Page 218 of Sing with Me

“You really want those kids, don’t you?”

Diehl nodded. “It’s not that they don’t have anywhere else to go, but they’re my kids.”

“Your uncle did something like that years ago,” Dad said. “Except he adopted his sister’s kids after she died of cancer.”

“I remember that.”

“In the same way, God adopted you and me into His family as His own.” Dad swiped his phone. “Here it is. ‘For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” That’s from Romans 8:15-17.”

“Isn’t there another similar verse?” Diehl had listened to some of Pastor Gonzalez’s old sermons while sitting in Atlanta traffic. He had bookmarked the verse on his phone. “Galatians 4:4-7 says, ‘But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.’ That describes us.”

“Praise the Lord,” Dad said, sounding more and more like Argo Perry each day. That elderly gentleman had punctuated many conversations by praising the Lord.

“I feel sorry for Zeta, though.” Dad put away his phone.

Diehl didn’t want to be reminded of his former mother-in-law. Detective Jeong had informed them that they charged her with interference of custody, but it was only a misdemeanor. The District Attorneys in Atlanta and St. Simon’s Island had negotiated a way for her to serve her sentence in her home state of Hawaii.

As for a restraining order against Zeta, Diehl didn’t have the heart to do that to the seventy-something-old woman, who had already lost her only daughter, Isobel. However, Zeta would not be allowed to speak to or be with her grandchildren without the presence of someone approved by Diehl, such as the two new bodyguards whom Diehl had hired to be with Elisa and Ethan around the clock.

Still, that would be a long time coming since Zeta’s husband promptly had a massive coronary in the midst of her kidnapping plan gone awry. If anything, Wilson’s heart attack had caused the court to be compassionate toward Zeta.

“Everything is fine now.” Diehl patted Dad’s shoulders as they walked out of his office together, father and son. Diehl had no idea how much time he had left to spend with Dad and Mom. He hoped to make the best use of whatever time they had left with one another.

“Fine, but not normal like before.” Dad shook his head. “Even Chef Pierre had to find a new sous chef.”

“I do feel sorry for poor Hans Bailey. He had an opportunity to rise in a difficult career, and he threw it away.” Diehl locked his office door. He wondered why he did that when the housekeeping people had the master key.

“I’m sure he’ll find work somewhere. What did they charge him with?” Dad asked.

“Party to the crime. To Hans’s credit, he helped the police to nail Romina, so they dropped the charges against him, but Chef Pierre fired him anyway.”

Dad nodded. “I don’t want him anywhere near our family ever again.”

“Don’t worry.” Diehl glanced at his watch. He wondered what he could say to Skye after dinner tonight when he called her to congratulate her on the acquisition of Watt’s for Dinner.

So far their twice weekly conversations had only scratched the surface. There was so much more that Diehl wanted to talk to Skye about that he couldn’t do over FaceTime.

He had to find time to see her in person.

But when?

Chapter Fifty-Seven

In the middle of a hot August month, Brinley’s baby arrived on time at over nine whopping pounds. Avery had been to the hospital twice in two days, and Skye had gone once on Wednesday. When Skye was there, she found herself surrounded by Brinley’s parents and her other friends whom she didn’t know, and she felt out of place.

Missing at the hospital were Diehl and his kids.

Skye hadn’t realized how much she missed Diehl until she saw Brinley again this week. The brother and sister had some semblance in looks—the same smile, for example.

As a gift, Skye sent over Chef Joseph for three weeks. Brinley could easily pay for his services, but Skye wanted to do this as a baby gift—on top of the baby shower gifts she had bought her friend.

By Friday, Brinley was back in her own home, and Skye had a relatively long day at work evaluating Watt’s for Dinner chefs to see if she might eliminate waste and increase efficiency. Even though Watt had amassed for himself some sixteen chefs, Skye had yet to meet them all. She’d have to make a trip to Atlanta for this.

She had talked to Chef Joseph about becoming her Vice President in the Atlanta branch of STL. It was a shame that they would lose the name Watt’s for Dinner, but truth be told, they cooked more than just dinner. STL seemed like a better fit since the sky was the limit.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, Skye scrambled out of her new office to head to the grocery store down the road before rush hour hit the little island—nothing like rush hour in Atlanta, but still, there was traffic nonetheless. She had just gotten into her car and put on her seat belt when Avery called.

“Stop,” Avery said on the phone.

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