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“That can’t be.” Her face was white.
“No, it can’t,” I growled. “She’s lying.”
“Legal is looking into it, but so far the woman’s story checks out. She had a son who matches Hunter’s description who was reported missing three years ago.”
“Oh my God.” Julie’s knees buckled and I scooped her to my chest. “No. No.”
Savannah looked as stricken as we felt. “I have a private investigator on it. And of course the police are now involved. But I wanted to tell you before the lawyers called. I know you two have your hearts in this.”
“He’s not going anywhere,” I barked. “He belongs here.” There was a fucking Christmas tree with his little cut out hands all over it. No one was taking Hunter out of this home.
Savannah grimaced. “He might have a birth mother out there who has been looking for him for three years. Kane, I don’t know what the right outcome is here. But Hunter doesn’t need to know anything until we have some proof. You don’t have to tell him.”
I felt the sob wrack through Julie’s body. I was helpless to do a damn thing about it.
“We aren’t telling him anything, because it’s not true. He has parents now. Parents who want him. Parents who will do whatever we have to do to keep him. Do you understand me?” I knew Savannah didn’t deserve the brunt of my anger, but she was the messenger and in this case I had to shoot someone.
She rose from the island. “I’m sorry. Really I am. And I hope we have answers in the next day or two. Just don’t give the police or the attorneys a hard time. It won’t make things any easier.”
Julie nodded with a sniffle. “We’ll cooperate. Of course we will.”
Savi touched Julie’s arm. “Call me if you need anything.”
She walked to the door and gazed up at the tree. “I like it. Not your usual beer can Christmas, huh?” She smiled at me sadly.
I knew exactly what she was thinking. It was the same thing running through my soul. I finally opened my life to love and look what happened.
Thirty-Eight
Julie
I didn’t know what was happening. I wished at moments like this I could see into the future and see how things were going to play out. What was the right path to take? Were we doing the right thing? I wondered how many parents asked themselves these same questions every day. How many times a day do they ask them?
“Are you ready, sugar?” Kane asked and I nodded my head, letting him know I am.
I can’t bear to speak right now. Otherwise I was afraid I would start babbling and crying all at the same time, and honestly no one needs that.
“Hunter, do you have your backpack? Last week of school before Christmas break.” He grins at the child.
Hunter nodded, sleepily. We let him stay up way too late last night working on the decorations for the tree.
I knew he could tell something was going on, but he hadn’t asked yet and I hoped to God he doesn’t on the way to school. If we could just make it to the classroom he would forget that he walked in on me crying and Hawk trying to console me.
He would focus on his end-of-the-year art project and his spelling test. He wouldn’t realize I was a weeping mess.
The last thing I wanted to do was make him worry. I would rather die than have this little amazing boy think that the safety he had finally found was suddenly at stake. I refused to let that happen.
Hawk pulled me toward him at the front door. “I’ve got this, baby. I promise.”
I looked into his eyes needing those words to be true. But I knew they were only words. He couldn’t promise me something like that. If Hunter’s birth mother was out there, it was our job to reunite them. The problem was that it came at the cost of three broken hearts.
“Bye, Kane.” Hunter waved.
“Bye, bud. Have a good day.”
I couldn’t say anything. I turned, buttoning my coat, braving the snow and took Hunter to school.
I checked my phone all day. There was no news. Hawk hadn’t heard anything from the investigators except to say that the woman who claimed to be Hunter’s mother did file a missing child’s report three years ago. That alone didn’t encourage me.
