Epilogue
MOJAVE
It took six weeks before the court date for me taking custody of Frankie finally came around.
Rachel said it was pretty quick compared to a lot of custody hearings, thanks to no contest from Frankie’s family and a clean background on my end.
I was worried that my PTSD would make the judge turn me down, but Perry provided a statement that I was taking care of myself and visiting him once a week, and the judge seemed satisfied with that.
In the end, the hearing only took thirty minutes.
It stunned me and I was still reeling an hour later back at the clubhouse where the whole crew was celebrating Frankie’s adoption.
There were frog themed banners everywhere, a huge pile of presents to celebrate her adoption day, and even a frog themed cake.
My eyes drifted over the crowded room to where Frankie sat with a bunch of the kids, folding origami and laughing.
All the shit we went through, the struggles with her parents, the drama with the schools, the home studies, interviews, and background checks were all worth it to see just how happy she was.
She wasn’t afraid of walking home anymore, knowing there’d always be someone there to walk with her.
She didn’t come home with bloody noses or bad reports from teachers for getting into fights.
She even made some friends from school who weren’t connected to the club.
She was happy and that was all that mattered in the end.
Rachel bumped her hip against mine, smiling playfully when I glanced down at her. I put an arm around her shoulders automatically, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead and letting out a long breath when she wrapped an arm around my waist.
“Where’d you go?” I murmured over the din of the crowd. I still didn’t love crowded rooms, but the meds helped some, and being around my crew wasn’t so bad. I could handle it.
Rachel tipped her head toward where a familiar older couple was handing Frankie two more gifts for her pile. “They asked if they could be here to celebrate.”
Her parents hadn’t been lying when they said they wanted to make a change.
Rachel had been apprehensive at first, years of mistreatment making her wary, but she’d ask me what I’d do one night after we’d tucked Frankie into bed.
I’d told her it was up to her whether or not she was willing to risk the hurt if it turned out bad, but if it were me, I might be willing to give them a shot to make it right.
I’d give a hell of a lot to be able to see my parents again, and I could tell Rachel wanted to give them another chance.
“Perry told me there’s nothin’ wrong with being scared.
What makes you brave is what you choose to do with that fear afterward,” I’d told her, then shrugged.
“I was scared shitless when you asked me to take Frankie in. Scared out of my mind that I’d fail you both.
But I promised to keep showing up. I wasn’t going to break that promise just because I was scared. ”
She’d taken another week to really think about it and what she wanted, and eventually she agreed to let her parents join her in some therapy sessions, so they could really work on the core issue instead of hoping hurt feelings wouldn’t linger and strain their relationship later on.
It sure as shit wasn’t easy, and I didn't envy her the work she had to do, but I understood it. And when she’d had a long day, I finally got to return the favor she’d given me, giving her all the love and support she deserved while she worked through her issues.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” she asked curiously.
I hummed, leaning my cheek against her temple. “Cake. Someone said the inside was green too. That sounds gross.”
Rachel snickered, shaking her head at me. “It’s food coloring, silly. I’m pretty sure it’s just vanilla flavored.”
“Mhmm… Did Frankie help make it?”
Her lips pursed as she frowned at me. “Yes, she asked Maggie if she could help while we were visiting the other weekend while you guys did the charity run. Why?”
“It’s a frog cake. What are the chances she put something in it to look like flies?”
Rachel wrinkled her nose but couldn’t argue with me.
I knew my kid. She was way too much like Rooster.
I wouldn’t put it past her to put something in it to look like flies.
The question was, was it something good like chocolate chips, or something that didn’t belong in a cake that she snuck in there when the First Lady wasn’t looking?
I’d be damned if I would be the first to find out.
Frankie raced up to me, tugging at my cut and bouncing on her toes. “Mojave! Can we open presents now? Gracie said hers is frog themed too! I want to see if it’s a friend for Benny!”
Benny, the toy frog I got her from the zoo that she took with her everywhere.
Even to this party, though I noticed it was stowed safely in Rachel’s purse so she wouldn’t lose it, the big plastic eyes peeking out from where Rachel’s bag hung on the edge of the couch.
