“I don’t understand,” I whisper in Oakley’s ear so the boy doesn’t hear me. “How do you just leave a kid on someone’s doorstep?”
“I don’t know. I’m trying to work out what her game is.”
“We have to call the police.” I don’t want to. The kid looks lost. And scared. He hasn’t said a word since he came inside.
He didn’t even utter a sound, just nodded his head, when Oakley offered him ice cream.
“I don’t think we should do that yet.”
My gaze darts to her. “Why?” I flinch at the volume of my voice, my eyes going back to the quiet little boy at the end of the table.
He doesn’t seem as though my near shout even registered. Is he used to people yelling around him?
God. I have so many questions. The first, how the hell does this kid look so much like me!?
Shelby and Gannon took off right after Henry delivered our guest to get supplies for a toddler. I have no idea what those supplies might be but I’m grateful someone is doing something.
“We need to find out his name.” Oakley pushes out of her chair and heads over to him.
Wary eyes watch her, zip to me then back again. His tiny body is braced, for what I don’t know, but if I find out someone has been mistreating this kid…
“Hey.” She crouches beside his chair. “You remember my name is Oakley and that’s Walker, right?”
She gets a nod. Not really progress because we received one of those when the ice cream was offered.
“What should we call you?” she asks softly. “Do you have a nickname? Walker calls me Oak but I used to get OJ when I was little because my full name is Oakley James.”
“Micky.” His voice is so quiet I barely hear him and can’t help moving closer, but I stop the instant he jerks back and fearful eyes meet mine.
Fuck! Some motherfucker has scared this kid!
“Is that a nickname?” I ask softly hoping to ease his worry.
He shakes his head, but his eyes don’t leave me. It takes all my restraint to keep my fingers from curling into fists. The terrified look on the boy’s face makes me want to punch something.
Someone.
“Okay, Micky. Do you know your mom’s name?” Oakley continues the questions.
Another shake of his head with eyes locked on me.
How does he not know his mother’s name? Then again, he’d call her Mom or Mommy, right? He’s still young.
“It’s my birthday next week, I’ll be thirty-three,” Oakley says. “And Walker’s birthday is next month. He’ll be twenty-nine. How old are you, Micky?”
He holds up three tiny fingers.
“Three? You’re so big! I bet you go to school, yeah?”
He shakes his head again and in the last few minutes his little shoulders have relaxed and he’s no longer looking at me as though I’m going to beat him with a stick.
“Do you know where you live?”
Before he can answer, Oakley’s phone rings. Glancing at the screen, I see the name Amos. “It’s the PI.”
“I need to answer my phone. Will you be okay if I go over there and talk to the person calling me?” She doesn’t move until Micky nods.
Then she pushes to her feet and looks at his bowl. The one half filled with melting ice cream.
“Would you like something else to eat?” she asks as her phone goes silent.
Micky shakes his head then pushes the bowl away so he can rest his forearms on the table and lower his chin to them.
He looks so sad it breaks my heart. I don’t know where this kid came from and I don’t know what his circumstances are, but I need him to be okay. And if I have to step in to make that happen, I will.
Oakley moves back to me and scoops up her phone. “I’ll stay in sight,” she whispers.
Like Micky, all I can do is nod.
And listen.
“Hey, Amos. Sorry about that. We’ve got some unexpected company.”
I don’t hear what the man says but I do see the crease in her brow as she listens to him, her eyes on me.
“Are you sure?”
She’s nodding now, her gaze darting between me and Micky.
“Okay. He’s here. I’m not sure if we should call the…” her words trail off when her eyes land on Micky as he climbs out of his chair and hides under the table. “Ah, Amos? Can you get those documents to me? Anything else you can dig up too?”
I can only imagine the man has found the boy’s birth certificate. I hope so. We need to know who his parents are so we can work out whether to take him to them or keep him hidden under my dining table.
“Thanks. Bye.” Coming back to me, she keeps an eye on the other end of the table as she bends down to whisper in my ear. “Do you have a cousin? Michael?”
“Yeah, but we haven’t seen him since my dad’s brother took off with him back when we were…shit, I think I was ten. Why? Is Micky his?”
“The paperwork says so.”
