CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Fallon
MY BELOVED HATCHBACK GAVE ITS FAMILIAR SPUTTER AS I eased it into a parking spot at DHS. As I shut off the engine, I let out a similar sound. Maybe we’d give out together. Give up and call it quits right here.
It had been one of those days where everything felt like it was going wrong.
In family court, two of the kids from my caseload had needed to testify that they’d rather live with their aunt than their mom, who was in the throes of a meth addiction.
And even though the judge had approved that transfer of care, it had broken the hearts of everyone involved.
Then I’d had three home visits, and another to one of my teens, who was in treatment for her own addiction. Even though she’d just made it through the detox period, she was desperate to get out. Telling her she’d have to stay for at least sixty more days had not gone well.
And I still had to give Rose my paperwork so I could be a part of Kye’s kinship placement petition.
And Rhodes hadn’t answered any of the three texts I’d sent her with more than one or two-word answers.
I leaned my head back on the seat rest. One of those headaches was starting to gather.
Kye would be big mad if he realized I hadn’t eaten since my donut this morning.
Just thinking his name added to the hardness of the day.
Between telling our family about our so-called-engagement, finding out that Oren Matthews had been killed, and waiting to hear if Kye would be granted custody, he had far too much on his shoulders.
And there was only so much I could do to help.
My phone dinged in my cupholder. I swiped it up and unlocked the device. A group chat alert flashed.
Cope has changed the group name to Fallon is a Felon, a Support Group.
Below that notification was a photo. It was Cope sitting in his beloved and ridiculously expensive Bentley SUV, covered in various shades of pink glitter.
Cope:
Fallon. I will find you. And I will cover every inch of your house, car, office, and anything else I can think of with the devil’s pixie dust.
A laugh burst out of me, and it felt so damn good. Like all the tension building up in me all day had been released with the sound.
Me:
You should also come for Lolli and Sutton then, because they assisted.
Shep:
Are there tiny penises in that glitter?
Cope:
Yes. There. Are. And they’re fucking everywhere! I’m probably going to have dick hair for the next two weeks.
Rho:
I hope he has another billboard campaign scheduled. I’d pay good money to see a tiny dick sneak past some editing software.
Arden:
Copeland Colson, the face of menswear and men’s appendages.
Rho:
A true dick-fluencer.
Arden:
A peen-thusiast.
Cope:
None of you are allowed to use my pool anymore.
Shep:
Eh, no big loss. I’m putting one in at my place, and Kye has that sick pond.
Just seeing Kye’s name had unease settling deep within me.
I hadn’t heard from him at all today, other than in the group chat with Ellie, where she told us to meet her at a local furniture store at five.
Thanks to some sweet-talking the owner, he was staying open late so we could make some choices after I finished work.
Arden:
Honestly? Worth losing the pool to see you with pink penis hair.
I wanted to laugh again, to feel more of that relief, but I couldn’t quite get there. Instead, I forced myself to climb out of my vehicle and head inside. Mary Lou wasn’t at her desk, but the rest of the team was gathered in the main office as I made my way in.
Noah looked up at the sound of my footsteps, and his brow instantly creased in concern. “Fal, you okay? You look a little pale.”
I sent him a wobbly smile. “I’ve just got a little bit of a headache.”
Mila frowned but stood and crossed to our fridge. She came back with one of those damned green juices. “Drink this and don’t argue.”
I grimaced but untwisted the cap and guzzled the thing down. I made a gagging sound after. I couldn’t help it. The thing was awful. “Someone please give me some sugar. And quick.”
Rose chuckled, opened my top drawer, and tossed me a bag of gummy bears. “Your system is probably in shock from all the vegetables.”
I tore open the bag and immediately started gnawing on a few bears.
“You’ll get used to it,” Mila assured me.
My face screwed up. “Don’t bank on it.”
She chuckled. “It would help if your other main food source wasn’t sugar.”
I cradled the bag of gummy bears to my chest. “Don’t even think about stealing these.”
Noah touched my elbow. “You sure it’s just a headache? You’ve been off since the Jensen case.”
My stomach twisted, and I wasn’t sure if it was an aversion to the junk I’d put into it, or nerves over what I needed to share next. “I actually need to loop you all in on something—a few things, really.”
Three sets of eyes moved to me, looks of curiosity in all of them.
