Page 68 of The Deadbeat Next Door

My phone rang again and I lunged for it. “Hello?”

“Ms. Harrison,” a teary voice said. “This is Kayla. Can you…Can you come and get me and Simon and Jenny?”

“I’m in Myrtle Beach, honey,” I said, my heart sinking. “What’s happened?”

“My dad…” Her voice broke and she started sobbing.

“Ms. Harrison,” a male voice said, his tone soft. “This is Albert Bennett with Child Protective Services. Kayla’s father passed away this afternoon and the children have no living relatives that we can track down. Kayla felt that you might be willing to take them in until a legal guardian is located. Two community members have spoken on your behalf and we could put them into your care for the time being if that is amenable.”

“Yes. I’m in Myrtle Beach, but we can be there in…” I looked at Cody.

“Six hours,” he said. “Seven at the most.”

“Seven hours,” I said to Albert. “Where will they be held until I can get there?”

“I’ll wait for you with them here at the hospital,” Albert said.

“I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

I hung up. Cody was already out of bed, he pulled on jeans and started throwing clothes in his bag. I followed suit and he didn’t say a word, didn’t ask a question until we were on the road and headed Northwest. “What happened?”

“Kayla’s dad is dead,” I said. “I don’t know what happened, but the kids have nowhere else to go. Child Protective Services wants me to take them in until next of kin can be found.” Kayla had told me her grandparents passed away before she was born, and she’d never mentioned any other family.

“That was fast,” he said. “Don’t they need to do a background check on you or something?”

I shrugged. “I grew up in that town, and my parents grew up in that town. Two people, I’m assuming two people in positions of authority, vouched for me.”

“It really is all about who you know.”

“Yep.” I couldn’t imagine what Kayla, Simon, and Jenny were going through, how much they were hurting, and I willed the car to go faster, to somehow get to them more quickly.

“They can stay at my place,” he said. “I’ve got plenty of space. There won’t be room for them at your house.”

“Thanks. But you don’t have to do that. It’s too much to ask of you, to take in three kids you don’t even know.”

“I’ve got nothing else going on until I finalize the deal on Bart’s property, and they’re good kids. It’s fine.”

“Thank you,” I said again. They were good kids, but every kid reacted differently to the loss of a parent. I’d seen it a couple of times with my students and I’d seen it with my nephew. I doubted anything would be as simple as Cody anticipated. But I wasn’t going to turn down his offer, because he was right, there was more space at his house.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to swim in the ocean. Next time…” He cleared his throat. “Next time you go, I hope the weather is better for you.”

And just like that the bubble I’d been inside for the past twelve hours burst. It hadn’t burst with Kayla’s phone call, because he’d been right there beside me, supporting me. It had burst when he reminded me, maybe both of us, that our relationship, whatever it was, had a time limit. We had one more week, nine more days, and it would be over. Maybe we’d pretend a little bit longer after that, just so it didn’t seem like we’d tricked Bart, but we could start spending less time together, build the distance between us in preparation for the inevitable end.

“You should try and get some sleep,” he said. “I’m sure you’re going to have a stressful day ahead of you.”

I put my seat back and closed my eyes, Cody turned on his classic rock at a low volume, and I pretended to sleep. I pretended because I couldn’t really do it. I listened to him humming along softly with the music, and watched as he drove through the night, focused on the road, no sign of worry or concern about the end of our relationship on his face. He would be okay. We’d end and he would get involved with building his winery and date other women and he’d be fine. I’d be fine, too. I’d always been fine alone and I would be again, but my heart would never be quite whole again, because sometime over the past couple of days, I’d fallen. I’d broken all my own rules and fallen irrevocably in love with this man.

But my relationship with Cody wasn’t my main concern. What really mattered, was those three kids who’d just lost their father, who would need me to be there for them, to give them everything I had. It was better to accept that Cody and I were a fling that was ending and start figuring out how I was going to help those kids, to be there for those kids without him, without his help.

We got to the hospital at five in the morning. I was exhausted and heart sore, but I put it all aside when I saw those kids, eyes red, looking exhausted and scared and lost. I had no idea what I was doing and I had no idea what to say or how to comfort them but, if I had anything to do with it, they would never have any idea I felt as lost as they did.

Cody walked in beside me, but I ran to the kids and dropped to my knees in front of them. They sat on the hard plastic hospital waiting room chairs, huddled together. I wrapped my arms around Kayla and she sobbed onto my shoulder. “I didn’t know who else to call,” she said.

“You did the right thing.” I pulled away and brushed the tears from her eyes.

I didn’t reach for either of the other kids, because I was virtually a stranger to them, but Jenny crawled onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. Simon just stared straight ahead and swallowed hard. The social worker, a short, stocky man with a shock of thick black hair and a kind smile, got my and Cody’s information and had us sign some paperwork. He promised to be in touch in the next couple of days. Jenny had fallen asleep in my arms and I held her tight, swaying with her a bit.

“Do you have a booster seat in your vehicle?” Albert asked.

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