“So how’d he get here?”
“Michael was killed in a car accident a couple of months ago.”
“Oh.” I should be saddened but I don’t feel anything but confused. I have my cousin’s little boy and no idea how.
“Amos is going to keep digging but it appears as though your cousin left you his son.”
“What?” I can’t stop myself from jackknifing out of my seat. A small whimper from under the table has me immediately cursing myself. “Oak.”
I don’t know what I’m trying to say. I have nothing in my head but the fear I see in Micky’s eyes every time he looks at me. Was my cousin a child abuser?
I shove my fingers through my hair and grip the back of my head. “What do we do?”
“We find out how to keep him.”
The fierceness in her voice has my gaze locking with hers. “Keep him?”
“Yes. I don’t care how he came to be here, he’s not leaving. I want to remove that fear I see in his eyes. I want to make him smile. What three-year-old doesn’t smile at a bowl of ice cream?” she whispers urgently.
“I don’t know. I haven’t had much to do with kids.”
“Well, Amos found a will leaving you guardianship of Michael junior so we shouldn’t have any issues keeping him with us. I need to call my lawyer and we need to get married as soon as we can, or get me made co-guardian or something.”
She’s thinking. I can see her brain working all the angles, considering all the possibilities. “God. I didn’t think I could love you any more.”
“Let’s see if we can coax him out from under there with a movie or cartoon or whatever it is kids watch on TV.”
“I’ll message Shelby, ask her to get some toys…maybe some cars or LEGOs?”
“Good idea. Why don’t you go see what you can find for him to watch and I’ll get him out from under there.”
“I’m worried about his reaction to me.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he’s not as scared of you as he is of me.”
“I did notice that but I think it’s just that you’re so big.”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t think the worst. Wait until we have the facts.”
I know she’s right. I shouldn’t assume my cousin is the reason for Micky’s fear. It could be whoever he’s spent the last few months with. “Where’s he been since Michael died?”
“I don’t know. That’s one of the things Amos is looking into.”
“Okay. I’ll message Shel and see what I can find on Netflix.”
“Thanks. And Walker?”
“Yeah.”
“I love you too.” She pushes to her toes and kisses me quick.
It says a lot about the situation that the peck that would normally get my motor revving doesn’t even turn it over.
While I head to the living room, I send Shelby and Gannon a message asking for whatever toys they can find suitable for a three year old. Then I turn the TV on and pull up the kids section of my streaming service.
I pick the first thing on the most popular list and seconds after the theme song plays through the surround sound system, a blur of motion races into the room and drops to the floor right in front of my hundred-inch screen.
He’s too close but I’m not about to tell him to move back because on his face is the one thing that could stop me from doing anything.
Make me do anything.
His little mouth is stretched wide in a smile that shows off tiny teeth and he’s quietly singing along, bouncing on his butt.
“That was easier than I thought,” Oakley says as she moves next to me. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, so we know how to get him to smile now.”
I can’t take my eyes off him. I should be comfortable with this instant love thing after Oakley but I’m not. The emotions I’m feeling for a child I’ve never seen, never knew existed, are breath-stealing.
“We can’t let them take him.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. Anyone. Whoever the hell has had him since…” I swallow, my throat tight, my chest aching.
Is that why I feel so connected to Micky? We’re both orphans? Hell, I don’t know where his mother is, if she’s dead like his father.
I don’t understand why this is the first I’m hearing about him. Or what Kristina’s involvement is. How are there pictures of her and Micky going back months?
“What’s Kristina’s connection? There has to be one. All those photos…”
“I don’t know but we’ll find out. I’ll keep Amos on it until every stone is turned over. Until we know he’s safe.”
“If I was named guardian, then he stays here. He’ll be safe.”
“In theory, yes, but I don’t know what Kristina’s connection is to all of this and if that poses a threat to him. To you.”
“How could it be threat to him? Me?”
“I…” Her mouth snaps shut. “I don’t want to speculate.”
“It’s me. Speculate.”
“I’m worried her connection to him is the same as yours.”
It takes me a minute to understand what she’s getting at. “You think she’s co-guardian?”
Nodding, she rolls her lips into her mouth, I assume to keep other words from tumbling out.