“I’ve been seeing Kye for a while now. We didn’t want to share until we knew for sure it was a forever sort of thing.
But, well …” I held out my hand with the ring.
I couldn’t help staring at it for a beat.
It still felt incredibly foreign, yet like it had always been a part of me. “It is.”
Rose let out a sound that was somewhere between a squeal and a gasp, then grabbed for my hand. “Fallon. It’s beautiful. And so unique.”
“He gave you a black engagement ring?” Mila asked incredulously.
I would’ve been insulted if the question wasn’t so Mila. She had no filter and could only understand things in her wheelhouse of acceptability.
“It’s a black diamond. He wanted something unique,” I explained. I could still hear Kye’s words as if he were whispering them right in my ear. “My battered and blackened heart will always be yours.”
“You guys are foster siblings,” Noah said, the disgust clear in his voice.
My gaze cut to him, and I could feel anger stirring. “He came to live with my family at sixteen, and we already had a history.”
Noah’s jaw worked back and forth. “So, you guys were a thing when he came to live with you? He should’ve been reassigned. Or maybe he used living in your house as an excuse to start working you.”
“Noah,” Rose warned.
I held up a hand to her. “No, Rose. I can handle someone’s small-minded bitterness. Newsflash, Noah. Life isn’t perfect. You should know that better than anyone, given your job. What you should be is fucking happy for me that I found someone as amazing as Kye.”
Mila made a sound that had my eyes cutting to her.
“I know you think Kye is some big, scary, tattooed monster, but he’s not.
He’s the kindest and gentlest man I’ve ever known.
And that’s saying something because my father was one of the best.” My throat constricted at the memory of the man whose tenderness with animals and children was unparalleled …
until Kyler. “You haven’t seen Kye playing dress-up tea party with his niece.
Or having a Nerf war with his nephew. You didn’t see him holding me together when grief got the best of me. ”
“He got to you when you were vulnerable,” Noah cut in.
“The hell he did,” I snapped. “He gave me a safe place to let out everything I was feeling after losing my dad and brother. And he was there for me every step of the way as I tried to move on.”
Rose wrapped an arm around my shoulders and guided me toward her office. “Come on. Let’s have some tea.”
I didn’t miss the scathing look she sent Mila and Noah, but I didn’t have the energy to look for their responses. Instead, I let Rose lead me to her office and the familiar couch. As I sat, she placed two tea bags in mugs and poured water from her electric kettle into them.
Handing me one, she lowered herself to the chair next to me. “They don’t see because they haven’t lived through the messiness we have. Which means they also miss the miracle and gift of finding love amid all the hardship. It’s sweeter for us because we’ve seen so much pain.”
I struggled to swallow. “I can handle it. I’d battle my way through a Viking horde for Kye. But I don’t want this ugliness coming down on him.” Tears pressed at the backs of my eyes. “You should’ve heard him last night when we told our family. He feels how so many in this town look down on him.”
Rose shook her head and swirled her tea bag. “Those fools are missing out, too.”
“But those fools are inflicting pain.” And that killed me.
Rose reached over and patted my hand. “But you’ll heal it. You and those girls.”
“I’m going to try.” I wanted to believe I could. Wanted to think I could be the miracle for Kye he’d been for me.
“Good.” She settled back in the worn chair. “You know you’ll have to hand over the Jensen case.”
“I know,” I grumbled, wrapping my hand tighter around the mug. “I was hoping you might take it.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I looked up at my friend and mentor. “This world is better because you’re in it, Rose. And mine, especially so.”
Rose sent me a pointed look. “If you make me cry, we’re gonna have problems.”
I laughed. “No more emotions. Promise.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
“Okay,” Ellie said, tapping her phone screen as we waited outside the largest furniture store in Sparrow Falls. “I’ve got all the rooms mapped out. I’m focusing on the girls’ rooms, the primary suite, and the living spaces first. We have more time for the other guest rooms, right?”
I nodded, pulling my coat tighter around me as the sun set and a chill set in. “That’s right. But could you add the library to that list? I think it might make a nice space for the girls to study, and Clem is a big reader.”
Ellie grinned. “I looooove a library, so I’m sold. What do you think about going bright and bold in there? The tones of the room are dark, so I think it might be a nice case of opposites.”
“I love that idea. We need to make sure Kye is willing to have all the colors of the rainbow, but I don’t think he’ll mind.”