Chapter Thirty-Eight
Devin’s POV
Two weeks after our living room movie date night in, with Calen and Drew, the case worker approached Cash again.
This was her second attempt to get Calen to do a DNA test. They wanted to be able to place him with a potential blood relative instead of his ‘Big Brother’ from the program.
She had the audacity to say that it could be ‘a burden raising a child you don’t need to’.
She had left it on a voicemail while Cash was in a meeting.
He called me, needing me to talk him off the ledge.
Thankfully I didn’t have any cases at that moment and could talk to him.
I slipped into the doctor’s lounge to talk for a few moments.
Once he was calmed down he called her back.
When we were both off work and home, he came over so we could talk without listening ears.
He filled me in on the whole conversation and how we had a meeting set up the next day.
Thankfully, Cash was able to ask her to meet at the coffee shop in the hospital lobby. He sat next to me, his hands fidgeting in his lap as he tried to keep his calm exterior.
This was an important meeting.
“I know you had mentioned possibly testing his DNA?” She asked as Cash nodded.
We’d brought up the idea several times to Calen, but he seemed like he didn’t want to.
“If he wants to test his DNA to see if he has family out there, he can and we can place him with them. Or, he’s going to need to be moved into the system.
We can’t have him in a temporary situation for years until he ages out. ”
“What about Vivienne? She can’t take him back?” Cash asked, trying to make sure we looked at everything from all angles.
“No. The abuse she dished out to her son was concerning, but when we interviewed her, that was more concerning. She’s thinking of willingly signing away her rights to the boy.”
Cash and I nodded solemnly. We’d been riding this fantastic high in our relationship these last two weeks, seeing what it would be like to be an actual family with Calen, but we knew we needed to figure out his situation.
The CPS worker left her card and said to call if we found more family to try to place him with, that if he wasn’t with family, he’d have to go into foster care.
As we stood to shake her hand, she commented that it was urgent and that we found someone quickly.
“Group homes are filling up and most of the good homes are filling quickly. There’s maybe one or two more I’d feel alright about placing him in, but we just don’t have the resources to care for the amount of children there are that need cared for.”
I watched her walk away, leaving us sitting at the table while Cash played with the card at the small cafe table.
He seemed deep in thought as I sat back down next to him.
I rested my head on his shoulder. I knew he hated talking about this, and I thought it was because he was starting to feel more and more at ease and more at home with Calen in the apartment.
I was too, if I was honest.
He was a great kid, always helping out or wanting to learn something new.
He listened to us well. Thanks to therapy, he was able to talk about his feelings in a way that wasn’t explosive, and he was a great student.
He had tried out for the spring soccer team and made it!
He was talking about cross-country in the fall and he wanted to do basketball next year also.
If he stayed with us, he’d be able to stay in the same school.
But if he had to be placed somewhere, he might have to switch schools and who knew if they’d want or be able to let him do all of the things he was hoping to do now.
We needed to hammer out the details today or tomorrow. While he was at school. This was grown up stuff, and I didn’t want it to impact him too much. He was supposed to be home in forty-five minutes.
“You wanna tell me what’s got you so deep in thought?” I ventured, hoping he was in a talking mood. He heaved a sigh. A heavy one.
“I, uh,” he cleared his throat, looking at the table.
He’d told me a little bit about his past and I knew he’d submitted his DNA test weeks ago, but I hadn’t heard much else, “I was raised by a single mother. You know that. My mom told me my dad wanted nothing to do with a baby when she found out about me. So, she left and that was it. You also know, I got two DNA tests when I asked Calen if he wanted to test his. I thought if he saw me looking for my family, with our situations being similar, I thought…maybe he’d want to know his old man too, ya know?
” He sat there, staring out at nothing for a while before he kissed my cheek.
“I’ve got to head back to the office for a few things. I’ll be home after that.” I nodded and watched him walk away. Knowing there was more to the story, but that he’d tell me tonight.
Walking through the door, dead ass tired, I saw on my TV screen, a picture of a man, with a happy family. A wife and son. Confused, I slowly ventured further into my space. Cash came out of the kitchen, two glasses of wine in hand.
“I found him,” was all he said as he handed me the glass, “And all seven of my siblings.” My eyes were huge. SEVEN?! I looked at him, jaw on the fucking floor.
“But—There’s–I mean–” I motioned to the family picture on the screen in front of me, at a complete loss for words.
“Yeah, babe. Seven. I have at least seven half-siblings. There was contact information for two of them, and I’ve sent texts to them over the last couple of days. So far, it appears I’m the oldest. So, eight total, so far. My younger brother is searching for more of us.”
I was stunned, staring at the TV, looking at the man who looked so much like Cash, and yet so different.
“He had me at nineteen. Mom knew him from college. I heard back first from my little brother, Jason. He’s a fucking doctor!” He looked at me, smiling, tears shining with pride in his eyes. He’d mentioned he’d always wanted a family, a big family, one that he could share his future family with.
“My little sister, Lennon, she’s got her own design business, as well as telling me she’s planning on taking over the deadbeat’s company and ousting the ‘rightful heir’ because, in her words, ‘He’s trash’.
