I pull my knee up onto the couch and turn to face him. “I don’t know. Whatcanwe do? I’d say we should go get him, but we don’t even know where he is.”
“I’m not sure, Valentina. But we can’t let him get shipped off to where he doesn’t know anyone. And we probably shouldn’t kidnap him either. If we want this to work, then we should probably do it the right way.” He faces me, his eyes serious. “I’m not really in a position to take in a kid. But you could.” He raises an eyebrow. “You’d probably need to get in touch with the social worker. I bet they could tell you what you’d need to do.” With a sigh, Wade gets to his feet. “I’ll leave you to think about that. I have an early showing in the morning, and I should probably get some sleep. I’ll let you know if I hear from the kid. Or if my guy has any other news for me.”
I stand and walk him to the door. “Thanks for coming right away to tell me about Carson,” I say as he steps out onto the landing. “We’ll get this figured out. He won’t have to go anywhere if he doesn’t want to.”
Wade nods and heads down the stairs. “I’ll come by and change the lightbulb tomorrow. Sorry I didn’t notice before now.” He stops on the last step. “And you better close and lock that door right now, too. Milton won’t be a problem for a while yet, but he’s not that far away.”
“What do you mean?” The news about Carson pushed my earlier anger aside, and now it’s replaced with irritation.
“We put him in the dumpster,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s the least he deserves. Goodnight, Valentina.”
My mouth drops, and I snort a laugh. “Goodnight, Wade,” I say, shaking my head at the thought of Wade and Nick teaming up to throw some guy in a dumpster. Is it weird that I find it heartwarming? Probably.
I close and lock the door, wedging a chair under the doorknob for good measure. The last thing Milton Maguire knew, he was in my apartment being a menace. If he’s observant, which somehow I doubt, he might have seen my fist flying toward his face. When he wakes up in a dumpster, there’s a chance he’ll direct his anger this way. When the door seems like it will hold if he comes back, I set off in search of my phone.
I know Wade said he already tried calling Carson and got no answer, but I’m compelled to try it myself. I’m like the second person arriving at the elevator, pushing the button when it’s obvious the first person already did. I need to be sure. After a quick search, I find my phone on the kitchen counter. I must’ve dropped it there when Milton surprised me. In the dark of the apartment, I didn’t notice him sitting on my couch until he said something, at which point I nearly jumped out of my skin and dropped what I was holding.
Carson doesn’t answer. The phone doesn’t even ring, instead clicking directly over to voicemail. Knowing he hates listening to messages almost as much as I do, I hang up and send him a text instead.
Tina
Carson, I heard about what happened and I’m so sorry. Anything you need, I’m here. Please don’t leave town without calling me first. I have a plan.
There. It’s not nearly enough considering what he’s going through, but at least he knows I’m here for him. I don’t want him to feel like he’s alone in this. He won’t be, if I have anything to say about it.
Too wired to sleep now, I dig out the laptop that I normally only use for restaurant stuff, and pull up a search engine. It’s time to figure out exactly what I need to do to keep Carson here with me. I type in “how to become a child’s guardian” and start reading.
After skimming the first few paragraphs, I settle in for a long night. I’ll figure out how to keep Carson here before I go to sleep, even if it kills me.
Congratulations, It's A Boy!
Nick
“Hi, Gloria. Did youfind them?”
“No, Nick. That’s actually not why I’m calling. I’ll cut right to the chase. We have an emergency and I need a huge favor. I need you to take in a kid for a few nights. I’ve called every foster parent in the surrounding area and no one will bring in a seventeen-year-old boy. With the whole Jared situation, I thought maybe you’d have room for one more teenage boy?”
To say I’m stunned is an understatement. I took the foster parent training because of Jared. The only reason I’m qualified is because he and his foster parents wanted him to have an opportunity to train with me for an extended period, effectivelymaking me his caregiver for the duration of his stay. But am I willing to take in another kid? One who wouldn’t be here because I’m Odd Duck D’Onofrio, MMA coach and former heavyweight champion. Instead, this kid would be here because I’m Nick D’Onofrio, responsible adult and qualified caregiver.
“I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t an emergency. I know you didn’t set out to become a foster parent. But this kid’s had it rough for a long time, Nick. I’ve been out to his place more times than I can count, but I’ve never had a reason to remove him from his parents, no matter how badly I wanted to. I’m pretty sure this kid’s been looking after himself since he could walk, but I could never prove it.”
“He’s seventeen? Why doesn’t he move out on his own?”
Gloria huffs a laugh.“He’s still in school. By all accounts, he’s a great kid. I’m sure he could move out and take care of himself if he’d had time to prepare, but that’s the thing. He didn’t. He got home from work tonight to find his house on fire.”She pauses, blows out a heavy breath.“His parents didn’t make it.”
All the breath in my lungs leaves in a rush. “Shit.”
“Shit is right. And you know what’s wild? Even after all the years his parents neglected him, he still went in there trying to save them? There was nothing he could do, but that he tried after the life he’s had? This kid deserves a shot, Nick. At least take him until I can somewhere halfway decent to place him.”
I scrub a hand down my face.I don’t know that I’m ready for the added responsibility of another kid. Sending Jared to the hospital for being drunk was a huge overreaction. What will I do if something happens to this kid? Call in the National Guard? Even if he has to leave town, I’m sure he’d be much better off with a relative. “Doesn’t he have family who can take him in? Grandparents? Aunts and uncles?”
Gloria’s heavy sigh reverberates through the phone.“There’s no family. His grandparents died before he was born, and the only unclehe has is serving time in a maximum security prison. And he won’t be out for a long, long time. He’s going to a group home if you can’t take him tonight. And the only one that has space is basically a juvenile detention center. This kid would get eaten alive there.”
My heart breaks for the kid. The thought of him having no one at all in his life who could take him in on what has to be the worst day of his short life is enough to make my eyes burn with unshed tears. And it makes up my mind for me. I can’t let this kid be shuffled off to some group home. Not when I’m able to do something about his situation right now.
“Okay, Gloria. What do I need to do?”
I can hear the smile in her voice when she speaks.“I’ll take care of everything,” she says in a rush. “We’ll be at your place in twenty.”
