“Honestly? She’s Ash’s niece, so she belongs with him since her parents are gone. Kind of wish I could go visit that bitch in prison, though,” I retort. “But I don’t look good in orange. It washes me out.”
Holly’s laughter comes through the line and soon, I’m joining in. “Do you know what he has to do yet?”
“Not a clue. I think that’s one reason they’re having church,” I admit. “I know that Data had all the information printed off for Ash, but outside of that, I have no clue what the steps will be. Still, how excited do you think Mina will be if we make it happen?”
“Good heavens, she’ll be over the flipping moon,” Holly replies. “I won’t say a word until we know it’s gonna happen, though.”
“Yeah, that’s definitely a good idea. I mean, Becca probably doesn’t even know about Ash from what he shared about his family. Plus, right now, she’s in a good home, so it’s not like she needs to be here tonight.”
“I can’t believe that her cunt of an aunt did that to her,” Holly states. “I mean, she seems like a sweet little girl too.”
“From what I could tell, she is,” I admit. “So, do you want me to come over tomorrow so we can start putting Thanksgiving boxes together?”
“Let me check with Grammy and get back with you,” she says.
“Works for me.” Hearing the stomping of feet, I say, “I’m going to let you go, my friend, because the horde is arriving.”
She giggles then replies, “Guess that means I’ll be seeing Rebel shortly. Bye, Marnie.”
“Bye, Holly.”
As the brothers descend on the kitchen, I see Ash and grin at him. He makes a plate and comes to sit next to me. Leaning in, he gives me a quick kiss then whispers, “I’ll fill you in when we go upstairs.”
“Okay,” I reply. I finish eating and sit listening to the chatter of the brothers while Ash gets his fill. Once everyone is done, it doesn’t take long before the kitchen is clean again and we’re heading up to the suite we now share.
“Gonna jump in the shower, you want to join me?” he asks.
While I already took one, Iwantthat intimacy, so I nod. “Let me just clip my hair up first,” I reply.
Later, after a thorough shower that had me coming twice and him once, we’re snuggled underneath the covers. “So, what’s been decided?” I ask.
“I’m going to call the caseworker tomorrow and see what I have to do to get the ball rolling. You’re sure you’re okay with this?” he questions.
“Why wouldn’t I be, Ash? She’s your niece. Hell, even if she had been your child that you didn’t know about, I’d still want her with us. She deserves to be with family, honey, don’t you think?”
He growls before saying, “For all their piety, I can’t believe my sister turned out to be such a piece of shit. I don’t know about how my brother, her father, was with her, but from what you told me and what Holly told Rebel, she’s a sweet little girl. And yes, we’ll give her all the family she could ever want, that’s for damn sure. Even grandparents thanks to Paul and Esther.”
“Probably Samuel too, don’t you think?” I ask.
He chuckles before kissing me. “You’re right. He’ll pull her into the fold as well.”
“I’m glad. She deserves it and more. Love you, Ash,” I say, suddenly exhausted.
“Love you more, Marnie.”
CHAPTER
FOUR
Becca
“Becca, sweetie, you’ll be staying home from school this morning,” Mrs. Talbot says. Before I can ask why, she continues speaking. “Your caseworker will be by to talk to you, then I’ll take you, okay?”
“Okay, Mrs. Talbot,” I reply.
I don’t know what’s going on, but a couple of days after we saw my friend, Mina, at the store, Mrs. Talbot got a phone call, and ever since then, she’s been… different. Not in a bad way, she just seems sad and also excited. Shrugging, I pull my picture book out of my backpack and go to sit on the couch. Mrs. Talbot bought it for me because it uses the sight words I’ve been learning, so it makes me feel like I can read.
Dick and Jane are funny, and soon, I’m giggling as I sound out the words out loud. “Oh, you’re doing a good job, Becca,” Mrs. Jackson, my caseworker, says. I was so involved with the story that I didn’t hear the doorbell ring or her come inside.
