Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Cerise lay on the blanket, her eyes closed, enjoying the spring sun as it warmed her face.
In the background she could hear Brodie and Finn talking about the merits of a certain video game.
It seemed talking about the games had been the trigger to get Finn to shake off the remainder of the closed-off cloak he’d been wearing since she picked him up and start chatting like he’d done the first time he’d spent with her.
“One of Poppy’s boyfriends let me use his game console. We had tons of fun, but then . . . we stopped.”
Cerise sat up, scooting over the blanket to where the boys sat. Why had he stopped talking? It sounded like a good memory. One of a handful he must have had with Poppy. “What happened, Finn?”
“Umm, I guess it was just after Mom and Dad died. I’d been living with Aunt Poppy for a few weeks.
Garrett was really nice. He’d take me and Aunt Poppy out for meals and movies.
It was almost like I had my mom and dad back.
And then,” he ducked his head so she couldn’t see him, but she didn’t miss the little shudder that rippled through his thin frame.
“I woke up one morning and Aunt Poppy had my bags packed and said I needed to go to a home because she couldn’t look after me. I never got to say goodbye to Garett.”
The boy swallowed hard and she clutched her hands tight in front of her, waiting for what he was going to say next, knowing it had the potential to rip her heart out.
“I wish I knew what I kept doing wrong for Aunt Poppy to always send me away.” His voice was practically a whisper when he finished.
Cerise gathered him close in her arms, resting his head on her shoulder, her heart breaking at hearing the way his voice quivered, and how he was trying hard not to cry. She could feel the way he was breathing in an attempt to control his emotions.
She lifted her head and found Brodie watching them, his lips set in a thin line and his eyes flashing blue anger at a woman he didn’t even know.
“I’m sorry that happened, Finn. It wasn’t fair.
” Cerise pulled away and gently lifted his chin so that Finn’s eyes were on hers.
When she was sure she had his full attention, she smiled and brushed a hand over his cheek.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, sweetie. It wasn’t your fault.
” How did she say this without maligning his only remaining family member?
“Your Aunt Poppy, well, she’s adjusting to having you in her life.
She’s probably scared that she’s going to do everything wrong.
And when she has doubts, she sends you back to the place where she knows you’ll be looked after. ”
She was giving his aunt way more credit and compassion than the other woman deserved. Finn’s guilt that he was always to blame was a default emotion he was justified in feeling, but it was wrong. Poppy had done everything to make it seem like her relationship woes were her nephew’s fault.
“I tried to be good all the time. I didn’t make a mess, well, not always, but I tried to keep my room clean. I ate everything she put in front of me, even if I hated it and almost threw up. I didn’t want her to think I was ungrateful.”
“Finn, I may have just met you, but even I know you aren’t to blame for what your aunt did,” Brodie interjected.
“All of Aunt Poppy’s boyfriends after Garrett seemed to hate me.
I don’t know what I did but I was always sent away when she’d been seeing them for a couple of weeks.
Every time she picked me up from the home again, I hoped I wouldn’t have to go back.
I tried harder and harder to do everything right, but it still wasn’t enough. She still kept sending me back.”
Every word he spoke shattered Cerise’s heart all over again and her love for the little boy in her arms mended the pieces together. No way was she going to let Finn go back to his aunt, even if she came crawling back for him and promised to never dump him at the home again.
There had to be a way for her to keep Finn permanently. Could she adopt the boy?
She allowed the thought to ferment in her mind.
Such an extreme thought, but the more it floated around, the more she liked the idea a lot.
When she could, she would ring Daphne and find out if it was possible.
Poppy would probably have to sign over her claim to the boy, but Cerise could make a case that she could have her own life again and not have to worry about Finn.
While she was no celebrity and the odds might be against her, she would give it her best shot if it meant giving Finn the security he needed.
Of course, it would mean she’d have to readjust her schedule with the hospital. Maybe instead of working in an ER she could find a job in a small practice and work a normal eight-to-five day. Sure, she’d miss the rush of the ER but, for Finn, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.
She pulled Finn into a hug. “You are a wonderful boy, Finn. I love having you stay with me.”
Brodie reached out and ruffled Finn’s hair. “Cerise is right, Finn.” Their eyes met over the top of Finn’s head and an electrical current passed between them. “How about we take a walk to the creek,” Brodie said, his focus never leaving her.
“Yes,” Finn’s response was muffled but no less enthusiastic.
“Let’s go then.” Brodie winked and stood, effectively cutting the connection that throbbed between them.
The walk didn’t take them long and when they got there, Cerise smiled at the excitement in Finn’s eyes. So many little things brought the child joy and showed her how much he’d been missing out on over the past couple of years since his parents died.
Had his dad taken him to do father/son things?
What about his mom . . . had she made him treats?
Even though she may not have met Finn’s parents, she had a feeling they did everything she thought and more.
Finn wouldn’t be the type of boy he was if he hadn’t been showered in love.
And she should know, since she’d seen plenty of girls at the home when she was growing up who were bitter and evil because love was missing from their lives.
She, herself, may not have had a long, loving childhood, but for a short while, she’d had it, and it had shaped her into the person she was today.
The last thing she wanted to see was Finn turning into a rebellious teenager and that was possible if Poppy continually shuffled him to and from the home like she’d been doing. It only reinforced her determination to try and do what she could to make her home, Finn’s home.
Permanently.
Brodie watched as Finn splashed around in the shallows of the creek.
He was laughing as he kicked up the water.
The shadows that had surrounded the boy when he’d met him that morning in the diner had disappeared with every passing second Finn spent with Cerise in the short time they’d been at the ranch.
He also liked to think he was a little bit responsible for Finn’s happiness.
