Page 52 of As It Was (Strawberry Springs #1)

CAIN

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Kerry Winsor

Did anyone hear that big boom?

Comments:

Kerry Winsor : @SherriffMike Finch have any info?

SherriffMike Finch : I’m gonna turn my damn tags off.

Hu Gh : Type it into Goggle

Kerry Winsor : That’s not how it works!

Tammy Jane : For the last time, old man. It’s Google!

Hu Gh : Google. Goggle. What’s the difference?

Judge Marlon made his decision quickly.

I was made the sole caregiver of Eric, and Waldren was given time in jail for what he’d done. He’d paid to get out on bail, which I hated, but I knew he had no interest in finding Eric again. Apparently, according to Mike, he’d muttered something about hating being a parent anyway .

Now he never would be. Not to my kid anyway.

Kerry had spread the news like the town crier of positivity. With my permission this time. Everyone had congratulated me, and I took it in as well as I could. I still wasn’t used to everyone being on my side, but I’d figured out how to do some small talk whenever someone found me at the square.

And I enjoyed it. I finally belonged somewhere. I refused to take it for granted.

All our focus was on opening the farm and making sure Eric was okay after everything. Henry had referred us to a child psychologist, and they’d been working together once a week at the school.

But I still saw Eric glance at me when he thought I wasn’t looking. I didn’t know what was going on in his head, but there was something he hadn’t told me.

I wasn’t sure if he was sparing my feelings or if he didn’t want to talk about it, but I’d told him he could any time he needed to. I assumed that he would eventually get there.

Even Mollie noticed it, and she brought it up while I was getting the mail one day.

“I still don’t know what it is,” I told her. “But I’m trying to be patient.”

“Has he told his therapist?” she asked.

“I want him to tell Dr. White whatever he wants to, so I don’t ask. Not that they’d tell me anyway. All I can do is wait.”

Her hand landed on my shoulder. “It’s killing you, isn’t it?”

“I hate that he dealt with any of this. Even if it was only for twelve hours.” I shook my head and opened the mailbox. “But it happened. And it got me sole custody.”

“He’ll open up eventually.”

“I hope so,” I said as I went through the mail. “Because—” I paused when I saw a blank letter with my lawyer’s address on the top. “Shit. Please tell me this isn’t another bill. ”

I still had savings, but not as much as I wanted to. Mollie and I had discussed making me a co-owner of the farm now that we were together and building a life with each other, but even with the extra money that would offer, it would take time to build it back up.

The last thing I wanted was to have to pay more for this custody battle that was over.

Tearing open the letter, my heartbeat kicked up a notch.

But then I saw it. And it was the opposite of a bill.

“Is that a check?” Mollie asked, peering over my shoulder. “Holy shit . How much is that?”

“That is ...” I did the math in my head, my breathing shaky. “Every dollar I paid him.”

“What?” she asked. “But how?”

I flipped the page, noticing a letter with his signature on it.

Hi Cain,

The town of Strawberry Springs is under the STM grant. Your bill was covered by donation, so I’m refunding you what you paid. It was a pleasure working with you.

Morgan Thompson

“The STM grant?”

“That’s the one that lowers the rent,” I said. “Why would it pay my lawyer bill?”

“And on that note, why would one lower rent?” Mollie shook her head. “None of it makes sense.”

“Do you think it’s fake?”

“Is the grant fake?”

“No, it always pays out. Always has. For about five years.”

Her lips pressed together and she grabbed the check, holding it up to the light. “It has the watermarks of a business check.” She looked at it closer. “And no typos. This might be real.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” I replied as she handed it back. “But with this, I could ...” I trailed off.

“You were saving that for a reason, weren’t you?”

“I was. And if this goes through, then I could still do it.”

“Wanna share with the class?” she asked.

I hadn’t voiced these plans. I was never sure if they would happen, but now there was something in my hands that could bring it to fruition.

“I want to adopt Eric.”

Mollie’s eyes widened for only a fraction of a second before her head tilted to the side. “You do?”

“I always have. I may have had guardianship of him, but he’s always felt like more than just my nephew. He’s more like my son. I want to make it real.”

A slow smile spread on her face. “Then you should cash that check.”

The cashier at the bank had taken one look at the check and then over at me, and I knew she had a ton of questions.

She didn’t ask them. And I didn’t offer up the information.

I should have known others would know within minutes.

“Hello, rich guy,” Kerry said as I pulled in next to her at school.

“Let me guess. Facebook.”

“Yep. But I didn’t post it.”

