Chapter 28
Steph was already in love, and I couldn’t blame her.
The time we spent with Dax and Sevyn was time well spent.
They seemed like good, sweet kids, but I could also tell that they had a story with them.
Sevyn has this protective aura about her.
Even as young as she was, I could tell she didn’t play about Daxon, and I respected that.
By the time things started winding down, I was ready to take these babies with me.
Did I think I’d want to be a father again in my late fifties?
Hell nah. Jaeda was supposed to be my last then along came Mia, then Emmy by default.
Was I ready to open my home to another child… children? With Steph, yes.
When she brought the idea of fostering or adopting a child to me before we even rekindled, I was prepared to be in their lives. Not saying she wasn’t capable of doing it on her own, but that woman helped raise my kids, no questions asked. Why wouldn’t I return the favor?
The day had wound down and it was time for us to go. Daxon looked a little teary eyed when we had to say goodbye.
“Will we see you again?” he asked hopefully.
“Dax, don’t ask that,” Sevyn said. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
It broke my heart to know that they had probably gotten their hopes up so many times before only to have them let down. I rested a hand on both of their shoulders.
“I promise you’re gonna see us again. Probably sooner than you think.”
“Definitely sooner than you think,” Steph said, cupping their chins. “It was so nice meeting and spending time with you both.”
Much to our surprise, Daxon wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Steph froze for a moment, her lip trembling and eyes watering. She hugged him back in the most motherly manner, one hand stroking his back and the other clutching his head to her chest.
“You give good hugs, Ms. Stephanie,” he said.
“So do you, baby.”
He let her go and gave me the same hug. I knew right then that we had to get the ball rolling on bringing them home.
Sevyn stood back, watching. It looked like she was fighting with herself on whether she wanted to do the same.
I went back and forth on whether to offer her a hug and decided to just go with it.
When I opened my arms to her, she was hesitant for a moment before falling into them.
At first, she was tense, then I felt the moment her body relaxed, and she melted into my embrace.
It was the type of thing that happened when you genuinely sensed safety with someone.
I felt it every time one of my kids hugged me.
I could only imagine what this child was carrying.
She deserved a space to let all that shit go.
“You give hugs like my daddy,” she whispered.
I chuckled. “Well, I have six kids. If I’m not good at anything else, it’s dad hugs.”
Daxon smiled as he got in on the hug too. When he opened his free arm to welcome Steph in, my baby wasn’t any more good. In the middle of this fucking backyard, she had tears streaming down her cheeks. Yeah… these were our babies, and we were coming for them.
We finally said our goodbyes them and watched as they headed back inside. Hand in hand, we turned to walk to back to my car.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dillinger!”
Looking back, we saw Shelly, the woman we spoke to earlier, running to catch up to us.
“I’m glad I caught you!” she said, breathing all hard and shit. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?” I asked.
She smiled. “Sevyn and Daxon. I see you spent a lot of time with them.”
Steph nodded. “They are beautiful children. So sweet.”
“They are good kids. They’ve just had a terrible couple of years.”
“Sevyn told me about her parents dying, then her grandmother,” Steph said, shaking her head. “I get the feeling the system hasn’t been too kind to them.”
Shelly sighed. “It hasn’t. They have been in a few foster homes before we got them. Dax is a very loving and trusting child and past caregivers have abused that.”
I frowned. “How?”
“He’s been molested twice. And Sevyn… that poor baby. She’s been assaulted and trafficked by their last foster parents. She’s been through so much. I’m shocked she was so affectionate with you two. You must have really felt safe to her.”
Beside me, Steph was in full blown tears. I pulled her into my side and kissed her temple.
“We want them,” I said. “Both of them.”
“To foster or—”
“To adopt. Nobody is gonna take care of those kids like we will. I promise you that.”
Shelly smiled. “I think I saw this coming when I saw Dax out there on the basketball court with you, Mr. Dillinger.”
I chuckled. “The boy done called me old.”
She giggled. “He’s very talkative and mostly says what’s on his mind.”
“He will fit right in with the rest of the kids. They’re coming into a family with a lot of love.”
“I’m sure they are. The good your family does in this community doesn’t go unnoticed.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be in touch with the next steps.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
We shook hands and I led Steph back to the car. She was still sniffling when I got her inside. Standing between her legs, I cupped her face and wiped her tears away.
“Take some deep breaths for me, love,” I said.
She mimicked my breathing, until her tears had subsided. I grabbed a tissue from the overhead visor and dabbed her eyes.
