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I’m supposed to be bringing Noah into the station to talk to Sheriff Mayson tomorrow, and hopefully, we can get him removed from his mother’s care permanently. I think that her not reporting him missing or looking for him is going to be a big strike against her.
Lucy threads her fingers through mine, squeezing lightly to bring me back to the present moment. I look over at her, smiling at my precious, gorgeous girl. It’s like she knew I was starting to spiral about Noah’s mom and gently calmed me down with nothing more than a simple touch.
I pull into the driveway of Lucy’s house and park behind her car. We had dropped it off before going to the ceramics studio. I insisted. I had been missing her all week, and I didn’t want to waste any more time that we could be spending together.
There’s a boy who looks to be about a year or two older than Noah out on the front porch, and he waves as we climb out of the truck.
“That’s Spencer. I think he’s in the grade above you at school,” Lucy tells him as we head his way.
“Yeah, I think I’ve seen him around. He seems nice,” Noah says.
He seems excited to be making a new friend, and I remember how alone I was when I was his age. I couldn’t ever invite friends over to my house. Not when I wasn’t sure what mood or condition my mother would be in. Plus, there was rarely any food in the house, and I definitely never had any electronics or gaming systems. What would we have done? I’m guessing it’s the same for Noah. June is probably his only friend. I’m glad he’s had at least one person in his corner. Now he has me as well. I’ll always have his back.
We head inside, and I see that everyone is lounging around the living room.
“Pizza is in the kitchen!” Scarlett calls, and I wave at her before I follow Noah and June into the kitchen.
We pile our plates high with pizza and breadsticks before we make our way back to the living room. Noah takes a seat on the floor next to Spencer, and the two introduce themselves and start talking like old friends.
Lucy and I head over to the other side of the room and take a seat leaning against the loveseat. Our knees brush and tingles race up my spine.
God, I love this woman.
“Oh, right. Emilia, Rex, and Nash, this is Remington. Remi, this is my other roommate, Emilia, her boyfriend, Rex, and Scarlett’s boyfriend, Nash. And you already met Scarlett.”
“It’s nice to meet you guys. And to see you again,” I tell Scarlett.
“You too. Glad you two were able to work things out,” Emilia says, and I see Lucy shoot her a look.
“Aw, you were talking about me?” I whisper to Lucy.
“It was hard not to. I had to explain who the strange man was on our porch all week,” she quips back, and I laugh.
“What are we watching?” Lucy asks her friends.
“We’re thinking about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Emilia tells her.
“Yay!” Noah and Spencer shout.
Scarlett cues up the movie, and everyone digs into their meal. I look over at Lucy, who is already smiling at me. I know we’re thinking the same thing.This is perfect.
An hour and a half later, Noah and Spencer are asleep in the blanket fort they made after they finished their pizza. Scarlett and Nash skipped out a little bit ago, and I have a feeling Emilia and Rex want to do the same.
“We can watch the kids tonight,” I tell Rex, nodding at Spencer snoring soundly next to Noah.
“Are you sure?” Emilia asks, leaning over Rex.
“Yeah,” Lucy says, smiling at her friend. “You can return the favor sometime.” She winks at Emilia, who rolls her eyes.
We wish our friends a good evening, then look at each other once they’ve pulled out of the driveway.
“I thought we’d never be alone again,” Lucy says with a dramatic sigh.
I grin and scoop her up, kissing away her surprised sounds. “I think Noah and Spencer are down for the count, but we should try to be quiet, just in case.”
“Oh? And what kind of activity were you thinking about participating in?” She raises an eyebrow at me, giving me a sassy little smirk.
“The naked kind,” I nearly growl as I take the stairs two at a time with my Lucy in my arms.