“I’m pretty sure that this violates some kind of privacy law, even if you didn’t post it. ”

“One, Amber’s sleeping with the owner of that bank, and two, I don’t know how much it was. But it was a lot.”

I shook my head. “It’s not a huge deal. It was a refund from my lawyer. My expenses were covered.”

Kerry’s eyebrows raised. “By who ?”

“The STM grant.”

“What? That covers lawyer fees too?”

“I guess so. If the check clears. The bank placed a hold on it.”

“Not surprised,” she said. “But hopefully it does. Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”

“I’m trying not to.”

“What are you going to buy with it? Maybe a ring?” Kerry wiggled her eyebrows.

That wasn’t a terrible idea, if I had enough left over. “Probably not a physical item, but I have plans.”

“I’m on the edge of my seat.”

“I need to talk to the person about it first.”

Kerry sighed. “That’s so mature. But also boring.”

“Sorry.” I shrugged. “But you’ll be like the ... fourth to know.”

She gasped. “How could you be so cruel? I thought we were getting along.”

Kids filtered out of the school, heading to their parents.

“I suppose I’ll have to get over it so we can schedule their next playdate. Tommy’s begging for it.”

“He and Eric can play this weekend when the farm opens.”

“Yes!” she said. “Oh, I can’t wait to get fresh berries again.”

“Me either. I’m gonna try to master Bennie’s iced tea he used to make.”

“You better share.”

“Keep any talks of rings and plans a secret and I might.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but my silence can be bought. ”

Eric ran up to me, hair flying in the wind. “Hi!”

“Hey, kid. Ready to go?”

He nodded happily and I said goodbye to Kerry as I loaded him into the truck. While we drove back to the farm, I glanced at him in the mirror. He played with his hands, looking unnerved.

“You know,” I said softly, “if cars bother you now, we can work on that.”

“Why would cars bother me?” he asked.

“It’s normal to feel differently about things after something bad happens. And I know you’ve been working on feeling better.”

“I do,” he said. “I’m okay.”

“But if you weren’t, you can tell me, remember?”

“Yeah, I know.”

We lapsed into silence and my stomach sank. I wanted to know what he was thinking so badly it hurt, but I knew I couldn’t pressure him.

Eric didn’t sit still, even when we pulled into the farmhouse.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked, fully turning to him.

“Um ... actually, can we talk about something?”

“Do you wanna go inside?”

He shook his head. “Can you unbuckle me?”

I reached back and got him out of the seat. He climbed to the front.

“I’m staying with you forever, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course. The judge said I had sole custody.”

“And no one else can take me?”

“Nope.”

“I know Waldren is my dad or whatever.” Eric looked down at his hands, and I resisted the urge to forcefully correct him. Waldren was a sperm donor. Not a dad. “But I don’t see him like that. ”

“He was never around, and he did something bad. You don’t have to see him that way.”

“Dr. White said something the other day, about how kids who lose parents might miss them. Or have questions. I know what happened to my mom, but I never cared about my dad.”

“You didn’t?”

He shook his head. “To me , I have one.” His brown eyes moved up to meet my gaze. “It’s you.”

My heart stopped. People had alluded to me being a parent. Some had mistaken me for it.

I tried to keep Eric away from all of that. And yet ... he’d seen it anyway.

“Dr. White told me I have a biologic... bio—something dad. And that’s Waldren. But that doesn’t mean he’s my actual dad. And I wanted to know if I could ... If it was okay to ...” He looked back down, color on his cheeks.

“If you could what ?” My voice was raw from emotions I couldn’t name. I didn’t want Eric to notice how my heart was pounding, but I knew what I wanted him to say.

“Can I call you Dad?”

For a second, I didn’t think he’d really said it. Because it was exactly what I had hoped would come out of his mouth. His wide eyes looked at me with so much hope, and I couldn’t leave him hanging.

“Eric, yes. You absolutely can.”

“Even if you never call me your son?”

“You are my son. In every way that matters. I didn’t say it before because I wanted to make it official before I asked.”

“Official? What does that mean?”

“Before this whole mess with Waldren, I wanted to adopt you, kid. To become your dad in the eyes of the law. I’d been saving for it for years.”

Eric’s eyes widened. “Really? Can you do it now? ”

A day ago, I would have had a different answer. But now it was very possible. “I might be able to. I’ll try my best.”

Eric jumped to hug me, his little arms wrapped tightly around my neck. My heart was full as I returned the gesture. It used to be that I would never have let myself hope for anything because I was always let down.

Now I saw that I was wrong. Life was good.

Especially when everything was perfect as it was.