Page 72 of Only Temporary

Tatum laughs, and I shoot him an irritated glare that does nothing to stop his laughter. “I’ll explain that one to you someday, buddy.”

“No. You won’t,” Kellan cuts in. He turns to Braylen. “Phillip and I are dating.” Braylen cocks his head to the side, figuring it all out, but it’s clear he’s having a little trouble. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh.” Braylen shrugs his little shoulders and pokes at the pasta on his plate. “So you’ll still be around a lot then? And cook for us?”

I smile at his wide eyes and sweet innocence. “Yes. Even more now.”

“Woo hoo,” Cason deadpans, displeased, and I can’t blame him.

I turn my attention to him. “I’m so sorry we lied to you.” My eyes sweep around the table. “All of you. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone. It wasn’t on purpose, but when I was your caseworker, we had to keep it a secret.”

“No, you didn’t. You wanted to keep it a secret, so you wouldn’t get fired.”

“Careful,” Kellan warns, but I place my hand on his bicep. We need to let him feel his anger on this one.

“You’re right. I didn’t want to lose my job or hurt Kellan’s case for guardianship, but I should have stepped away as soon as I realized I had feelings for your brother.”

“Feelings are gross,” Kieran says, his only input in the conversation, and Tatum snickers, bumping fists with Kieran.

“Agreed, little man.”

Kieran looks quite pleased with himself, but Cason is not happy at all. “Whatever. So when does the new caseworker come? And are you going to start fucking him too?”

I see the tension in Kellan’s face, but thankfully, he doesn’t take the bait. “She’ll be here Monday to introduce herself. But we don’t need another drop-by inspection for at least a month. Our case is close to court anyway.”

“Right. So why are you guys telling us this?”

“Because I want you all to know we’re together.” Kellan squeezes my thigh under the table. “And that we’re happy.”

“Well, that’s all that matters, right?” Cason says, his tone dripping with sarcasm before he stands up. “I’m not hungry. I’m going to my room.”

I can tell Kellan is going to argue, but I reach over and give his thigh a small squeeze, asking him to stay put, which he does.

“You all matter to me. If there’s anything you want to talk about, please know you can come to me,” Kellan says, and I hate that he looks defeated. But I know it’s just growing pains.

We’re going to get through this.

We finish up dinner, but Raegan leaves rather quickly, making me a little worried. I go to check on her, knocking gently on her door, and she opens it with some reluctance, letting me in and sitting on her bed.

I sit in the desk chair near her bed. “You want to talk about it? I know you already knew we were together before today, but it’s still a lot all at once.”

She picks at her jeans where it’s fraying on the knee, not looking at me. “Were you ever really here for us? Like actually our friend or did you just want to sleep with Kellan?”

It hurts that she could think that, but I get it. These kids have not had it easy. Not at all. They were bound to have trust issues, and whether I meant to or not, whether I wanted to or not, I broke that trust. “I was your caseworker who truly cared about each and every one of you, and that’s never going to change. I care about you all deeply, not because of Kellan or my attraction to him, but because all of you are incredible kids.”

“What if you break up?”

The thought alone is devastating, but I answer her honestly anyway. “Then I’ll still be here for you, if you want me to be. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m pretty stubborn.”

That finally gets a small smile from her. “Okay. But seriously? Kellan? You could do so much better.”

I snort and shake my head. “Your brother is pretty hot.”

She gags, and I laugh. “I do like that you make him happy.” Her eyes narrow on me. “Don’t ever tell him I said that.”

I hold up my right hand. “I swear.”

I ask her if I can give her a hug, and she agrees, standing up to give me a quick hug before I go back out to help with the dishes. Kellan is finishing up, though, as I walk into the kitchen.

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