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That list was long, from helping with ideas on the tavern to becoming a partner, to helping me with Harley and giving herself to me repeatedly so passionately. I didn’t deserve someone like her. What did she see in me? What could I ever give her that she didn’t already have?
My eyes lifted to the door, and I thought about Harley sleeping in the other room. I knew that Candy wanted a family. Would she accept Harley that way? Would she accept me? Would she even want us for the long haul?
Suddenly, I remembered Candy saying something about wanting a baby, and my gaze went back to her face as I imagined a sweet baby girl in her arms. Could I give her that?
I had never wanted this, yet I was thinking about it here. The scariest thing about it was that it felt right. It felt way too right, and I didn’t know what to do with it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CANDY
The next few days slipped by quickly. I stayed home with Harley and helped him adapt to his new life. I also made phone calls and researched schools and doctors. Because Mike had to work all week, we spent a lot of time texting and making quick phone calls to discuss things I had learned.
He made arrangements with Monica to cover his shifts for a week starting on Saturday as I needed to get back to work the following week, and decisions would need to be made about school.
Each night when Mike arrived home, he brought a few more things from his one-room apartment above the tavern. While he stored his stuff in the guest room, he never slept there.
Mike would climb into bed after work and wrap his body around mine. I was happy to allow him to sate himself and please me along the way. Well, as long as Harley hadn’t already climbed into the bed with me.
It was Harley’s sixth night with us that he slept the entire night in his bed, and I woke up to find him playing with Legos quietly on the floor of his room. It would mark one of his first milestones, and I smiled happily as I leaned against the doorjamb and watched him.
Nolan had brought over some of Tyler’s old toys, and the Legos had been an enormous hit with Harley. It was kind of exciting to see him learn to build things. When I was a kid, I was not particularly eager to play with dolls; I preferred to make things, and Evan and Ethan would get annoyed with me for stealing their Legos. It was the first sign that I wanted to be an engineer because I loved to know how things went together and stayed that way.
Perhaps those little building blocks would influence Harley in his career. Or he would just be a kid that liked to play with Legos. It didn’t matter. He brought the Legos into the kitchen and sat at the table while I made coffee and breakfast.
We had learned from Wes that Harley had a vitamin deficiency and a few other things, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. On Monday, he would see his new pediatrician and get immunizations, something he hadn’t had before and should have before going into a public school.
For now, Harley would be homeschooled by a private tutor so they could further assess him and prepare him for a classroom setting. I learned firsthand that Harley was quickly overwhelmed when many people were around, especially children.
One day at the park, there were quite a few kids around, and Harley wandered off alone and kept to himself before coming to me and asking if we could leave. He had done that twice, and I spoke with Carmen, who suggested that Harley visit the playground on off times when not as many kids would be around. He needed to have smaller playgroups, which was a sure sign that a large classroom could overwhelm him.
The cost of the tutor had been an issue with Mike. He, of course, didn’t have the money and didn’t want me to pay for it. At the same time, he understood how important it was and how Harley needed it. He didn’t want to accept it, but he finally did and commented on how it was just another thing he would owe me. He was the only one that was counting.
On Saturday morning, Carmen came to spend more time with Harley, and Mike and I sat on the back deck and had coffee. He was quiet as he stared out over the yard.
“You alright?” I asked him after a few minutes of silence.
“Yeah, I’m just thinking.”
“About what?”
He turned and stared at me, and I could see concern behind his eyes. “I was thinking about if something happened to me.”
I frowned. “What?”
“What if I was in an accident? Or if I got mugged and killed one night, what would happen to Harley? He doesn’t have any other family.”
“No, he doesn’t,” I replied. I had thought about this myself, but it was not my place to add my opinion on the matter.
“Candy, I need to ask you a crucial question.” He moved his chair to face me better and leaned forward, taking my hand.
“Okay,” I replied. I had a feeling I knew what question would come out of his mouth, and I had even considered it myself. I just wasn’t sure what the answer would be if he asked me to be Harley’s guardian. I had come to care for the little boy so much, and I knew I could take care of him. But what came with Harley was a lot of emotional baggage, and I wasn’t sure I was prepared to deal with that—alone. Not that anything would happen to Mike. I knew he was just thinking ahead, but what if I said yes, I would do it, and he got killed in a car crash next week? I’d be left to raise a boy that wasn’t mine by myself.
Was I prepared for that? I wasn’t sure, and the question would need some serious consideration.
“I can not thank you enough for all you have done for us.”
“I did it because I wanted to. You don’t need to thank me, Mike.”
