AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Just rip off the band-aid, Reagan. "Adam, I don't know the best way to say this—"
He broke out with a small laugh. "Never known you to worry about saying anything, Reagan. Whatever it is, spit it out. It can't be any more shocking than what I've already heard over the last couple of days."
I took a deep breath. "Adam, Veronica left her son to you."
The words hung between us like bombs just waiting to explode.
I watched the words sink in, and his eyes widened as he went pale. "I'm sorry, what?" he choked out.
"Wolfgang. Veronica and Henry made it expressly clear that if anything were to happen to them, they want you to raise Wolfgang," I explained.
"Are you fucking kidding me? I mean, I don't know what to do with a kid. Why on earth…" he trailed off, looking stunned.
"I don't know all the whys and wherefores. I just know that this is what she wanted. And I wanted to tell you ahead of time, so it wouldn't be such a shock during the reading. But there's more," I added warily.
He shook his head with a disbelieving smile. "This is the worst game show I've ever been at. But wait, there's more. Go ahead, lay it on me."
"Wolfgang is on a flight as we speak, and he will be here tomorrow. Once the reading is done, you’re supposed to assume full custody of him," I told him.
He put his head in his hands for a long moment and stayed like that. I wanted to go to him and comfort him, but I wasn't sure it wouldn't go too far. In this particular moment, it was more important than ever that I stay professional.
He finally looked up at me with unshed tears swimming in his eyes. "I loved her, honey, I did. But what was she thinking by leaving her kid to me? I am in no position to raise a child. Isn't that something you use a grandma for? Oh, what am I saying? I know her mother, she is about as warm as a fish. This kid's been through enough, and now, he's stuck with me?" he said, getting up and running a frustrated hand through his hair.
I was silent for a long moment, unsure what I should say—what the hell I should do. “Please don’t look at me like that,” he said.
I stiffened. “Like what?”
“Like you’re feeling sorry for me. Come on, Reagan, everything is upside down. At least make one thing the same—tell me what an awful idea this is. Tell me what a horrible parent I’d make.” he ranted.
“Look, you’re not exactly known for being Mr. Teddy Bear, we both know that, but why on earth do you want me telling you that you’re incapable of this—”
“Because I am incapable of this,” he broke in desperately.
He began pacing back and forth across the small expanse of floor in front of his couch. The pain emanating from him threatened to pull me in with him. I want to go to him and pull him into my arms and tell him it was going to be okay. How the hell had that happened? I wasn’t a cold person by any means, but I wasn’t exactly all touchy and feely. I blamed this evolving softness towards people on my friends and, of course, Layla. Maybe Adam would find himself in a similar situation. As obnoxious as he could be, maybe he’d discover a new side of himself through Wolfgang. Still, I needed to reign in these urges to comfort by touching, as it was too dangerous where Adam was concerned. So, I needed to remember who I was to this situation and what my job was. In a measured voice, I laid out his options. “You have the option to deny custody at the reading. The state would try to find a foster home for him as quickly as possible. Your second option would be to try and locate another family member who would be willing to take him, but that won’t necessarily be a quick endeavor.”
“And my third option?” he asked, looking at me with eyes red from crying.
“Your third option would be to take full custody and raise him as requested by your cousin,” I said simply.
He plopped back down on the couch, shaking his head. “I can’t send the kid off to a foster parent. God only knows what he’d get. Fuck, these are impossible choices,” he moaned.
Unable to stop myself, I moved closer, sitting on the coffee table directly in front of him and taking his hand in mine. The moment I felt the warmth of him, I was instantly reminded of all the unspeakable pleasures his hands had been capable of, but when I looked into those normally arrogant brown eyes and saw nothing but pain and fear there, my libido cooled. Everything else in me took over. “Adam, I know these are tough choices, but you don’t have to make them right this moment. You said you don’t want to go the foster care option, and I would definitely agree with you there. As for the other two, why don’t I put out some feelers about willing family members while you get Wolfgang settled in the states? By the time we’re able to locate someone, maybe you’ll have a better idea of what you want to do,” I reasoned calmly.
He looked at me miserably and squeezed my hand. “That’s just it, Reagan. I do already know the answer, but I hate it. I can’t raise a child—I don’t have to tell you that. I work all the time, there’s barely any food in the fridge, I curse like a sailor, and I keep odd hours.”
I nodded. Those were all valid concerns, but they did not change one simple truth. “Well, all of that is going to have to change—at least for the time being.”
“I know. Goddamn, here I am, going on about me and this poor kid just lost both his parents. You must think I’m a special kind of asshole,” he said.
I offered him a small smile. “You’ve always been a special kind of asshole, Adam, but not because of that.”
He snorted. “Gee, thanks,” he said dryly.
“No, I mean it. This situation is a lot. I would suspect that anybody else would have similar worries.” I looked at him for a long moment, then poked his knee. “Besides, you never know. You might finally have someone the right age to appreciate those fart noises you make with your mouth.”
He huffed a small laugh. “Yeah,” he said, looking off into the distance. “My fart noises are top-tier,” he said matter-of-factly.
I laughed. “There’s the Adam I know.”
