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“The lawyer said I might have sole custody by the end of the week.”
“That's wonderful. We'll celebrate this evening.”
Moving here was the best decision I ever made. We were surrounded by people who cared about us. I realized, though I'd isolated Gabriel and myself by design, I'd been lonely. Gabriel had been hungry for companionship too. I'd thought we were above that because we got along so well, but now that we'd had a taste of being with people we could trust, neither of us would give that up easily. It was both scary and a relief.
Carlos ended the call, his mouth set in a thin line. “What is it?”
“I was thinking about family. The Carters are good people. Have I been wrong to keep Gabriel from them? I know they would have welcomed him and loved him the way grandparents should.”
“Drew manipulated you for years. We can't tell them now. That's part of the agreement you signed. But we can try to be more involved with them. It doesn't matter how uncomfortable it makes Drew. He gave up his say today.”
Carlos was right. When Gabriel had spent time with Valentina, he’d seemed so hungry for that kind of special relationship. We could covertly let him spend time with the Carters. Mrs. Carter was sick, and even if she never knew she had a grandson, Gabriel could be her adopted one as far as she was concerned. The potential for him to have two surrogate grandmothers in his life thrilled me for his sake and was a relief for mine.
“Maybe we could ask them to watch Gabriel or something. They seemed to like each other.”
“I bet they’d like that.”
I reached across the console for Carlos’s hand. Drew still lived in the same building as we did. I wasn’t delusional enough to believe we’d never run into him, but I prayed it would be as little as possible. After today, because of Carlos, we held the power. Not Drew.
“You’ve freed me,” I said with quiet gratitude.
He kissed the center of my palm. “You saved my soul.”
Chapter Sixty
Carlos
“Just as I taught you,”I said to Gabriel as we approached the front door.
“Okay.”
He took the keys to the apartment from Holly's hands and inserted the correct one in the lock.
“Tell me the plan again,” I prompted. I was also distracting him to see if he would remember to take the keys out of the lock. He was better about not forgetting, but Holly and I were trying to make sure to instill that into him.
“I check all the rooms. I'm looking for anything out of place. If everything’s okay, I yell clear,” he recited.
Holly and I exchanged smiles as he opened the door and dropped the keys in her palm.
“Take off,” I instructed.
He raced to the kitchen and circled the island twice. “Clear.”
“Where next?” Holly asked, eyes dancing.
“Living room,” he shouted, as if this were the most exciting thing he'd ever done.
Holly slipped an arm around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. Her eyes were bright as they drank in Gabriel trying not to rush and to be careful like she'd told him.
“Clear,” he yelled again.
We followed him as he checked our bedroom and bathroom.
“I forgot the laundry room,” he realized, darting down the hallway. “Clear.” He poked his head out.
Holly and I laughed. I grabbed her hand as he entered his bedroom. Gabriel checked the closet, under the bed, even a few drawers.
“How's it look?” I asked when he’d finished.
