Page 102 of Fourth Point Of Contact

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 aprincess 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.

23

PATRICK

The trip had been fuckinghorrible, but showing up at my house, knowing my mother was inside waiting for me, was almost just as bad. I had escaped her matchmaking for a few days, but that didn’t mean I was in the clear. No doubt, she had already set up a few dates for me while I was gone. How much more could I take?

She was out the door and on the porch before I got out of Raven’s truck. “Fucking hell.”

Raven laughed at me. “Serves you right for trying to escape your family.”

“I don’t recall you having the best relationship with anyone in your life.”

“No, but they also aren’t around to show up on my doorstep and bug the hell out of me.”

She had a point there. I flung the door open and got out, pulling my crutches out of the back. I was already trying to come up with ways to get her off my back before she even opened her mouth.

Luckily, Edu pulled up beside me, staying my execution for another few minutes. On the other hand, Edu was here and that could be just as bad for me. He got out, slamming the door as he marched over to me. I prepared for the hit, but it never came.

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