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“Ugh, don’t use my middle name.” She exhaled a long, slow breath and scrubbed her hands over her face in defeat. “Okay, yes. Happy now? Yes, I love him.”
“There, don’t you feel better?” Alexis asked, her smile all smug satisfaction.
“Maybe,” she muttered, just because she couldn’t bring herself to admit that she did feel better—lighter, somehow. “But it’s… complicated.”
“Love is always complicated. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it. Take the chance on Cal. I promise you won’t regret it.” Alexis squeezed her hand. “Now, let’s go meet this niece of ours.”
chapter
twenty-seven
True sat in Zak and Anna’s living room, small and pale in a Lost County Sheriff’s Department sweatshirt. The shirt was too big for her, coming almost to her knees and swallowing her arms. Her hair was clean and brushed back into a braid, making her eyes look even bigger in her thin face. She flipped through the TV channels, staring at the screen with astonished eyes. Anna’s sweet Golden Retriever, Winston, sat beside her, his head resting on her lap, his eyes closed as she stroked her free hand over his head. Ranger, the Dutch shepherd with intense yellow eyes, lay on the floor nearby, watching over his charge like a mama bear watched her cubs.
“My God,” Alexis breathed after peeking into the room. “How old is she? She’s so tiny.”
Ash pulled the parlor’s double glass doors shut and led the way back to the kitchen, where Zak and Anna waited. “Best guess is fourteen. Maybe fifteen. She doesn’t know, and there are no records of her birth, so there’s really no way to know for sure.”
“What’s going to happen to her?”
Ash sighed. “Both her parents are dead, so she’ll have to go into the system.”
“No,” Alexis and Ellie said at the same time.
“We’re foster parents,” Anna said. “We can request to take her so she doesn’t end up with strangers.”
Ash frowned at his twin sister. “I thought you guys were trying to adopt a baby. Will you be able to do both?”
“It can wait.” Anna shrugged, though her feigned nonchalance didn’t quite show on her face. The thought of waiting for their much-wanted baby obviously hurt her, but she’d put it aside for True. She was just that kind of person. “True needs a place to live, and we have the room for her. Besides, it might be good for her to meet Bella. They have a lot in common.”
“No, don’t put your adoption on hold,” Alexis said and looked at Shane, who winced before schooling his face back into a blank mask. Ellie could plainly see the internal battle he fought. He had only just learned how to live among people again, and despite his new friends and wife, he was still very much a loner. But he was also a hero at heart, and heroes don’t let kids suffer needlessly.
Finally, Shane nodded. “She’s family. She’s not going into foster care on my watch.”
Alexis’s face glowed, and she turned back to Ash. “We’ll take her home with us,” she said.
They were well-meaning, but every instinct Ellie had screamed that it was the wrong move. She laid a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “She doesn’t know you or Shane. Let me take her.” The girl didn’t really know Ellie either, but at least she wasn’t a complete stranger like Alexis and Shane were.
Alexis’s eyes widened. “Really? Are you sure?”
No, she wasn’t. But Alexis and Shane were newlyweds trying to navigate a world that hadn’t been kind to either of them, and they didn’t need the stress of a damaged kid on top of that. Ellie had the space in her house and the time to do whatever was needed to help True heal. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that it was the right call.
“Yes. I’m sure.”
Alexis studied her face for a long moment, then gave a slow nod. “If you ever need anything, we’re here to help.”
“Day or night,” Shane added. “You call, and I’ll be there.”
God, she loved them. She wanted to hug them both, but she settled for just wrapping her arms around her sister. “I know. And I’ll definitely take you up on that so often you’ll regret offering.”
A smile ghosted over Shane’s hard mouth. “Never.”
“Can we talk to her?” Alexis asked. “I have so many questions.”
Ash waved a hand toward the front parlor. “If she’s willing.”
True looked up, startled, when Ellie, Alexis, and Shane walked into the parlor. She studied them all with eyes far too world-weary for such a young girl, then set the TV remote aside and uncurled from the couch. “You’re my aunts, aren’t you?”
Alexis nodded and moved slowly into the room, lowering herself to the cushion on the other end of the couch. “We are. I’m Alexis. And this…” She held out a hand to Shane, and he stepped forward, lacing his fingers through hers. “Is my husband, Shane.”
