“Henley Clark!” I can count on one hand how many times I’ve heard that voice at that volume, but all I know is when she gets that loud, that means I’ve done something terribly wrong.
Spinning around, I come face-to-face with Carol Vance, my foster mother and the closest thing to a real mom I’ve ever had, her husband Nick hot on her heels.
“Carol? Wh—what are you doing here and why are you yelling?”
She waves her finger in my face, or as close to my face as she can because the woman is barely five feet tall, yet still terrifying. “Don’t act all coy with me. How come I had to find out from Carolina down at the bakery that you had a baby?”
Fuck.
“Well, uh…”
“I’m sorry, but is now a bad time, Henley?” Spinning around, I find Elodie standing to my right, Remy on her hip with her hand outstretched toward me.
Wait. Is that my wallet?
I pat the back pocket of my jeans and realize that I did, in fact, leave my house this morning without my wallet.
“Henley!” Carol forces my attention back to her.
Dragging a hand down my face, I groan. “Carol, look. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Remy, but…”
She turns to Elodie, and her face instantly softens as she takes in my daughter. “Is this her?”
“Yes,” I reply.
“And you must be the mother,” Carol says to Elodie.
Elodie’s eyes widen as I reach out and place my hand on Carol’s shoulder.
“No, Carol. This is Elodie, my nanny.” Sighing, I guide her over to a booth. “Here, take a seat and I’ll get us some coffee, okay? I’ll explain everything.”
Nick clears his throat and leans over to mutter in my ear before taking a seat. “I tried to tell her not to bombard you at work, but…”
“Telling her anything is impossible, I know.”
He nods. “Take your time. It’s not like we have anything else to do today.”
Carol and Nicholas Vance were foster parents for many children over many years until they took in me and my sister.
Dilynne was nine when my parents started disappearing, leaving us home alone at all hours, two kids under the age of eleven left to fend for themselves. When the food started disappearing and the electricity and water got turned off, I knew I needed to find a way to keep us safe. Finally, after a few months of barely surviving and stealing anything I could, one of my teachers reported suspected child abandonment, and CPS picked us up and put us in foster care. We went through three families before landing in Blossom Peak with Carol and Nick, the closest thing to actual parents that we’ve ever had and the best thing that ever happened to us.
We were the last siblings Carol and Nick helped raise before closing that chapter on their lives. Now as retirees, they spend their dayskayaking on the lake, driving around the state going to antique shows, and keeping an eye on me and my sister, even though they don’t have to anymore.
They’re the closest thing I have to parents, but it still doesn’t occur to me to keep them in the loop about my life. My instinct to lean on others left my body long before Carol and Nick took me and Dilynne in. I respect them, but I’ve always kept to myself.
I would have thought to tell them eventually, but after how chaotic the past week has been, it’s no wonder it slipped my mind.
I stride back over to Elodie, taking Remy from her arms and planting a kiss on my daughter’s cheek. “Sorry about that.”
She pushes the few strands of hair that have fallen from her ponytail away from her face. Wearing denim shorts and a plain white tank top, she looks far too tempting, like the girl-next-door a guy like me doesn’t deserve.
But I push that thought away as fast as I can.
“That’s all right. I feel bad for just showing up here, but I figured you’d probably need your wallet.”
She holds it out to me again, and this time I take it and shove it in my back pocket. “Thank you. I appreciate it, even though that’s not in your job description.”
“Yeah, well since you never really provided me with one, I’ve taken the liberty of fulfilling any tasks that need to be done. Speaking of which, your fridge is pretty bare, so I was thinking of going grocery shopping today. Is there anything in particular you want?”
