Page 150 of Halo

I smile and reach for my phone. It’s already after seven.

I snap a picture of Grady holding the peach rings and send it to her.

ME: Really? For breakfast?

The little dots appear almost immediately.

LEAH: I said just this once!

I glance at Grady.

“Your teacher is a bad influence.”

He grins and pops another peach ring into his mouth.

A knock at the door pulls my attention from Grady’s cartoons.

Rory pokes her head inside, and Grady immediately perks up.

“Rory!”

“Well, look who it is.” She steps into the room with a smile. “I hate seeing you back here, buddy, but I’m really happy to see you.”

“Did you get the velociraptor puzzle?”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “You remembered that?”

Grady nods eagerly.

“I did, actually. You want to come help me put it together?”

He’s already pushing the blanket off his legs when I notice the woman standing just outside the door.

“Hold on.” I look at Rory. “What’s going on?”

“There’s someone here who needs to talk to you. I thought Grady and I could hang out downstairs for a little while.”

As they leave, an uneasiness settles low in my stomach as I slowly make my way to the door.

“Hi, Dr. Crawford. I’m Shantae Jackson, and I'm a caseworker with Child Protective Services.” She gestures to the pull-out couch. “I’d like to go over a few things concerning Grady and what happens from here.”

“I’ve already contacted my lawyer. Should he come now?”

“You’re certainly welcome to have your attorney involved. I’m letting you know now because we have to begin the assessment immediately. Grady is safe here, but before he can leave the hospital, we need to determine who he can safely be released to and what protections need to be in place.”

I let out a sardonic laugh. “Well, that will be me. I'm his father. I know in the eyes of the law I'm not just yet, but I filed to establish paternity early November. We’ve been waiting on a court date ever since.”

She nods, opening the folder in her lap. “I’m aware of your pending case, Dr. Crawford. That’s actually one of the things we need to discuss. Before we get into what happens from here, I’d like to understand your relationship with Grady. In your own words.”

I lift a shoulder. “He’s my son.”

She gives me a small nod and starts taking notes. “How long have you been involved in his life?”

“Since September. I didn’t know about him before then.” Even saying that still makes my stomach turn. “Tiffany called me. We met and she told me I had a five-year-old. We were … um, casual at one point. She didn't think I'd be interested in being a father.”

“But you were?”

“Yes, ma'am.”