Chapter Twenty-Two
Glory
I smile against Corby's mouth as he tries to calm me down with a kiss. “If one of those blood suckers scares him, I’ll end them,” I say in my sweetest voice. There is, after all, a social worker sitting at the island in our kitchen.
Angie, the social worker, snorts a laugh. She doesn’t look up from the small laptop she has in front of her. She continues working, the sound of her clicks still filling the air.
“Aren't you one of those blood suckers?” Corby tries to tease me. I know he’s only trying to get me to relax, but it’s hard. Today is probably one of the most important days of my and Corby’s life.
“You’re lucky I love you.” I poke his hard stomach. Not that it does anything. The man was stabbed yesterday, and here he is getting all this handled along with cooking breakfast.
I am one of them, but I’m not. I never had this drive to chase big stories that went on outside of my town. After last night I think I’m more than okay with sticking to the smaller ones. This really could be the story of my life, but it’s the last thing on my mind. I’ve now morphed into this mama bear. I’ve actually said a few things that had me sounding like my own mom.
“I love you too.” He drops another kiss on me.
“I can grant you temporary guardianship which normally takes a few days.” She flicks her eyes to Corby and me. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that he made some calls to make this happen for us.
Last night after he wore me out even more, still I couldn't find sleep. I had been uneasy and left feeling unsettled. That was until Corby told me no one was going to take the little boy from us. I believed him, and that was all I needed to calm my mind. I was fast asleep in no time.
I woke up this morning with a social worker, a lawyer, and the sheriff all in the kitchen. Christopher is still fast asleep. Sheriff Larson and the lawyer are outside talking to the reporters. They are trying to get them to get down to the station by promising them some inside scoop, hoping that will encourage them to leave us be. The agreement was that the little boy was not to be mentioned in any of their stories. Ever.
“Thank you for coming so quickly.” She gives me a smile that meets her eyes.
“I have to admit I was going to come in hot. The governor is trying to strong arm me.” She rolls her eyes. I don’t ask her, but I’m pretty sure she is married to the governor if I’m remembering right. They came to Cherry Falls when Governor Cooper was running. She’d gotten my vote along with an article in the paper I write for.
“But now that I know the boy is in good capable hands, and with the extra money we got for funding, I don’t see the problem with speeding things up.” Yesterday may have been a disaster, but this news makes it all worth it.
“You should give them more.” I elbow Corby.
“Done.” He shrugs while I give his money out, making Angie snort again. We feed her breakfast as we answer more of her questions. She gives us advice on how to help Christopher cope with all of this. She makes sure to give me her cell phone number and tells me to text her anytime if I need help.
“Glory.” I turn to see Christopher standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He rubs the sleep from his eyes, but I can see the fear and hesitation in them. I get up immediately and head toward him.
“Hey, little guy.” He reaches his arms out for me to pick him up. He rests his little head on my shoulder and wraps his arms around my neck. A warmth fills my chest, a feeling that is unexplainable at the trust this little boy has for me in such a short amount of time.
He clings to me, scared Angie or someone else is going to try and take him. I head back toward Angie and sit back down. Christopher is still in my arms while she asks him a few things and reassures him.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I whisper into his ear. “You’re ours now.” I can see the hope in his eyes, but I’m sure he’s weary. With time, I think we can get that to fade away. Time and a lot of love.
Angie stands to head out. I peek out the front to see that it’s cleared out. Graham must have worked them over.
“I should mention that if you plan to adopt, that there are steps that will help speed up the process.”