Page 94 of Tangled Hearts

My eyes burn a little as my throat tightens. God, that poor baby girl. “How old is she?”

“Six,” Eli whispers, reaching for my hand under the table. I twine my fingers through his, giving them a little squeeze, so grateful for the contact I can barely speak. No one that young should have to go through so much. Losing my mom hurt, of course it did, but to lose both parents at only six? Especially after just getting one back?

“There’s no other family?” I ask, throat still tight.

“Her grandparents on Kylie’s side passed away when she was in high school. Her dad’s parents have declined to take her,” Roman says simply. “It’s probably for the best. I’m not sure that they would be any better for her. She’s working hard to adjust, but she hasn’t done well in foster homes. She does pretty well at Safe Haven. Especially when Eli is there. She follows him around like a little duck.”

Eli lets out a soft laugh. “She’s a sweet kid. She’s just afraid of losing people. Understandable, given what she’s gone through.”

I nod. “You know what? Yeah. I think I would like to work for you full-time. What does that look like?”

Beck grins. “Another one bites the dust.”

Roman rolls his eyes playfully, then looks at me. “Come on Monday, and I’ll go through all the paperwork with you.”

Eli gives my hand another squeeze, and my heart nearly lurches right out of my chest. God, I didn’t expect all of this when I came here. I didn’t think I’d change my career. I didn’t think I’d meet all these amazing people. I didn’t think I’d find love.

Beck gives me a knowing look, his lips turning up in a smile. “It’s funny how life works sometimes, huh?”

“Yeah,” I say, laughing a little. “It really is.”

I wouldn’t change it for anything. Not when every single bit of it has led me to right here.

Chapter 30

Eli

It’s quiet today at The Hart Foundation. Dad and I are just hanging out more than anything else. Since the fundraiser is less than a week away, we have everything organized and ready to go. Dad’s gotten better at this through the years.

I glance down at the paper in front of me. I’m working on my speech for the big night. It’ll be my first year giving a speech. It’s not like a huge deal, probably. But I’m still a little nervous.

“Do you want to read my speech?” I ask, waving the paper in the air.

Dad looks up at me. “I can if you want me to.”

“You don’t want to?”

He smiles. “I can. I’d like to be surprised, but if you want me to read it, I will.”

Ugh. Well, that takes all the fun out of it. I don’t want to ruin his surprise. “Fine. I’ll let you be surprised.”

Dad’s been a little quiet today, and a tiny part of me is slightly concerned. He’s never been someone who has to fill the silence withwords. Which works out in some ways. Like the universe knew our house couldn’t have handled three chronic yappers. He’s the quiet to Beck’s chaos. I snort to myself. And they call Uncle Hold a chaos twink.

“What’s so funny?”

“Huh?” I ask.

Dad chuckles. “You’re laughing to yourself over there. I’m just wondering what’s so funny.”

“Can you keep a secret?” I know damn well he can. But this is different, and if he tells Beck on me, I’ll never, ever hear the end of it. It’ll be talked about at my wedding, at every one of my birthdays, and probably at my fucking funeral too.

“Of course.”

“I was just thinking.” I stop, giggling hard as Dad gives me a bemused grin. “It’s funny that Dad calls Uncle Hold a chaos twink. I know that no one is calling Dad a twink, but like… if anyone’s the chaos, it’s him.”

Dad blinks at me a few times, then bursts into laughter. I join him, laughing so hard I can barely breathe. “That’s a secret we’ll take to the grave.”

“Deal,” I say through my laughter.