“Why?” Rome asked at the same time. “He’s only got a week left!”
Linda shook her head. “His guardian, Wyatt, is undergoing some treatment and will be staying in the hospital for about a month, which means he’ll be moved to another home.”
“What?” I growled again. She took a step back, and I forced myself to calm down.Why hadn’t Wyatt called me?“Who will take him?”
“I don’t know yet. There are no other families in the immediate area unfortunately, which means I’ll need to move him to another town over. I’m already processing some options.”
I ran a hand through my hair, turning my back on her. This couldn’t be happening. Harrison couldn’t go to another town. He just…couldn’t.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know it’s not ideal. I know you have a special relationship with him, which is why I came here.”
“There’s got to be a way to keep him here,” I blurted, whirling on my heel. “Anything!”
Linda looked at me, and once again, I couldn’t read her expression.
“Please. Don’t take him away.” I gestured around the clinic. “He needs this.”
“I know he does,” she said with resignation, “but the only way he could stay in Reedsport is if there was someone we could approve as an emergency caregiver. If there’s someone—”
“I’ll do it,” I interrupted.
She pursed her lips. “Would you pass a home inspection?” she asked. “Do you have a bed for him?”
My heart sank. “Well, no. I’m living at the inn right now.”
She gave me a sad smile. “Sorry, but that wouldn’t work.”
I shot a look at Rome, but I knew he and Sarah were leaving after our last week of the clinic to visit her family in Colorado and planned to stay through Thanksgiving.
I wondered if Jake would be willing to help. It was a long shot, especially since he was still struggling to let me in. Asking him to do the same for a child he barely knew wouldn’t be fair, but he was the only one I could think of who could give Harrison this chance.
“There might be someone else,” I said. “He’s a police officer here, and he’s renting a two-bedroom home off Brown Street.”
She nodded. “That sounds promising. Does he know Harrison?”
I nodded. “Yes.”Just not as well as I do.
She looked between us. “Well, we have until the end of today to figure this out. Otherwise he’ll be placed in another home this weekend.”
“I’ll call him right now,” I said.
