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“Are you okay?” Garrett asked immediately.
She took a deep breath and blew it out. “I think so. It feels so weird to leave them with a total stranger to talk to them, but I guess she needs to know they’re telling the truth without me there to prompt them.”
Garrett’s hands moved to her arms and slid down to hold her hands in his. Elise could feel the roughness of his skin. “It’s going to be alright. She’ll just ask them a few things, and it will be over.”
Elise looked up into his eyes as he spoke. She wanted to believe him. To know that all of this would be over soon and the boys could stay with her. With them— she and Garrett — as they started a new life. She was so worried, she didn’t even realize she had allowed herself to move so close to him. She was inches from him as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand, and her heart beat at a funny pace. She couldn’t say how long they had been there, but it must have been longer than she thought.
Mrs. Blocton cleared her throat as she stepped into the kitchen.
Elise jumped back and dropped her hands from Garrett’s.
“The boys seem to be well taken care of. Do they have a pediatrician?”
Elise gave herself a shake as her mind went blank. “Yes, they do, um, it’s the same pediatrician I had growing up. His office is about thirty minutes from here.”
“Dr. Johnston. I saw him too. Up until he said I was too old to go to a pediatrician.” Garrett laughed.
Elise forced a laugh, thankful to him for saving the day.
Mrs. Blocton made more notes. “And they go to school?”
“Yes, they’ll be in fourth grade in the fall at Shelby Springs Elementary.”
“Alright, I’ll be in contact with the school to confirm that. Now, Mr. Macklin, I would like to speak to you in private.”
Garrett placed his palm to his chest as his eyebrows shot up. “Me?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Blocton said plainly.
Elise looked from one to the other before she spoke. “I’ll just go check on the boys. You can call for me when you’re done.” She felt numb as she climbed the stairs, every step feeling like her feet were covered in cement. What did the woman want with Garrett? She could only hope he would know the right answers to whatever questions Mrs. Blocton asked. Maybe they should have talked more about the boys and their routines and schedules in case he needed to know them. She shook her head trying to calm herself. Not every boyfriend would know the habits of ten-year-old little brothers. Maybe she was worrying too much.
Then again, was there such a thing as worrying too much when it came to keeping her brothers with her?”
The boys were playing in their room, building some kind of fort and discussing the imaginary story playing out. Elise sat quietly and watched them. They were so fun and creative. How often in the last few months had she taken time to notice? She’d been too concerned with keeping them alive to think about having any fun with them. Maybe if life settled down a bit, she could focus more on that.
“Elise,” Garrett’s voice called out, interrupting her thoughts. “Could you come down?”
She almost tripped over herself trying to get down the stairs in a hurry.
She found Garrett and Mrs. Blocton sitting in the living room. Mrs. Blocton was writing on her paper again.
Elise sat down and answered a few more questions about finances and her plans for a job. Then Mrs. Blocton stood up and abruptly stuck out her hand to Elise. “Thank you for your time. I’ll be calling a few places to confirm the information about the boys, but things seem to be in order here. I’ll be in touch in a few days.”
Elise followed as she walked to the door, opened the door for her, and closed it behind her. When she was gone, Elise turned back to look at Garrett. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. Making her way to the couch, she collapsed beside Garrett. “Well, I don’t know what to think about that. I’m not sure if I should be relieved or more worried.”
“I think you should relax,” Garrett said.
Elise sat straight up instead. “What did she ask you?”
Garrett shrugged. “Just a few questions about my job, my family’s ranch, and where I live.”
“Oh, that’s not too bad.”
“And then I told her I was planning to propose, and we’ll be getting married soon.”
Elise’s eyes grew wide, and she reached out to grab his arm with both hands. “What did she say to that?”
“That seemed to answer a lot of questions she didn’t ask. Actually, her demeanor changed after that. I think you were absolutely right. If we get married, she thinks you are stable and secure, financially and otherwise. The look on her face said this was a closed case.”
