“I like the sound of that.”
32
Leo
Being with my old lady in our home, I can finally let the weight of the last few weeks go. I’m home. I'm with my family. It’s what I killed to get back to.
“Where are the kids?”
“Roman’s asleep and Rayna’s in her room.” She steps back and asks, “You look hurt.”
I lift my hoodie, well aware of how bad I smell, and she rolls her eyes at the bandage.
“Another scar for the collection?”
“Just a little one.”
One day I'll tell her what went down, but for tonight, I just need to be with her.
“Dad said I needed to talk to you when I got back. What else happened while I was gone?”
She walks around the kitchen island and won’t meet my eye. “I told Cas I would talk to you when you got back. He shouldn’t have said anything.”
I frown. “About what?”
“Hear me out before you say anything. Okay?”
I nod, sliding onto a stool. My legs are heavy with fatigue.
“We adopted Wolf. His great uncle showed up just before your dad left and I signed the paperwork. You still need to sign before it’s complete and official.”
I know I’m tired but did I hear her right? “We did what?”
Adoption? That's huge and needed to be discussed before anyone signed anything.
“You heard, Leo. I did what I thought was best.”
“Without talking to me first?”
“I called his uncle, great uncle, to track down Annie. I thought if she knew Shane was dead, she would want to come back for Wolf. But her uncle was cold and told me to put him in the system!” She’s getting herself worked up, but she continues, “Like I said, I did what I thought was best. He showed up a couple of nights later with the paperwork and a check for a million dollars.”
I'll get back to the check later. “Adoption, though, Hol. Another fuckin’ kid, a kid who ain’t either of ours.”
“He was Shane’s and now he has no one!”
“I’m well aware, babe,” I seethe.
“What should I have done then? Sent him away?”
I need a smoke and a drink. Sliding off the stool, I tell her, “I can’t talk to you right now. This ain’t you picking out new shades or even a fuckin’ kitchen. This changes everything.”
“It changes nothing!” she argues. “We’ll raise him with Roman. It's not like you’re the one doing the day-to-day business with the kids. I am, and I'm okay with it. I don’t see what your problem is.”
“My problem? I'm now responsible for another child, what if something happens to me, you’d have three kids dependent on you all on your own!”
A tear rolls down her cheek but I'm too angry to care I've upset her.
“When everyone was running around, worried you weren’t going to make it back, I wasn’t. I knew you’d come home. I got on with looking after the kids, I kept the house, I cooked the dinners. I kept my eye on Harper best I could. I did all that because I knew you’d need peace once you walked through the door.” Her cheeks redden with anger. “Why don’t you go sort out whatever you need to sort, cause there’s always something. You think about how much of an asshole you’re being and when you want to talk, I'll be here.”
