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A knock at the doors has us pulling apart. I wipe the tears from my eyes. Ryder turns his back to me as he lies back down on his bed, gripping the rubber ball.

“Hey.” Lick comes in. “All good?” I nod. “I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” I place a kiss on Ryder’s cheek. “I love you,” I reassure him.

I follow Lick towards the master bedroom room—our bedroom. He shuts the door and locks it. “What’s up?” I ask.

“Maggie called. She wants to see us down at the office. I’ve already called Sin. Savannah and Grace are on their way here to watch the kids.” He walks into the closet, coming out wearing his cut. I watch as he stuffs his pockets with his wallet and change.

“It’s the weekend. I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know, baby, but I want to get down there and get this over with. I’m supposed to be at Jury tonight, and now Cut’s holding that off until I get back. The faster we get there, the faster we get it over with.”

“All right. Let’s go.”

Walking hand in hand, we enter the social service building. With it being the weekend, there isn’t a lot of activity. Just a few case workers, who I’m sure are on-call.

As soon as Maggie spots us, she waves us in. “How are you?” she asks, gesturing for us to take a seat. Making small talk has me on edge.

“We’re good,” I respond.

“And Ryder?” she asks.

“I think we’re getting there.”

“Is that why you called us because he’s been acting up?” Lick sits forward, getting defensive. “You guys gotta know the shit that went down a couple of weeks ago would have fucked anyone up, let alone a little kid.”

“That’s not why I called you in here, Mr. McCoy, so sit back and let me explain,” she tells him pointedly. “Some information has been brought to my attention. Does the name Rob Masters mean anything to you?”

My stomach drops at the mention of his name. My eyes move towards Lick. He’s stone, his eyes boring into Maggie’s face.

“By your reaction, or shall I say, lack thereof, I take it you know the name Rob Masters.”

“He’s been around,” I admit.

“The fuck!” Lick raises his voice. “Keep your mouth shut.”

“Mr. McCoy! Don’t raise your voice towards Jenni. This is information I should have known at the time it happened. The question is, why was I not made aware that the alleged biological father has made his presence known?”

“I didn’t see the need to let you know. I’ve got it handled.”

“You’ve got it handled? That’s not the way this works, Mr. McCoy. The system is all about making sure the minor children are in the best environment for them to flourish.”

“And that’s with us,” I say.

“And I agree, dear.” She gives me a tight smile. “But when the alleged father comes into our building running his mouth about coming to you for help about wanting to be the father his children deserve–”

“He did what?” Lick booms.

“Exactly. He did exactly that. You’re lucky it was me who happened to be at the front counter when he said all of that. Only Shaun and I witnessed his little outburst before we directed him to the county rehab, where I have confirmed that he is now. He’s going through the process of getting admitted and getting himself clean, and I quote, ‘for the kids he’s been longing to parent.’”

“This is a bunch of bullshit.”

“I’m not saying that it’s not, Lick. This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve seen this a million times before. There is no way he’s ready to get clean or to be a father to those kids. If he were, then he would have come here sober with months of sobriety under his belt. No sane person would have done what he did, but that’s either here nor there. When he speaks to his counselors, it’s their job to give him the resources he needs to accomplish his goals, and right now his goal is to get those kids.”

“This is a bunch of bullshit.” Lick stands, pushing his chair back and making it fall to the floor. “Those kids are ours.”

“Temporarily. Nothing has been done on our end or your end to make it permanent,” Maggie states.