Page 37

EDU

“Eden Elizabeth Potter,” the social worker said as she walked up to me with a smile on her face. “It took some sorting, but I finally got all her records. Her birth certificate is under the mother’s name. And since she is basically non-existent, you can see why it took so long to find her.”

“There’s no sign of her? She just disappeared?” I asked incredulously.

“The police have been watching the house since that night, and there’s been no sign of her.”

“She just abandoned her kid.”

“Possibly. If it hadn’t been for your friends, she might have died down there.”

Guilt crushed me once again because of how selfish I’d been. If only I had gone searching for my old man sooner, maybe she could have been spared this.

“I’ve looked into you and your wife.”

My eyes slowly drifted back to her. My palms sweated as I waited for whatever she was about to say. Was I really cut out to take care of this child? Yes, I had my own, but this kid…she had to be fucked up. I was too fucked up for something like this. I knew it.

The social worker smiled at me, but I’d completely missed everything she said. “What?”

“I’m saying, I’m going to recommend that Eden be placed with you. There’ll be a hearing in family court and the judge needs to approve it, but this is the best solution for everyone.”

I swallowed hard. I wasn’t so sure about that.

“Do you want to see her?”

For two days, I’d paced this hospital, wondering if I should visit her. Everything in me said to go to her, but the demon on my shoulder whispered I would be no good for her.

“Yeah,” I answered, not stopping to think any longer.

When the social worker turned to head down the hall, I grabbed her arm, my terror spiking to new levels. “What do I say to her? I mean…after what she’s been through?—”

“Just introduce yourself. Tell her you’re family and you wanted to meet her. Keep it simple for now. Let her talk to you.”

“What if she doesn’t want to talk to me?”

“Then just sit with her. Let her know you’re there for whatever she needs.”

I nodded, giving myself an internal pep talk. I could do that. I could sit there with her. It was no different than sitting in the same room with Harper when she was pissed at me.

“You can do this,” the social worker smiled. “You have kindness in your eyes.”

Did I? I wasn’t so sure about that. I was rough and had a temper on me. Not as bad as my old man. I’d definitely curbed it since Harper came into my life. But this…this was entirely different. This was a different kind of fucked up that I worried I would make ten times worse.

But I sucked it up and followed her down the hall, through the hospital to the room Eden was in. The moment I stepped inside, I sucked in a ragged breath. The girl was so small for her age, and where I should have seen the remains of baby fat, all I saw was skin and bones.

“Eden,” the social worker smiled.

It occurred to me then that I hadn’t bothered to learn the woman’s name. I just kept calling her the social worker in my head.

“This is Eduardo. He’s your brother.”

Bright blue eyes flicked to mine, watching me curiously. She didn’t seem scared of me, but she also wasn’t excited to see me. If anything, it was more like there was a ghost of a child in the bed. She was just there, just staring, wondering what I was doing here.

“Hey, Eden. You can call me Edu.” I took a step forward and she flinched, the first fucking reaction I’d gotten from her. And she was fucking terrified.

Her eyes flitted back to the social worker in question.

“Like I said, Edu is your brother and he really wanted to meet you.”

I studied the little girl, trying to think of anything to say. What would I have wanted to hear? Fuck, I didn’t know. I was at a loss for words, completely fucking terrified of a ten-year-old.

“I’ve never had a sister before,” I finally said. “I don’t know anything about being a brother.”

Her lips pursed slightly as she watched me.

“Um…I’m married. My wife—Harper—she’s a very nice person, and we have a little girl. Her name is Grace.”

Again, Eden watched me, waiting for me to say something else. But I was at a loss for words. I had no fucking clue what to say to her. A knock on the door had me thanking the Lord for saving my ass. It was Raven, and she was motioning for me to leave.

“I’ll be back.”

The social worker nodded as I quickly exited, but the moment I saw who was outside, I would have rather been back in that room with Eden. Anger rose inside me as I realized someone had fucking betrayed me. And when my eyes met Patrick’s, I fucking knew it was him.

Harper stood before me with bundles of stuffed animals in her arms and bright balloons. Eva was just a few feet behind her, also stuffed to the brim with dolls. Hell, just about every woman from OPS was here, and by now, they all fucking knew my shame.

“What are you doing here?”

Harper didn’t even flinch as she took a step forward. “Did you really think I’d let you be here by yourself?”

“I didn’t want you here.” I knew it was fucking harsh. I knew I was only driving a wedge between us, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“You have a sister,” she grinned. “That’s awesome!”

“A sister I let down,” I bit out, putting up a wall between us. “I didn’t ask you to come.”

“Well, I think this is amazing. An older sister for Grace! She’s going to love it!”

“Not an older sister,” I clarified.

“Well, she will be when we adopt her.”

