Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
KRUGER
The home visit went well, and we were given the okay to foster Theo.
Delphi pushed towards the next part of the process, which was qualifying to adopt him, too.
Greer was aware that this was our endgame, if it looked like Theo’s parents weren’t capable of looking after him.
She didn’t know that we were going to make it as hard as possible for them to keep him.
Havoc knew I couldn’t be directly involved in anything, so we kept our heads down and our focus on getting Theo back on his feet and readying The Book Nook to open.
Theo’s mom pulled through, which is both a blessing and a curse.
She had no idea Con had been there and aided her OD, which was a good thing.
It added credence to her being an unfit mother.
But now she was out of the hospital and back home, asking for Theo to come back.
Josh was still recovering in the ICU. The damage Delphi caused was poetic justice, as far as I’m concerned.
Fractured skull, broken collarbone, shattered cheekbone, lacerated liver, ruptured spleen, concussion.
Every time I thought about it, I ended up dragging her to the bedroom so I could worship my warrior princess.
When he was finally released, he would be arrested and placed in police custody.
“I swear I won’t do any heavy lifting, but I’m going stir crazy sitting here,” Theo complains.
“So you want to come to the bookstore where you can sit and be stir crazy, just in a different place?” Delphi teases.
“Exactly.”
Delphi looks over at me and shrugs. “Both Circus and Capone are coming in today to sign off on everything, even though they’ve already kinda done that. They’re nothing if not efficient.”
I roll my eyes at her. “They’re not coming to inspect their work. They’re coming to spend time with you.”
“What? Why? I see them outside of work.”
“I guess they don’t think it’s enough,” I huff, somehow liking that the guys want to spend time with her and hating it too.
“I don’t remember any of them being like this before,” she mumbles. Before, as in when she was with Snake.
I kiss her temple. “Things are different now.”
She opens her mouth to ask me what I mean, but shakes her head. She understands in a roundabout way that we all feel like we have something to prove to her. She just doesn’t know how deep this guilt runs.
“Alright, you can come. You might stop me from biting my nails down to the quick,” she admits.
“Well, the grand opening is on Thursday. That’s less than a week away. That’s enough to make anyone nervous.” I rub my hand up and down her arm.
“I don’t get it, though. This isn’t the first business you’ve opened.” Theo looks between us for answers.
“The diner was different. I was in a location where I knew I’d get business just from foot traffic alone. People have to eat, right? This is different. For a start, Raven Falls is a smaller town. Yes, I’m on Main Street, but believe it or not, not everyone is into coffee and books.”
“Weird,” Theo deadpans, making me grin.
“I know, right?”
“I really don’t think you need to worry.
People will come just because a movie was shot here.
And both Amity and Neveah live here, which somehow the media found out about.
Plus, we have all the usual tourist trappings associated with a Wild West ghost town, and the tourist industry has been booming. ”
“Neveah said she would do a meet and greet there too, which should bring in a few of her rabid fans. Circus seems pretty excited to meet them for some reason.” Theo frowns at that, confused. Delphi snorts like she knows something the rest of us don’t.
“So basically, stop worrying until I have something to worry about? That’s what you’re both saying?”
“Yes,” Theo and I yell at the same time, making her throw her hands up in the air and laugh.
I load them both into the truck and grin, listening to them banter back and forth. I never knew what I was missing before these two came along and took over my life. Now I couldn’t imagine a second without them in it.
When we pull up outside the shop, I see the guys have finished putting the sign up. I look over at Delphi, who is unbuckling her seatbelt. “Looks good, baby.”
She looks at me and frowns before following my eyes to where I’m looking. “Oh my god,” she gasps, her hand covering her mouth.
“What did I miss?” Theo leans forward. “Oh, that’s lit, Delphi.”
“Lit’s good, right?” she calls out, making me chuckle. Teenagers have a language that neither of us understands.
“Lit’s good. And it is. It’s gas.”
“My brain hurts already, but thanks, I think?” Delphi crosses her eyes at me as I get out of the truck and walk around to open the door for her. I help her out as Theo opens his door and hands me my cut from the back seat.
“Thanks. You need a hand?”
He shakes his head. “I’m good.”
I keep my eye on him, anyway. Most of his bruising has faded now. His ribs will take a while longer to heal, and anyone who has ever had fractured ribs knows just how much they hurt.
