Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“I can’t wait to see what you do at art camp in a few weeks.”
“Knox says I might be good enough to go to art college.” I studied my sneaker, rolling my foot this way and that. “Me. College. Heh.”
“Yes, you, college.” Pops did a better stern voice than Jared, for sure. “Count on it.”
“College is money.” I knew better than to get hopes up about such things.
“And we’ll find it,” Pops said firmly. “Speaking of finding, don’t you have a tie?”
“Never tied one before,” I mumbled, fishing it out of my pocket. “All fancy like this isn’t us.”
Jared and me, we were North Portland tough. We didn’t do ties and pressed pants. Hadn’t ever been out of Portland till Debbie, the social worker, drove us to Safe Harbor. Said we’d love Worth and Sam and that they’d love us. So far, Debbie hadn’t led us wrong, but that flippy-floppy feeling in my stomach persisted.
“Let me help?” Pops gently tied the blue tie on and straightened my collar. Something sharp twinged in my chest.
“Where is everyone?” Dad came bustling into the room. He’d gotten his reddish hair and new beard trimmed when he’d taken us to the barbershop, and he looked all smart in an outfit identical to the rest of us. “We’re going to be late.”
“Not if we take Pop’s car.” I grinned, and so did Jared. “Minivan is so damn boring.”
“Language,” Dad said mildly as he herded all of us to the stairs. “The van is practical. And it was a gift.”
“Yeah, but Pop’s car is a gift of modern engineering.” Jared whistled low.
“Okay, you win. Go climb in the backseat.” Sam gestured at the front door. “But resign yourself to a minivan summer.”
“New placement coming?” I paused at the bottom of the stairs, voice coming out more wary than I wanted. In our two years here, we hadn’t always been the only kids. Some came for short times, some for longer. Some got moved, some got placed back with family or reunited with their parents. We stayed. I tried not to have what Worth called “big feelings” over that, but it was hard. I liked it here and didn’t much want to leave, but it didn’t always sit well with me that we didn’t have many options.
“It’ll be okay, Kane,” Pops said quietly. He knew. He knew about parents who made the news, situations that couldn’t be gone back to. He knew how hard it was to think the words: murder/suicide. Even now, I shuddered. I stepped closer to his side even as Jared let out a whoop of delight. He always liked when new kids showed up.
“New placements, plural. Three of them, for the big room. Two girls and an enby teen, all older than both of you.”
“Tell Debbie we want more foster-adopt placements,” Jared ordered like we had any such say in the matter.
“Yes, sir.” Dad laughed merrily. “Now, who is ready to go get adopted?”
“Me!” Jared raced out the front door, but I hung back.
“Kane?” Pops put an arm around me as Dad turned back too. “You ready? Feeling your feelings?”
“Nah.” I blew out a breath so warm it made me feel icky. Didn’t want to hurl. Pops would be nice if that happened again though. Said he knew about having a glass stomach. “Okay. Maybe a little.”
“I know we can’t ever replace your bio parents, but we love you, and we want you to be a part of our family forever.” Dad took my other hand. He got it too. Big feels. Loving it here. Loving both of them. Still loving what we’d had. Hating what had happened, how it had ended.
“Promise?” I asked softly.
“You get to stay for always and forever. This is your home too.”
“Good.” I took a deep breath. Jared would have my hide if I really did make us all late, so I marched out into the sunshine where Worth’s sports car sat gleaming, all freshly washed and polished. I had to laugh. “Dude. Pops. You knew I’d ask.”
“I knew you’d ask.” Pops gave me a smile that meant the whole damn universe. I could draw for hours and never get it quite right. “You know, I might need to trade this car—”
“Don’t you joke.” I pushed past Jared to plant my butt in the backseat, and to the courthouse we went. The whole main hallway was packed with people we knew. Holden and Cal, of course. And Knox, Monroe, baby Indigo, and her birth mom, who was one of the dads’ new baristas. Holden’s mom, Knox’s dad, and all those triplets who liked to chase Jared. Frank and Leon sat on one of the long benches. Grandma and Grandpa had come along with one of the interpreters from church. George and Marta must have driven in from Portland. I hoped they’d brought the dogs on this visit.