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Raya and Matthew look at one another and back at me. “Your daughter?!” they echo before bursting out laughing.
“Look at Mr. Hoity-Toity!” Raya howls, slapping her bare knee below her bright yellow shorts. “She ain’t your daughter, Sterling. She’s my cousin’s daughter.”
“No,” I tell her cooly. “She’s legally my daughter now. I’ve formally adopted her. So you have no claim to her. Not anymore. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll go back to Arkansas?—”
“We’re from Tennessee,” Matthew snaps.
I know that, of course, but I can’t resist pissing them off a bit before seeing them out of my town. They don’t know that it takes thirty days for an adoption to officially be finalized in the state of Georgia—or at least that’s what I’m banking on with this visit. They don’t have lawyers or resources like I do.
“—and forget about Lily Parker,” I conclude.
Raya peers at me, her cold, green eyes calculating, and a strange chill runs down my spine. She’s smarter than she lets on, and that worries me.
“Fuck you!” Matthew spits, but Raya puts a hand on his arm.
“It’s all right, Matty,” she says calmly. “Let’s let Daddy Warbucks be on his way.”
“Have a safe trip home,” I say sarcastically, turning to leave.
I can’t help looking back one last time, and Raya is still watching me, her green eyes bright like some evil creature in a movie.
I hop into my vehicle and zoom out of the dimly lit motel lot, eager to return to my home and my family again.
Good riddance to both of them. Another problem resolved. Not bad for a day’s work.
I am on a roll.
Caden’s Porsche is gone when I arrive, but Pike’s Jeep is still there, and I decide to tell him about the adoption first, but when I enter the house, Zoe and Ryan are in the kitchen with Aspen.
She jumps up when I enter, her face pale.
“Where have you been?!” she demands. “I was texting you!”
I realize I didn’t bring my phone, but I smile at her, and she instantly relaxes.
“Sorry,” I apologize. “Dealing with some business. Must have just missed you because I wasn’t gone long.”
“What business? How did the inspection go?”
Ryan and Zoe look at me expectantly, and I tell them to wait as I head to the front of the house to find Pike.
“Pike! Get down here!”
A moment later, he joins us in the kitchen, and I hear Caden’s car approach. “That’s perfect timing,” I chuckle. “All signs pointed in the right direction.”
“I’m dying in anticipation,” Aspen warns.
“All matters will be resolved, I promise.” I wink at her, and she grins, already knowing what I’m going to say.
Caden enters and looks taken aback by the rest of us sitting there. “Am I invited to this party?”
“Shut up and sit down,” I order. “Zoe, break out the Dom. We’re celebrating tonight.”
Aspen squeals, jumping up out of her chair. “It’s done? It’s finally over?!”
I bob my head. “The adoption is going through. Lily is officially my daughter.”
“Our daughter,” Caden corrects me, and I bow my head.
