Page 79 of Crazy Love

“Thisisthe best possible home. I don’t know why you’re being so hard on Penn.” Tears fall down his cheeks and he brushes them away angrily with his fists.

“Hey, buddy, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.” I look at Mrs. Murphy. “Maybe you can tell me what I can do now to improve Sam’s situation here. Do you want to check his bedroomagain? Hell, you could spend the week with us here and see how we’re running the house. But please don’t put him somewhere else. I know we’re still trying to work things out to make everything permanent, but he belongs with us. He’s settled in school and our routine, and coming by here and threatening to move him will only cause more stress.”

“I’m not threatening—” she starts.

“I know you’re just doing your job and you want to protect him. But it’s my job to protect him now too and I’m going to do that, even if it means from you. My lawyer has said things are looking good. I have a friend who’s a judge in Landmark Mountain that I’ll reach out to as well, to see if we can make this come together even faster. I want to adopt Sam and I don’t want the two of us looking over our shoulders, afraid that you’re gonna come drag him out of here.”

“Don’t you mean the three of you?” she asks. She dips her head toward Addy.

“Yes, of course. The three of us. We’re all in this together,” I say, feeling defeated.

Addy reaches out and rubs my arm.

Mrs. Murphy writes a few things in her notebook. “Thanks for your hospitality,” she says, standing up. “I’ll be in touch.”

We see her to the door and I put my hands on Sam’s shoulders as we watch her pull away.

“I’m going to fix this,” I say, but it sounds hollow.

I’m afraid Mrs. Murphy isn’t buying into this with Addy and me, and I can’t blame her.

Later, after Sam is in bed, I call Sutton Landmark, Weston’s brother-in-law. He’s a judge in Landmark Mountain, and he promises to put in a good word for me.

“From what I can see, things are lining up in your favor,” he says. “I hear congratulations are in order, man. I’m happy for you. And it’s an added benefit—being married will only help.”

That’s what we were hoping, I think.

But all I say is, “Thank you. And I really appreciate your help.”

“Sam is a good kid and he’s crazy about you. I want to see you guys together. I promise, Penn, I’ll be all over it.”

“Thank you. Really. That means a lot.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

GAME TIME

ADELINE

Penn is on edge when we get to our room that night.

“Is Mrs. Murphy always so intense?” I ask.

He nods grimly. “Pretty much. She’s nice, and yet I’m beginning to feel like she’s looking for a way to catch me in a lie…or to come up with another reason Sam can’t be with me.”

“Maybe that’s your guilty conscience about the whole fake wedding thing we’ve got going here.”

“Good point.” He makes a face. “It’s obvious he’s so happy here. I don’t understand why it’s still an issue. But Sutton, the judge I was talking about, he reassured me. He looked at the papers David has drawn up and he seems to think we can make this move quickly. Once it’s official, she won’t have a say in any of this anymore.”

I put my hands on his waist and he leans his forehead on mine.

“I can’t wait for that day,” he says.

My hands move up his arms and to his shoulders. I frown when I feel how tight they are and start massaging them. “I think we should take a bath.”

“Yeah?” he says, starting to grin.

I back away and hold up my hand. “A relaxing bath. With bath oil and a little massage…”

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