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twenty-eight

N erves fill me as I walk inside.

I’ve been here hundreds of times before, but today feels different. Today I’m not only a volunteer but an employee. Martha was kind enough to put me on the payroll now while working part-time rather than waiting for the school year to end.

I took the day off of classes to be here, but now I’m nervous. Am I making the right decision?

“Cora, there you are!” Martha says.

“Am I late?” I ask as panic washes through me.

Martha laughs. “Heavens no, I’m sorry if I scared you. I’m just so excited.”

I blow out a breath and laugh. “I’m excited too.”

“Good. If you’ll follow me, I have some paperwork for you, and then I’ll give you the lay of the land from this perspective.”

“Sounds good,” I say as I follow her into her office.

I take a seat right as she hands me a clipboard. Quickly I fill in all the important information. Name, date of birth, emergency contact, and banking details. When I’m finished, I double-check it and hand it over.

“Awesome. Now before we head out there, do you have any questions or concerns?”

“You’re good with me not starting full time until after finals at the end of the school year, right?”

Martha nods. “Yes. I know your brother graduates this year, so I was going to give you a week off at graduation and then have you start full time after.”

“Thank you. I know that my mom and brother will love that.”

“Of course. I try to make my staff as happy as possible. Have you found a place to live yet?”

“I plan on moving in with my brother’s girlfriend. We have a couple of places lined up to look at but nothing concrete yet.”

“Well, you have time. Just let me know, and I’ll make sure to change your address in your file. Now let’s go.”

Standing, we leave her office and head down the hall to the break room. When we walk in, people are standing around chatting. I recognize some people and others I don’t. They must be people who leave before I get here.

“Everyone,” Martha says, getting their attention. “I would like you to meet our newest staff member, Cora. Some of you may know her, and some of you may not. Right now, Cora is finishing up the school year at Walker U before joining us full time. She’s been an avid volunteer who’s gone above and beyond what we’ve asked of her, and I can’t wait to make her a permanent member of our staff.”

I raise my hand and wave awkwardly as I smile. Suddenly, I feel bad for every new kid who ever joined my school growing up. This shit is uncomfortable.

“We’re glad to have you, Cora,” Phoebe says as she pulls me into a hug.

“Thank you.”

A couple of other people come up and introduce themselves and say congratulations before running off to their first clients of the day.

“What now?” I ask as the room clears out.

“Now we look at the roster and see when the next family who needs help comes in.”

“Sounds good.”

Martha grabs the tablet that’s on the wall by the door that’s meant for staff and opens up what she’s looking for. “Well, lucky for you, it doesn’t look like anyone comes in for another twenty minutes if you want to take that one.”

“Hey, just tell me where you want me.”

“Martha, I’m sorry to interrupt.” We turn and see a man who introduced himself as Stan standing in the doorway with a frazzled look. “My daughter’s school just called and said she’s throwing up. Do you mind if I leave?”

“Go. Family comes first, you know that,” Martha tells him.

The man winces. “I just pulled the Clearwater family into room two when I got the call.”

“I can handle them,” I say.

“Are you sure? You haven’t had time to go over the file,” Martha says.

“I really don’t mind.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You are the best,” the man chants, making me laugh.

“Go, get your daughter,” Martha tells him.

“Well, it looks like you have your first family as an official staff member. The Clearwaters are on their last visit. They have complied with all of their requirements, so today is essentially a formality. Provided nothing goes terribly wrong, they will be getting their little girl back by the end of the day. Are you ready?”

“I’ve never been more ready for anything,” I say with sincerity.

“I knew you were the right person for this job. Check in with me afterward.” She hands me the file.

“You know it.”

“I’ll send the child to you once you get inside.” Martha hands me the tablet with all the information I might need for the visit.

“Sounds good.”

I take off down the hall and pause when I step in front of room number two. I take a deep breath and center myself.

This is it. I got this.

Taking a quick look at the file, I get ready to go inside.

Opening the door, I walk inside. “Hi, my name is Cora, and I’ll actually be supervising your visit today.”

“What happened to Stan?” the nervous-looking father asks.

I smile softly as I sit. “Stan had to leave for a family emergency.”

“Oh no. I hope everything is okay,” the mother says softly.

“I’m sure everything will be fine. Now before we get started, do you have any questions for me today?” I ask as I pull up their chart.

“This is our last one, right? And then we get to bring our baby home?” Mrs. Clearwater says as she wrings her hands together.

“Essentially yes, but your daughter won’t be leaving with you today. As soon as today’s visit ends, I will send off my report. Once the judge has looked it over, a decision will be made. From what I can tell based on your file, you have nothing to worry about.”

I want to tell them that it will likely still be today, but I learned early you don’t make promises to these families. You only tell them what you absolutely know.

“It’s just nerve-racking, you know, someone else taking care of your child.” Mr. Clearwater’s throat bobs. “A complete stranger at that.”

“I won’t lie to you and say I understand, because I don’t. I’m not a parent yet. With that said, though, I can’t imagine how terrifying that must be.”

“You hear so many horror stories about foster families,” Mrs. Clearwater whispers.

“Do you have a concern about where your daughter is located?” I ask as fear runs through me.

Shit. I’ve never had a report of a suspicion of abuse from a foster family.

Mrs. Clearwater shakes her head. “No, Roma seems to like them well enough, but…”

“I get it, I do.”

“Okay, enough worrying. Can we see Roma now?” Mr. Clearwater blurts out, making me laugh.

“Of course, let me get her.”

