Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Emma
“Emma Nichols?”
I answered the call despite not recognising the number, and something tells me I shouldn’t have.
My mouth is suddenly dry. “Yes? Oh, it’s Emma Baxter now.”
“Okay. But you were Emma Nichols?”
“That’s right.”
“My name is Sophia Cowell. I’m a social worker. We’ve had an anonymous call about your children.”
I nearly fall to my knees.
“My father,” I croak. “He … He said he might do something like this.”
“I’d like to come and see you. Are you home this afternoon?”
I draw in a deep breath. “Yes.”
“I’ll pop in around one thirty if that’s okay. It’ll give us a chance to talk before school ends.”
“That’s fine.”
After confirming our address, we finish the call, and I sit for a moment, an ache in my chest starting.
I pull up Caleb’s number and hit dial.
“Hey, babe.” Just the deep sound of his voice soothes me.
“Caleb? It’s me.”
“Hey, me.” His tone is so warm and flirty, and my heart stutters in response.
“My father. He …” I choke down a sob.
“What’s happened?”
“I got a call. They’re coming over this afternoon. I …”
“I’ll be home in about ten minutes. Okay?”
“Okay.” I sniff.
His threat felt very real, but I’d almost managed to convince myself that he wouldn’t do it. He’s the only person who could have made allegations.
My heart thuds, and I close my eyes in an effort to calm myself.
That’s how Caleb finds me, curled up on the couch.
“Hey,” he murmurs, pulling me upright and into his arms.
I keep my eyes firmly shut, wishing the world away as he runs his hand down my spine.
“I’ve got you, Emma. I’m here.”
“Thank you for coming home.”
We sit for what feels like hours like this—his warmth and strength bringing me the comfort I so desperately need.
What would I do without him?
I don’t want to become dependent on him in case he does leave, but Caleb’s presence is everything in this moment.
“Tell me what happened.”
“I had a call from a social worker. There was an anonymous complaint.”
He brushes his lips on my forehead. “I bet there was.”
“She said she’d be here around one thirty.”
“Then I’m not going anywhere. I’ll face this with you. Okay?”
I nod and nestle in closer against him.
“It’ll be alright. I know it will. You’re an amazing mother.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.” He leans his head on mine. “You steered them through a horrible, toxic situation, and they’re all sweet and caring just like you. They’re such good kids, Emma.”
“Sometimes I need to hear things like that.”
After lunch, I’m anxious again and when the knock on the door comes right on time, I meet Caleb’s gaze.
He winks at me.
The simple act calms my soul.
We’ve got this.
I approach the front door with trepidation. What has Dad done? But it’s too late now—whatever he’s said is out there, and I have to face it.
When I open the door, the woman on the step smiles. Her kind face soothes me a little, but I steel my spine and smile back.
“Emma? I’m Sophia.”
“Please, come in.”
I lead her into the living room where Caleb waits. He shoots me a wink and confidence rises inside me.
“This is Caleb. He’s the children’s stepfather.”
Sophia smiles and extends a hand for him to shake. Caleb steps up and nods.
“How about we take a seat?”
Relief floods my system as he raises a hand and indicates for Sophia to sit. We do have this. Together.
It’s a weird feeling.
For so long I was with someone who dictated and never supported.
Now I know Caleb’s got my back.
Sophia sits opposite us as we take a seat on the couch.
“The kids are all at school right now,” I say.
She nods. “I thought it best that we just sit and have a chat.”
“What were the allegations?” Caleb asks.
Sophia looks down at her notes. “There were some concerns around neglect. You have a lovely home. It helps to see the house.”
Caleb bristles. “Those kids are far from neglected. Emma’s a great Mum.”
“Dad wouldn’t have a clue about my family. We’ve been estranged for years,” I say. “This is vindictive on his part because I wouldn’t do as he demanded.”
Sophia’s eyebrows rise. “What was that?”
“My family was part of a church group. I’m not sure if you’ll have heard of them as they’re down south and keep to themselves. My late husband was a member.”
She nods.
“But he wasn’t exactly honest when he joined. All his assets were supposed to be handed over when he went to live in their community, but he kept them separate. Dad’s first attempt to intimidate us was to try and challenge Malcolm’s will.”
The huff sound she makes tells a story of its own.
“When that failed, he’s moved onto the other thing he threatened me with. Which is this.”
Caleb squeezes my arm. “We knew this was coming. Emma’s father hasn’t even met her younger two children and hasn’t been in any of their lives for the past sixteen years.
This is nothing but a malicious act.” Caleb looks at me.
“Besides, our plan is that now I’m back in her life that I adopt the other three children, and I understand that means multiple visits from a social worker.
If we had anything to hide, we’d hardly be signing up for that, would we? ”
I hold my breath a moment, but Sophia smiles.
“I’m sure you understand why we need to investigate each claim. If you are going to adopt these children, Mr Baxter, there will be a social worker visiting to complete a report on each child anyway. Those reports will also help if Emma’s father tries to take this further.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
Caleb wraps an arm around me and pulls me tight against him.
“If anything, you should be investigating the church her father belongs to. Our concern is that they want their hands on the girls to do to them what they did to Emma.”
Her eyes land on me, so full of sympathy. “I can understand that. I’ll make some enquiries about whether there have been any investigations there or not. The important thing is that you’re keeping your children safe, and that’s all anyone asks for.”
“Thank you,” I murmur.
She rises to her feet. “I think we’re done here. I’ll write this all up back at the office. Get that adoption application in. That’ll get the ball rolling. Give me a call when it’s submitted to the court and I’ll make sure I’m across it.”
Caleb and I stand. He holds out his hand and she shakes it. “Thank you,” he says.
“You’re welcome.”
“Let me show you out.” He takes my hand in his and gives it a squeeze before guiding her to the front door.