I eyed the presents suspiciously. What were the chances we were about to be drowning in frog toys?
“Come on!” Frankie insisted, tugging at my cut again.
Reluctantly, I let her guide me away from the wall and into the fray of the party toward the table of presents.
Prez redirected us to the couch, promising he’d bring the presents to us instead.
He looked lighter than he had in a long while, the dark circles he’d been sporting under his eyes finally gone.
Battle’s crew was gone, the officers who’d framed Butch and harassed us were officially let go from the police force and facing criminal charges for everything they’d done, and Killian told me over drinks the night before that they just found out Maggie was pregnant.
They hadn’t even been trying since Maggie had fertility issues and they were planning to wait until it was safer.
They just got lucky, which, after all we’d been through, was well deserved in my opinion.
My crew deserved good things to happen to them. Just like it happened to me.
Frankie climbed into my lap with a big grin, wiggling her fingers in a gimme motion as Prez handed her the first gift.
Rachel was still standing, but that was because she was too busy taking pictures to join us.
She didn't adopt Frankie when I did, she didn’t want to make the case too complicated, but we both planned for that in the near future.
She was just as much Frankie’s parent as I was. And Frankie deserved to feel wanted.
“Frog slippers!” Frankie squealed, then dug further into the bag, cackling when she found more. “Look, there’s one for each of us!”
I shot a disgruntled look at Prez, who grinned unrepentantly. He bought that shit on purpose. He knew I wouldn’t be able to tell Frankie no. It was my one failing as her guardian. I had a really hard time denying that kid a damn thing.
One giant frog stuffy, three smaller ones, and every damn color and pattern of origami paper later, we were just wrapping things up when someone knocked at the door.
The paranoia wasn’t completely gone, I still got worked up from time to time, and I couldn’t help following Prez to the front door, my anxiety ratcheting up when I saw who stood on the other side.
“Max?” Rachel said as she came to stand by my side.
Frankie’s dad stood awkwardly on the other side of the door, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. If he was here to try to argue for custody–
“I was hoping I could talk to Mojave for just a second? I’m not here for any trouble,” he said quickly when he noticed my eyes narrow.
Grunting in agreement, I slipped out the door into the quiet afternoon air, the difference between inside the clubhouse and outside so jarring, it made my ears ring a little.
I followed Max a little ways away, watching his every move for any signs of trouble.
He gave Frankie up. He didn’t get to take that back now that she was finally happy. He had his chance.
When he turned around to face me, he swallowed hard, his words almost choked as he repeated, “I’m not here to cause trouble. I came to apologize.”
“For what?” I demanded.
He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes drifting toward the open doorway where the party was still in full swing. “For not being enough.”
That made me pause, studying him more closely as he spoke.
“We shouldn’t have kept the pregnancy. Or at least, we should’ve given her up right away to good parents. We weren’t ready. It wasn’t fair to her having to be raised by two parents who were just kids themselves.”
His gaze shifted to me again, his expression pained. “I’m still not the parent she needs. You’re way better for her than I am. But I am sorry. I was selfish and tired and I should’ve done the right thing long before CPS got involved.”
“You’re right,” I answered bluntly. He winced, but I didn’t feel bad about it.
He put Frankie’s needs aside for his own shit, and he didn’t get any sympathy from me for letting her deal with bullies and being harassed by teachers alone.
Still, he showed up here to apologize, so I thought about what Rachel would say and offered him what I could.
“You did the right thing by letting her go without a fight. If things dragged out, it would’ve only been harder for her.
You stuck to the truth, admitted you weren’t the guy for the job. That’s something.”
His gaze lifted from his shoes, his face no longer filled with exhaustion and resentment like I remembered.
Looking at him now, I could see just how young he really was.
He’d had Frankie at fifteen. Managed to keep her alive and relatively healthy until I could get to her.
Not all kids his age would do that. Most probably would’ve run in the opposite direction.