He looked over at Cerise, the sunlight shining off the glitter on her cheeks. Her eyes were glued to Finn, making sure nothing happened to him. Her teeth worried her bottom lip, so while she may look relaxed and happy, there was something troubling her.
He sidled over to her. “Hey, Sparkles, he’s having fun, isn’t he?”
He caught the way she jumped when he spoke. Geez, she really had been lost in her thoughts.
“He is.” She turned to face him, placing her hand on his forearm. His skin sizzled at the slight touch, like every other time. It was like they both had electric charges running through them. “Thank you for suggesting this. He needed it.”
“I know this isn’t really my business, but you said this is the third time you’ve had him.”
“Yeah, I told his case worker, after the first time he stayed with me, that if it happened again, if Poppy decided her current boyfriend was more important than her nephew, then I wanted to be called. I wanted him to come stay with me. He needed some sort of stability and while there are great foster homes out there, there are some really bad ones.”
“Shit, that doesn’t seem fair.” Brodie couldn’t understand how anyone could turn their back on a family member.
He was aware it happened, and that there were hundreds and hundreds of cases where drugs, alcohol or partners were more important than immediate family.
Growing up in a loving family, he’d never had to experience what Finn was going through.
His parents had loved him and his brother unconditionally, and he’d returned that love by giving them a life they never imagined they could have in retirement.
They’d nurtured him and encouraged him, so giving back to them was a no-brainer.
Helping his brother achieve his goals was something he’d done without a blink.
Rowan was successful because Brodie had believed in him and given him a head start.
Now Rowan was independently wealthy and, when he’d tried to pay Brodie back the money he’d given him, he’d thanked his brother, but suggested they donate the money to a charity, so that’s what they’d done.
“No, it’s not fair, which is why I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that Finn doesn’t go back to Poppy.”
The determination in Cerise’s voice surprised the heck out of him. It seemed in such contrast to the girl who wore glitter on her eyes and cheeks. But he shouldn’t really be surprised. She was an ER nurse, and they had to have steel spines to deal with what they saw on a daily basis.
“I’m not sure how you can do that. But I can see you love the boy.”
“I do love him. I know what he’s experiencing every time he goes back to that home.
Every time Poppy picks him up, she builds up false hope in him.
And every time she lobs him back there, she shreds a piece of his innocence away until there’s going to be nothing left.
I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen. ”
There was so much to unravel from her passionate speech, the most important one being her declaration that she was aware of what Finn was going through. That she’d experienced it.
Had she grown up in a home?
“Yeah, I did.”
It took a second for him to register he’d spoken his thought out loud and that she’d confirmed it.
“I didn’t know.”
Lame, Brodie, lame.
Of course he didn’t know. He’d only spoken to her twice before he’d run into them at the diner this morning.
Tension pulled at his shoulders, a sensation he always had when he found himself in an awkward situation.
While this wasn’t the worst situation he’d been in, he had a feeling that if he opened his mouth he’d say something equally as obvious as what he’d just said.
“Well, how could you know? We’ve only just met.”
Brodie dug his hands into his pocket, feeling around for the set of dice he always carried with him.
Pulling them out he began to roll them in his hands.
The smooth corners, and indentations of the dots, were familiar and his shoulders relaxed.
Once he felt more in control, he slipped them back in his pocket, aware that Cerise had watched his every move.
“I’m sorry. That was a silly thing for me to say. ”
Cerise reached out and took hold of his hand, giving it a squeeze before releasing it. “It’s fine. We all state the obvious sometimes in tense situations. I got passionate about Finn and blurted out a lot of information that I don’t normally tell people when I first meet them.”
Talking about her past would be for another time, that is, if they had another time together.
He hoped they would. He liked Cerise. She was fun and quirky and caring.
There was no artifice with her. Just after he and his buddies had hit the five-million-dollar profit mark and their success could no longer be denied, there had been a few girls who’d tried to latch onto him.
Not because they liked him, but more that they liked his money.
Cerise seemed very independent and he didn’t believe she’d be impressed by his huge bank account.
“What’s your plan for Finn? Are you going to see if you can be his permanent foster mom? And is that even possible with Poppy always wanting to come back into his life?”
“No, I don’t want to be his foster mom. I want to be his mom. I want to adopt him.”
Whoa, that declaration right there was the last thing he thought she’d say. “You want to adopt him?” he asked, making sure he heard her correctly.
She took a couple of steps closer to where Finn was still standing in the creek, his head bent and his brow furrowed in concentration as he studied the water, no doubt looking at the small fish that skittered around his feet.
Or maybe he’d spied a frog. “Yes, I do. I want to give him a safe home where he doesn’t have to worry that if my boyfriend doesn’t like him, he’s going to be shunted out of the house.
I don’t want to see this innocent boy hurt anymore.
I don’t even think he’s grieved properly or been allowed to grieve the loss of parents,” she finished on a whisper.
Acting purely on instinct he pulled her close, knowing that his shirt was going to be covered in glitter, but he didn’t care.
Every little thing she said opened her up a little to him and he had to wonder if she hadn’t been allowed to grieve her own loss.
That if her life in a home was the same as to what was happening with Finn.
Had she grown up with a relative who took her and then handed her back? Or maybe it was a family who wanted to adopt her and then changed their minds.
“I know you will give him everything he needs, Sparkles.” He pressed a kiss on top of her head and pulled away.
He smoothed a strand of her dark-chocolate-colored hair off her cheek.
“It’s not going to be easy, is it? The odds of an adoption to a single woman being approved would be less than if a couple was adopting him, right? ”
He hated to burst her bubble, but he also didn’t want her to dream and then have it shattered at her feet.
“I know it’s going to be difficult, and I know I’m going to have to make adjustments to my life, but that little boy over there”—she pointed to where Finn was attempting to skip stones across the bubbling surface of the creek—“is worth every sacrifice I have to make.”