When she’s gone, I falter, and Caleb gathers me into his arms and pulls me back to the couch.
“It’s over,” he says softly.
“For now.”
“We’ve got your dad and his group on their radar, and that’s a good thing. You’re such a good mother, Emma—that’s obvious.”
“What if he does it again?”
He places a kiss in my hair. “Then we’ll be prepared again. Noah saw enough back then to know things weren’t right, and I hate that, but it’s invaluable when fighting this.”
We sit cuddled up on the couch until my phone starts dinging.
“That’s my alarm to pick up Jason.”
“I’ll go and get him. How about after dinner tonight, we sit all of them down and tell them what we’re doing? They’ll have to know if we’ve got a social worker coming to see them anyway, and …”
“And, what?”
“I’ve been thinking we can’t just dump this on them. If for some reason any of them don’t want to be adopted by me, we need to listen to their concerns.”
I nod. “I’ve been thinking about that since you said it. Especially Bailey and Kiera. I think Jason will be over the moon.”
He chuckles. “I agree. Now, I’ll just go grab our boy. Be back soon.”
Our boy.
I’m not sure I’ll ever get sick of the way he refers to our children.
And they are our children—adoption or not.
After dinner, we gather everyone in the living room.
Since we moved in, we’ve let the kids do what they want until bedtime. The teens usually disappear into their rooms, and Jason flits between his room and us.
A change in routine makes them suspicious.
I hate this. I hate that whatever my father does impacts my children no matter the outcome. It feels that even though the abusive relationship I was in is over that Malcolm is still abusing me from beyond the grave.
And now my father’s joined in.
Jason’s in the room first. He heads straight for me and buries himself in my side. It’s been a long time coming, but the school counsellor will see him for the first time next week as we try and grow his confidence.
“Are we going to live with Grandad?” Bailey’s eyes meet mine.
“No. Never.”
Relief sweeps her expression, and I hate that he’s put that doubt in their heads.
“Come here, kiddo.” Caleb opens his arms and she falls into them. “Your mum and I will keep all of you safe. That’s a promise.”
“Can you be our dad now? You said when you married Mum that you’d—”
Caleb exchanges a glance with me. “I’ll keep my word. And I’d love to be your dad. That’s what we want to talk to you about.”
Kiera flicks her gaze between me and Caleb. “Are you going to adopt us?”
“If that’s what you want,” I say. “We didn’t want to make assumptions about what you want, and that’s important in all of this.”
She smiles. “I want it. We have a new life now. And Caleb is the best.”
He laughs. “I’m glad to hear that, kiddo.”
“You don’t yell at us like he did. And you buy us pizza.”
“It was once,” he groans.
We both know it won’t just be once, and I smile to myself. That man is going to spoil these children.
I’ll have to keep a close eye on that.
“I think I speak for us all when I say we want this too,” Bailey says. “We want you to be our dad.”
Caleb blinks rapidly as tears well in his eyes.
This is as good for him as it is for them, and for me. He’s the man who should have been the father of all my children.
And now he will be.
Once the children are in bed and I’ve got my husband alone in the living room, I cuddle up to him.
He’s staring at the television as if it’ll grant him some kind of wisdom.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?”
He laughs. “Isn’t that what I’m usually asking you?”
“You were deep in thought when I came back down.”
Caleb sighs. “The sooner we start the adoption process, the better.”
I bite my bottom lip.
Caleb tilts his head. “What’s going on?”
“It’s just … We’ve fended Dad off for the moment. Are you sure you want to adopt? It’s for life.”
He scoffs, as if I’ve just said the dumbest thing ever.
Caleb pounds his chest. “I meant every word I said, Emma. You and me. We’re for life.”
“I thought that maybe once Dad was taken care of …”
“You thought I’d walk away?”
I shrug. “This isn’t the life you’ve lived—I doubt it’s the one you wanted. I get that this isn’t an easy thing to get out of, but—”
He narrows his eyes. “What on earth makes you think I don’t want this life?”
I swallow hard. “You’re forty-three and never settled down. Why would you—”
His mouth claims mine in a punishing kiss that makes my toes tingle.
I’m breathless by the time he lets me up to breathe and I stare at him, my cheeks heating up with embarrassment—I’ve clearly got that wrong.
“Do you really have doubts about me?” he asks.
“I … I …”
“I love you. I love those kids—all of them. All these years, I never found anyone I wanted to settle down with. The only exception has been you. It will always be you.”
“Caleb.”
“I’m so mad at you for thinking that this was temporary.”
Tears blur my vision. “I’m such a mess. We’re such a mess.”
He wraps his arms around me. Who am I kidding? Caleb is my safe space. I should be fighting for this, and not pushing him away.
“We’re all a mess.” He chuckles. “But we’re together, the way we should have always been. I have zero doubts about that. I’m not going anywhere, Emma. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Really? That long?”
His mouth falls open in mock shock. “That’s so rude.”
Placing a lingering kiss on his jaw, I smile at him. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Is that a promise?”
“You bet it is.”
Caleb’s in bed when I join him later, but for the first time since we got together, he’s got his laptop with him and madly taps on the keys.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m searching for what we need to do for this application. The sooner we get the process started, the sooner those kids have the father they always should have had.”
Tears fill my eyes. I love this man with all my heart—he’s it for me, and he should have been the man I’ve been with for all these years. It breaks me that he wasn’t, but now we have our second chance. I need to lose the fear and be bold.
“There’s something else I want to do.”
He meets my gaze. “Anything.”
“I want to get Noah’s birth certificate changed so you’re listed as his father.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “I’d like that.”
I take his hand in mine and give it a squeeze. “I like that we do this together.”
“I like that I’m your husband.”
And for the first time since we were married, it all feels real.
Caleb’s all mine.