“She’ll be alright,” I added offhandedly. “She’s got me and Rachel and the crew. She’ll be looked after.”
Drawing in a deep breath, he nodded. “I know. I saw how much she trusted you. And you kept showing up for her.” He gave me a half hearted smile. “Hopefully I can grow up to be like you one day.”
I didn’t reply to that. I didn’t need to get into it with him.
“What’ll you do now?”
Blowing out a breath, he shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged.
“Violet and I are getting divorced. We honestly can’t stand each other most of the time.
Like I said, we were too young when everything went down.
She’s moving back in with her parents and my uncle offered to let me get back on my feet with him down in Texas.
I figured I’d start with my GED, then maybe college, then see where life takes me.
” He pulled something out of his pocket and offered it to me.
“I wanted to give Frankie this. It’s my number.
I know she won’t need it now, but if, in the future, she wants to talk, I’m open to it.
I can’t ever be her parent, I know that, but that doesn’t mean I gotta be a dick about it. ”
“I’ll give it to her when she’s ready,” I promised.
He nodded, taking a step back and jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “I should go.”
My brows furrowed. Something about that bothered me.
“Do you want to see her? To say goodbye?”
He froze, a flicker of pain in his expression before he bobbed his head. “Yeah. If you don’t mind. Just so she doesn’t feel like we hated her. I didn’t mean for things to fall apart like that.”
I could see that. It was in his eyes. He regretted not doing right by her. And something in me knew Frankie deserved to at least say goodbye to him. To know he cared, even just a little. Enough to admit he couldn’t be what she needed him to be.
Turning toward the clubhouse, I saw Rachel standing near the door.
When Frankie peeked around her legs, I waved them both out, smiling proudly when Frankie took Rachel’s hand instead of racing out without looking like she used to do.
She was learning how to keep herself safe.
It was the first thing I taught her how to do myself.
Only once she was close enough for it to be safe did she let go, running to throw her arms around my middle while looking suspiciously up at Max. Max gave her a pained smile.
“Hey, kid.”
“Hey,” Frankie replied uneasily.
When Max shot me an apprehensive look, I tipped my head toward Frankie. He knew what he had to do. It just wasn’t easy to do. The important shit never was.
Dropping into a squat, Max gave Frankie his full attention. “Wanted to say goodbye to you.”
“Where ya goin’?”
“Texas,” Max told her with a shrug. “I’ve got some growin’ up to do. Figured I’d do it somewhere fresh, you know?”
Frankie’s answering shrug matched his. It was the gesture Rachel had said made her so much like me. Apparently it was a family trait.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” Max continued. “And I hope one day, when you’re all grown up yourself, we can talk again.” He jerked his chin at me. “You’re a good judge of character. You picked the right person to watch out for you. Trust yourself, alright?”
“Okay…” she said, frowning at him. She didn’t understand what was going on, but she understood he looked upset. Without a second thought, she reached into the pocket of her favorite blue shorts, pulling out a little paper frog she’d made that morning. She offered it to him. “Here.”
He took it, a genuine smile pulling at his lips as he studied the little figure. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to take it with me when I go. Be good, kid. And listen to your new dad. He’ll do a better job of it than I could.”
With a little wave, he walked away, resigned but not heartbroken. He knew he made the right choice, for the both of them. And when Frankie was ready, I’d tell her that.
Frankie looked up at me from where she was still hugging my middle, eyes wide. “He called you my dad.”
My stomach flipped and I cleared my throat awkwardly. I’d hoped she hadn’t paid too much attention to that. “You don’t have to–”
“Does that mean I can call you Dad?”
Fuck. How did I even say no to that?
Reaching for her, I pulled her into my arms, opening one for Rachel to join us when she had a good grip on me. I hugged them both tight, fighting back tears that threatened to spill over. “Yeah, kid. If that’s what you want.”
She tapped her chin, mulling it over, then stuck out her pinky in a gesture I taught her not long after she’d first moved in with me and was stressing about whether I’d keep showing up. “Promise?”
Linking pinkies with her, I nodded. “I promise.”