was incredible. Prez had given us a hell of a deal on it, and as I stood in the doorway, just staring at everything, I feared that if I blinked, I might find that this was all just a dream.

The place was bigger than I’d thought and even more beautiful. And it made my chest ache in a way it never had before. We didn’t have nearly enough furniture to fill the place, but we were working on it. Honestly, I didn’t mind the emptiness. It felt full of possibilities instead of missing pieces.

Boxes were stacked against every wall, newspapers covered most of the floor, and somewhere beneath all the broken-down cardboard was our new sofa and recliner. We still had a long way to go, but standing there in the mess of it all, I couldn’t help but smile.

We were finally home.

Brooke was in the kitchen, putting away the last of the dishes, and was quietly humming to herself as I started breaking down all the boxes she tossed on the floor. I was actually starting to get somewhere when I heard a truck pull into the drive. I walked over to the window and spotted Ryan getting out of his truck.

“We’ve got company.”

“Oh?” Brooke looked up and smiled. “Who is it?”

“Ryan.”

“Really?” Her smile faded, and her brows furrowed as she started over to me. “Wonder what he’s doing here?”

“Only one way to find out.”

I opened the door, and we both stood on the porch, watching as he pulled a couple of boxes from the backseat. His face was void of expression as he started toward us. “Nice place.”