Once he’s out, he slams the door and moves to stand next to Delphi, who is staring up at the sign.
“We going in, or do you need a minute alone with the sign?”
“I need a minute alone with the sign,” she answers without an inch of shame, making him laugh, which in turn has him holding his hand to his ribs and wincing.
“Shoot, I’m sorry,” she tells him.
He shakes his head. “For being happy? Woman, you’re a nut.”
“For the love of god, don’t you start calling me ‘woman,’ too. These guys are rubbing off on you,” she complains as I grab the door and push it open.
Theo walks in with a grin as I stand in the doorway and watch Delphi.
Her eyes slip closed, and a peaceful expression slips over her face, softening something inside me.
It’s these moments that get me every time.
The ones where she lets down her guard and forgets she has to be this strong, tough woman, and she can just be her jaded, vulnerable, kookie self.
When she’s like this, I could stand here and watch her all day.
Eventually, she opens her eyes and looks over at me, a dopey grin on her face. “So this is what happens when all your dreams come true, huh?”
I walk toward her, and she meets me halfway. “I’m glad it’s everything you dreamed of, chestnut.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down for a kiss before looking back up at me with a soft look on her face.
“I don’t mean the store. Well, I do, but not just this.
I’m talking about you and Theo, Legs, Hero, and all the guys.
I was so lonely for so long. Everywhere I turned was just a series of empty hallways and echoes of a past I couldn’t escape.
And now here you are, giving me a family and a home and filling up all those empty spaces inside me.
So yeah, I love my store, more than you’ll ever know.
But mostly because it’s here in your town, around the corner from where you work, so you can drop in at lunch and we can fuck in the stacks after I close.
“I’m about to step inside a place that only a few months ago, I could have died in.
And yet when I’m here, I don’t feel a single negative emotion.
It’s as if it’s all been purged with every new memory.
Legs’s terrified expression has been replaced with Theo’s grin.
Midas’s horror when he realized what I was doing is gone in favor of a Circus frowning when I tried to explain book girlies to him.
Every tainted mark and smudge of fear has been wiped away by the fingerprints of the man I love, who taught me it was safe to dream. ”
This time it’s me who kisses her, long and deep, until I hear Theo gagging. I pull back and flip him off, making him laugh.
“You sure you want this kid?” I joke into her ear as I sling my arm around her shoulder and walk her into the shop.
“More than anything.”
“Yeah, me too. Little shit’s grown on me. Like a fungus.”
“Admit it, you love him too.”
I wink at her and walk over to where Circus and Capone are standing.
“Kruger. Wasn’t expecting to see you today. You can’t steal our girl. We have plans.”
“She’s not your girl, she’s mine, and how come I’m not invited?”
“You get her to yourself all the time,” Capone complains.
“To myself? Have you not met Theo, the teenage cockblocker?”
Circus grins and crosses his arms. “That sounds like a you problem, Kruger.”
“Yeah, well, it’s your problem today because I’ve gotta go talk to Havoc, which means you two are on Delphi and Theo duty.”
“That is not a hardship. Everything okay?” Capone lowers his voice to ask.
I look behind them. Delphi points at some of the artwork as she talks to Theo.
“Yeah, just need an update on the situation. It’s been a little quiet after the initial pushback from his mom.
I’m not sure if she’s just given up or if she’s planning something.
G’s been digging, so has Nathan. But with everything going on, I haven’t had much time to check in. ”
“Go. We’ve got this. Was gonna take her out for beers and burgers as it’s become our thing, but I’ll see what the kid is up for. No hardship for us to order in pizzas.”
“Beers and burgers are not your thing. You don’t have a thing. We have things. You have…whatever,” I snap, sounding every inch the jealous high schooler. Judging from the looks on their faces, they didn’t miss it. And fuck me, I’m never going to hear the end of it, am I?
“I’m out of here, assholes.” I head over to Delphi and Theo. “I’m heading out. I need to touch base with Havoc and swing by and see Nathan. Either of you need anything before I go?”
“No, I’m good,” Delph answers, as I dip down and kiss her.
“I’m good too,” Theo pipes up.
“Alright. You wanna come to work with me tomorrow? Give you a change of scenery while Delphi has the girls over here.”