“Say it.”
“If she is, we are going to have to fight her in court to have him removed from her care.”
“What care? Henry said the only thing—” I frantically glance around. “Where’s the bag he had?”
“In the foyer.” She’s already moving in that direction.
I follow, comfortable leaving Micky alone for a moment. Retrieving his bag, we check all the pockets, tip it upside down and give it a shake to be sure we’ve emptied it completely.
“It’s just clothes.”
“And not clean ones,” I note. “I’ll throw them in the washer.”
“He’ll need more. There’s no pjs. See if Shelby and Gannon are still at the store.”
“I’m texting Gannon now. What else does he need? Toothbrush? Paste?” I look up. “Or can he use ours?”
“I have no clue, but if they can find a kids one, that would be better.”
“Okay.” I’m typing away. “What else?”
“I don’t know.”
“All right. Let’s get these in the wash then see if we can get anything else out of him about where he’s been. You said Michael died a few months ago. How many?”
“Amos didn’t give me specifics.”
“Right. I guess all we can do is wait. Should we see if he’ll eat something?”
“He barely touched the ice cream. Maybe wait until Shelby and Gannon get back?”
“Good idea. Shit.” I scrub a hand over my jaw and note I need a shave. “I’ll have to tell Shelby.”
“Oh.”
“And find out why this is the first I’m hearing about Michael’s death or his son. And where’s the boy’s mother?” So many questions.
Oakley shrugs and steps up to me. Slips her arms around me. “I know you’re worried but he’s here now, he’s safe, and we’ll make sure he stays that way.”
“I’m sorry. This is more crazy I’m bringing to your life.”
Smiling up at me, she says, “I love your kind of crazy.”
“Thank fuck for that. I have no idea what I’d be doing right now without you.”
“You’d work it out.”
“After I punched a few holes in walls or someone’s face.”
“Maybe. But I doubt it. You’re not the violent type.”
My gaze goes in the direction of the living room. “I can think of two reasons I’d get violent without thought.”
The theme song for the show Micky is watching echoes through the apartment. “Did you put that on continuous play?” Oakley asks.
“I think so. But let’s go check. You can sit with him while I get this stuff in the wash.”
“You don’t want to sit with him?”
“I think we need to let him get comfortable with me first.”
“He might not actually be afraid of you. It might be that you look like his dad. I’m assuming you and your cousin must have looked alike, considering Micky looks so much like you.”
“We did when we were younger. I have no idea if that carried through to adulthood though.”
“I’m thinking it did.” She pulls out of my arms. “You get the wash on and have a look in the kitchen to see if there are any snacks in there we can entice Micky with.”
“I think I’ve got popcorn. Wait. Can a three-year-old eat popcorn?”
Oakley grabs my face and holds me still. “Don’t panic. I’ll google what three-year-olds eat while you wash his clothes.”
“Okay. I’m okay.”
“Of course, you are.”
A thought occurs to me. “You realize if I am his guardian, we’re going to be parents a hell of a lot quicker than either of us imagined.”
“Do you think Shelby might want to take him?”
“What? No. Why would you ask that? She just finished college.”
“I know. And I hate to admit I even had the thought but she’s his…second cousin?…and a woman and…” She shrugs.
“Oh, right. Yeah, maybe. I guess I’ll give her that option if I can, but if Michael named me as his guardian, then it’s me, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” I nod. “Good.”
She watches me closely and whatever she sees makes her smile grow bigger.
“What?”
“You’re gonna be a great dad.”
“This is not how I saw that happening. But if I’m a dad, you’ll be a mom.”
“I…oh.” For a moment her face is blank then the most beautiful thing happens. Her eyes sparkle and her smile stretches wide. “I’ll be a mom.”
I cradle her face and bring our foreheads together. “Fuck, Oak. Can we do this?”
“We have to. There’s no choice. He’s not going back wherever he’s been. No one just drops a child off in the foyer of an apartment building and gets to have him back.”
The fierceness in her voice makes me smile. And then I think about what I’d like to do with whoever brought Micky here. The rage that rolls through me boils my blood and rattles my bones.
A few hours ago I wanted nothing to do with the kid, now I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that little boy.