“What are you?—”

“Edu, did you really think we were going to let her just roam around in the system? Now, I know that’s not your intention, and if she comes to live with us, which she will, we will make sure she has a loving home and parents who think of her as more than an armchair in the house.

Which means we’re going to adopt her. You’ll be her brotherly dad,” she grinned in true Harper fashion.

“Just think of how wonderful it will be!”

God, I loved this woman, her energy, her spirit. Everything about her was perfect. Except for one thing. She was naive if she thought this would be easy.

“Harper…It’s not that simple.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Edu, let’s face it, you are not the most well-adjusted man after the way you were raised.

Now, I know you haven’t told me a lot, and frankly, I’m not sure if I’ll ever get it out of you.

But I know your heart. Whatever happened, we’ll get through it.

That little girl is already a part of us, and we’re going to overwhelm her with love. ”

My gaze strayed from her to all the other women in the hallway. They all showed up, all of them here to support this little girl who meant nothing to them. I had a village, even if I didn’t want to admit it. It had always been a brotherhood, but this…

I ducked my head, overcome by the emotion running through me. I didn’t fucking cry, and I wasn’t about to start now, but these women—Fuck, they could tear your heart out.

“Do you want to meet her?”

Harper beamed at me. “Of course, I do!”

I nodded and held out my hand to her, guiding her toward the room.

As I opened the door, the social worker nodded for me to come in.

Eden was still sitting in bed, still watching everyone with that blank look on her face.

But the moment Harper entered, her eyes grew curious.

Maybe it was all the stuffed animals. Maybe it was Harper’s infectious smile.

Hell, I didn’t know. But I saw a flicker of life on my sister’s face, and that was all I needed to know things would be alright.

“Hey, Eden! I’m Harper, Edu’s wife. Welcome to the family!” She didn’t hold back as he walked right up to Eden’s bed and plopped all the stuffed animals on her bed, then tied the balloons to the foot of the bed.

Eden flinched back, obviously terrified by what was happening, but Harper didn’t show any sign of letting up. She would be the happiest new mother on the floor for as long as it took to get Eden to open up. I knew it deep in my gut.

“Like I said, I’m Harper. I have a baby girl you’ll get to meet. Her name is Grace. And she loves stuffed animals. This one is her favorite.”

She held out the giraffe that Grace cuddled with every night. She hadn’t brought a replica, but the very one she used. “I figured that since I couldn’t bring Grace, I could bring her favorite stuffie for you.”

Eden eyed the giraffe warily, then slowly moved her hand across the blanket. It pained me to see how timid she was. I didn’t know what the hell had been done to her, but it was clear she thought there would be some kind of repercussion for touching anything that wasn’t hers.

“All of these are for you,” Harper beamed. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I brought a ton, and there are more at the house. And…well, some of my friends came. They were dying to meet you.”

Eden’s eyes widened in fear.

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to meet them. They just wanted to come in case you felt like company. And they have a LOT of stuffies for you. I mean, we’re gonna need to build you a bigger room just to fit them all.”

Eden looked terrified at the mention of the room. I wasn’t sure if we should say anything since it still had to be approved by the judge, but the social worker just smiled and nodded.

“Eden, I know you don’t know me,” I hedged, inching a little closer, “but I am your brother, and…I’d like you to come live with us. If you’d like,” I added quickly. “We have a big house and you’ll get your very own room. And there are other kids where we live that you can play with.”

I wasn’t sure I was getting anywhere with her, but she didn’t look quite so terrified anymore. Just on edge.

“What’s your favorite color?” Harper asked, pulling up a chair to sit beside her. “Because I was thinking you could have a princess room. I love princesses! In fact, that’s how I met Edu. I was daydreaming about Prince Charming. Isn’t that silly?” she giggled.

I could have sworn I saw a slight smile in Eden’s eyes, but all her attention was on Harper, so it was hard to tell.

I stood back as Harper worked her magic, talking about all the ways they could decorate her new room, showing her pictures on Pinterest, and putting things in her shopping cart online that she loved.

It hit me how wholly unprepared I was for this, but Harper was such a natural. How the hell was I ever going to connect with this kid when I didn’t know how to talk to her?

For the next half hour, I leaned against the wall and tried to come to terms with what was happening.

It wasn’t until Eden’s eyes started to drift shut that the social worker suggested we leave Eden to get some sleep.

Harper reluctantly left her side and joined me in the hall with all the other ladies.

When she spun on me, there was no anger on her face. “Edu, I don’t know what you’re keeping from me, and I won’t push, but I’m your wife. You’re meant to trust me above everyone else. Don’t push me away again, not when we finally have something really good.”

She pressed a kiss to my lips and walked away to talk to the other ladies. I watched as she gushed to them about Eden, talking about all the things they were going to do. And for the first time in my life, I let myself believe that everything was going to be okay.