“Hearing that hurt my heart, Stanley. With all the men and women out here that give it up for free, I will never understand people taking a child’s innocence.”
I shook my head. “Me either.”
She cupped my face and pecked my lips. “I don’t think I ever said thank you for what you’ve done to bring victims home and get justice for them over the years. I think I finally understand that sacrifices you made, Senior. I’m sorry it took meeting these kids to see that.”
I smiled. “It’s okay, love. When it’s your own children… and these will be our kids… shit hits different.”
“I don’t ever want them to feel unsafe again.”
“They won’t. They’ll have family coming behind them like a pack of rabid dogs.”
Steph wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “We’re really about to do this… we’re gonna be parents again.”
“We are.”
“Are we crazy to start over after all the kids are grown?”
“Shiiiit, we might be.”
She giggled as she pulled back and cupped my face. “I love you, Stanley,” she whispered.
“I love you too, mama.”
We shared a passionate, sensual kiss. As I held her in my arms, I knew right then, I had to make her my wife before I made her a mother again.
“So y’all are really gonna adopt two more kids?”
I sat in Steel’s man cave, sipping a glass of Hennessy with him while watching ESPN. It was his one-on-one day, so Steph and I were having dinner with him, Neha and the kids. The women were in the kitchen cooking while the kids were around here entertaining themselves.
“That’s the plan,” I answered, taking a sip of my drink.
“I thought y’all were just going to get a feel of the kids.”
“We were and we got chosen.” I chuckled and shook my head. “They just felt right to us, Kerrion. The big man upstairs gave us a sign.”
“How and what?”
“Lucky number seven, son.”
“You lost me.”
“Her name is Sevyn. I have six kids, she’d be number seven in age. Maybe it wasn’t a sign, but shit, I took it as one. Her little brother’s name is Daxon.”
He smiled. “You over there lighting up, old man. Those kids really imprinted on you, huh?”
“They did.” I swirled the liquor around in my glass. “They’ve had a hard life, Steel. Both have been sexually assaulted. She’s been trafficked.”
He sat up. “What?”
“That’s what we were told. Steph didn’t take that news well. Shit had her crying. It’s different when it’s that close to home.”
“Something tells me y’all are already looking at these kids as yours.”
I smiled. “You know how I feel about my babies, man. Grown and all, y’all are my heart. This daddy shit been in me.”
“It has. I’ve been lucky to have you and Hershel my whole life. My kids are lucky to have you, too.”
At that moment, KJ and Semaj came running into the room.
“Gimme my tablet, Semaj!” KJ yelled.
“Nanny nanny boo boo! You can’t catch me!”
Semaj was KJ’s karma for terrorizing his cousins along with Juri. Make no mistake, Semaj could be bad too, but he was calm with the other kids. At home… in his element… he ran his siblings ragged.
I snatched him up and held him in the air.
“Where you going, thief?” I asked.
“I not a teef, Papa.”
I chuckled at his cute self mispronouncing words. As I sat him on my knee, KJ stood there with his arms crossed and brows bunched.
“Yes, you is a thief!”
“No, I not! Papa, him don’t wanna play with me. Him wanna play with him tablet friends.” He pointed at the screen to emphasize his point. “I got mad.”
Steel shook his head. “Give me the tablet,” he said, extending his hand.
KJ’s mouth fell open as his little brother handed the tablet over.
“Now, KJ, is it screen time?” Steel asked.
KJ hung his head. “No, sir.”
“Are you supposed to be on the tablet right now?”
“No, sir.”
“So that means no screen time tonight since you broke the rules. Don’t you think that’s fair?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. Go play outside and take your brother with you. And don’t be out there fighting either. Y’all understand?”
They both nodded. Semaj jumped down from my lap and ran out of the room with his brother behind him. Steel shook his head as he tossed the tablet on the coffee table.
“These kids are gonna be the death of me. Those two be fighting, then Nayelli calls herself liking a boy in her class. I ain’t ready for the lovesick teenaged years, Pop.”
I chuckled. “You think I was ready for it? You and your brothers were trying to hunch on every girl that batted her lashes at you. I thought I was safe with Jaeda, then along came Mia.”
Steel stared blankly at me. “Thank you, Pop. Now I have another layer of things to worry about. I’m not ready to discuss the birds and the bees with her.
That’s my baby girl. I missed so many years with her, but it still doesn’t feel like we should be here so soon.
She ain’t too old to still play with barbies and shit. ”