Wyatt slowly nodded. “He definitely deserves better. Every kid I’ve taken in has deserved better than the shit their parents put them through.” With a sigh, he added, “I’m assuming this is what Linda was going to talk to me about tomorrow? She already knows your intentions?”
Guilt once again plagued me that we’d already started the process without discussing it with him first, but I also wanted to be honest with him. “Yes.”
After drawing in a shaky breath, Wyatt seemed much more collected. “Well, then I look forward to telling her I couldn’t think of two men better capable of giving that sweet kid the life he deserves.”
I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, overwhelmed with relief. I respected Wyatt deeply and had seen with my own eyes how much Harrison meant to him. But I hadn’t realized how much I needed his blessing until that moment.
“Thank you.”
He shook his head. “No, Rey. Thankyou,for being brave enough to do what I couldn’t.”
We continued to talk quietly while we waited for Harrison and Jake to return, and with each passing minute, I felt even more blessed that all our paths had crossed. We smiled at each other the moment we heard Harrison get off the elevator down the hall. His loud giggles and squeaky shoes against the linoleum echoed off the walls like a windchime, creating the kind of music my soul craved. When he entered the room a minute later, he carried a package in his arms that was bigger than his torso.
“This is for you!” Harrison said, hauling the poorly disguised blanket onto Wyatt’s lap.
“Hey, Sport, be careful,” Jake encouraged, coming to stand next to me after handing Wyatt a Styrofoam cup. I reached up to link our fingers together, giving him a smile. The moment he looked in my eyes, he knew how Wyatt’s and my conversation had gone, and he let out a breath, squeezing my hand in relief. One more step in the process down. Now all we had to do was wait.