Like, not even worth getting to know, when she looked into him.
” He looked at his phone, and pulled up a text thread.
There were pictures of a man with dark brown hair in a white coat smiling ever so slightly like I’ve seen Cash do frequently when he didn’t want his picture taken, or he was emotionally worn out.
And then the same man sitting on the back of a huge motorcycle with one of those leather vests on and shit.
I handed the phone back to him, shocked at how much he and his brother looked alike.
The next text thread he pulled up had photos of one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen in my life.
She had fiery red hair and eyes so blue they looked like pools that you could swim in.
“These are your siblings?”
“Two of them. Jason said he’s met four of them, and they’re all younger and not yet legal.
My youngest sibling is five. Fucking FIVE!
” He breathed out, sounding so exacerbated.
“Jason is 36. Lennon is 24. I have a brother, Chase, the fuck up. He’s 26.
And then I’ve got a set of twin siblings, both boys and they’re fifteen.
Then I have two younger siblings. They’re fourteen and five. ”
Holy shit. The man on my TV had been busy!
“Jesus. So, your bio-dad got around. Or maybe, still is…getting around.” His nostrils flared and his face turned red in anger.
“He’s a fucking sperm donor. When I talked to my siblings, the ones I have contact with, we came to a decision.
We’re going to start a petition for back child support, but ask the judge that the child support be paid to the moms of our younger siblings first. Lennon said she doesn’t want it at all.
She’s the granddaughter of the man who started jwm, the clothing company. ”
That was my favorite brand! That was half my closet!
“Holy shit!” I whispered, my eyes huge, and secretly hoping that meant somehow I got a discount on clothes. jwm was so classic, timeless, comfortable.
“I know,” he said with a slight chuckle, before his face went through a range of emotions.
“Oh! Wait! It gets even crazier! When we finally send the POS the petition, we don’t have to pay any legal fees.
Jason is a member of a motorcycle club and they have this kick-ass lawyer who’s taking the case for fucking free!
” My jaw dropped even more. I needed to sit down.
I made my way to the couch, sitting there in silence as I tried to wrap my head around all the information that had just been dumped in my lap.
“All this in just a few days. Wow,” I whispered, when a thought slammed into me. “Cash? Do you think he’d help us with Calen?”
It was his turn to look shocked. He looked at me, eyebrows and nose scrunched, curiosity and hope dancing together in his eyes, until it clicked. I smiled at him. The appreciation in his eyes shone brightly.
He’s cute.
“I see how you two are together. I know you want him here permanently. I know you don’t want him to go to someplace that could ruin any progress he’s made here, with us.
” His eyes were getting glassy, and his lips started to twitch like he wanted to smile, but he wanted to see if there was more I was thinking.
“I was actually talking to a couple of different friends of friends that are lawyers to see what our options were. They said it would be best to rule out any and all possible other blood-related family first because he would most likely try to stick Calen with them first.”
The first tear fell, but I kept talking.
“We need to convince him to do the DNA test. Then I think we should start looking for a bigger apartment so we can all live together. Do you happen to know if there are bigger units in this building available?”
He grabbed me around the waist and wrapped his hand in my hair as he kissed me senseless. I leaned back on the couch, and he followed, refusing to let me go. He was kissing down my neck when we heard a small voice.
“I’ll do it.”
We froze, looking at each other, before sitting up and looking to where the voice came from. Cash lifted his head while I let mine fall back looking at the front door. Calen stood there, hand on the door handle, tears streaking down his cheeks.
“I’ll take the test,” he said with a sniffle.
We looked back at each other and he helped right me, then walked over to where Calen stood.
Calen cried quietly, looking at the floor.
This kid who was almost six foot tall with shaggy dark brown hair, had his shoulders slumped with Cash’s arm around him as they shuffled over to the island.
Calen paused in front of me, looking at the floor.
“Do…Do you,” he wiped his face with the sleeve of his hoodie, “Do you really want me?”
His voice was so small and vulnerable I almost broke.
He looked at me through his hair that fell in his face.
His eyes shifted between Cash and me, with the biggest, glassiest eyes I think I’d ever seen on a person before.
This kid just wanted somewhere to call home that came along with a safe, loving family to call his own.
Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the vulnerable little boy in front of me, and nodded my head.
He wrapped his arms around me, crying into my shoulder.
I wrapped my arms around Calen, holding this boy when I felt Cash wrap his arms around the both of us as I rubbed their backs, telling Calen we’d figure out a way for him to stay with us.
“I promise. We’ll figure it out, okay?” I tried to soothe him. He just nodded his head, wiping the tears that fell without signs of stopping.
“I’m gonna go work on my homework,” he said as he went back toward the front door, motioning to Cash’s apartment. I smiled at Cash who was smiling back at me.
“You’re amazing, Devin. How did I get so lucky?” I just smiled at him and started making a list in my head of everything I needed to get done.
“First things first. The DNA test.” He nodded and stood up and went to grab the kit out of the cupboard he’d left it in and to talk to Calen. It might be a longer conversation than I was thinking. I decided to start making calls.
Mainly to CPS.
We’re keeping Calen with us.
End of story.