As the visit goes on, I smile more and more at the family. It’s obvious that they love their daughter.

I’m saddened that the child was ever removed, but it was for the best. The father had lost his job and had started drinking excessively. His wife seems sweet, but the reports say that she fell down the hole with him.

One night, their house caught fire. They almost died that night looking for Roma, but she hadn’t been in the house. She had gotten out of the front door prior to the fire and was found three streets over playing on a play set in a neighbor’s yard.

To be cautious, she was removed from their care. With no family nearby, foster care was the only option.

I’m glad they see the errors of their ways. Everyone has some down times. Sometimes they don’t make the right decisions.

Watching this family smiling, happy together, I know that not all bad decisions lead to destruction. Sometimes it’s the wake-up call needed to get your life back on track.

This is why I wanted to do this job.

I want to be the one to help these people get back on the right path.

* * *

As I wait for Cora to get out of work, I think about how different this year is from last. Last year around this time, I was moping about losing Grace. I felt like my entire world was ending.

Now I feel like I hadn’t lived before Cora.

It’s been a whirlwind, but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

The door opens, and I watch as Cora walks out. She’s chatting with another older woman with a bright smile on her face. I love seeing her look so happy. I could stare at that smile all day long.

They separate as Cora skips toward me.

“Thanks for picking me up, hotshot.” She wraps her arms around me, kissing me.

I kiss her back a moment before pulling back. “I kind of had to since I dropped you off.”

“I could have driven my car,” she teases.

My mind flashes back to this morning in my dorm’s shower, making my dick twitch. It’s become a frequent place for us to bring each other pleasure. It also meant not having time to drop her off at her car.

Worth it.

“I like having excuses to spend more time with you,” I tell her, leaning down to kiss her once more before pulling back and opening the passenger door.

Once she is inside, I go around to the driver’s side and climb in.

“First, you look beautiful.” She blushes at my words. “Second, what do you want for our celebration dinner?”

“Celebration?” she asks.

“Yeah. You started your new job today. That is cause for celebration.”

“I’m not even full time yet. They are easing me in so I can work around my school schedule until May,” she tells me.

“Doesn’t matter. Still counts as your first job.” I grab her hand, pulling it to my mouth to kiss the back of it.

“BLT pizza and movies at my place. That’s what I want.” She bats those beautiful eyelashes at me.

She doesn’t even need to work for it. She could have asked for Gordon Ramsey’s beef Wellington, and I would have driven across the country to get it for her. Anything my girl wants, my girl gets.

“You got it.”

Picking up my phone, I put the order in quickly before I start the truck and start driving. “So tell me about your day,” I say to her.

She tells me every little piece of her day. I smile as she gets excited, tripping over her words when she remembers something she has missed in her storytelling.

She is adorable.

She only pauses long enough for me to run in and grab the food. As soon as I’m back in the truck, she continues making me feel like a king.

I want to be the one she wants to share her excitement with as much as the one she shares her tears with. I want to be everything to her because that is what she is for me. My reason for breathing.

She winds down as we pull up to the dorms.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t give you a chance to speak at all. How was your day?” she asks as she slips her hand into my free one as we walk up to her dorm.

She uses her keycard to let us in, holding the door open for me before taking her place at my side.

“Hockey and classes. It was good. Did you get your assignments done from your classes today?”

She nods. “I did. I’m glad my teacher understood. Now that I’ve finished the human resource stuff, I can come and go as I please at the center. I can’t wait for school to end, though. I’m ready to be there all the time.”

“I’m so proud of you, beautiful. The look on your face right now is pure happiness. Never give that up for anything. Promise me.”

She cuddles into my side as we make it to her door.

“I don’t plan to ever let you go, so that’s an easy promise to make,” she tells me.

I’m speechless as she opens her door for us. I set the pizza on the desk, kicking my shoes off before I climb onto her bed.

Then I watch her as she changes out of her work clothes. I love watching her body move. My smile only grows when I see her grab the hoodie with my name and number on the back. I love watching her wear it.

When she climbs back into bed with me, pulling her laptop over, I tuck her under my arm. She starts up a movie while I get the pizza, opening the box for us to eat over it.

It’s the perfect evening.

After we have eaten and settled down next to one another, I press a kiss to the top of her head. She lets out a content sigh, making me feel like all is right in the world.

“I love you, hotshot.” She glances up at me from her place on my chest.

“I love you so much that I don’t know how I ever thought I loved anyone before you,” I admit.

“I don’t need to be your first love, Kellan. All I want to be is your last love.”

I shake my head. “My only love. I’m telling you, Cora. I thought I loved Grace, but it was only familial love. I knew it then, and now that I have experienced love with you, I know that it is absurd that I ever confused the two to begin with.”

She leans up, kissing me. I kiss her back with all the feelings rushing through me. When she straddles me, I hold her hips, looking up at her.

“None of it matters anymore. All that matters is we are together now. It’s us against the world.”

It’s the truth.

I would take on the world for this woman. I know we will survive because I have her at my side.

I was going down a long, dark, lonely path when I met Cora. I was mourning the life I thought I wanted. I never expected her to fly into my life, checking me into the boards and knocking my life off path. When I emerged from the penalty box, I found a brighter path laid out before me with a gorgeous beauty at the end coaxing me forward.

Cora saved my life.

She will never understand to what extent, but I know I will spend every single one of my breaths trying to show her how much she means to me.

Without Cora, none of this matters.

She is my world. My everything.

Best of all…

She’s all mine.