Page 152 of Fought and Freed

“But you gave him to me?” He chuckled while handing her E.J., then held out his hand to Maddy. “I’ll give you a handshake until we get better acquainted.”

“Thank you, Mr. Anderson.” She clasped his hand.

He frowned. “Call me Jared.”

“And you can call me Giselle.” The older woman cooed at E.J. “Why don’t we sit, and we can get to know Maddy?”

They sat down on the couch.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Maddy offered.

“Well, thank you for being hospitable, dear.” Giselle beamed at her, then frowned at Cody and Skylar. “Unlike my sons, who I taught better.”

Cody sighed. “What would you like, Mom?”

“Coffee,” she said.

Maddy smiled up at Cody. “Can you get me a Dr. Pepper, big guy?”

He nodded and headed toward the kitchen.

She turned to Giselle. “I want to apologize for the guys not being there for Thanksgiving.”

“Nonsense, dear.” She gently bounced E.J. in her arms. “They were where they should have been. And don’t worry about Christmas, either. There will be plenty more to come.”

They listened while Giselle told stories about when Cody and Skylar were young, and she had Maddy laughing. She could see where Cody and Skylar got their personalities from. This was what she had always been missing.

Family.

“Maddy, the boys told me a bit about you,” Jared said, “but they were sparse on the details.”

“Dad. Back off,” Cody growled.

“I’m just trying to get to know your girlfriend. I can’t help it if my cop senses are tingling.” He gave her cast a pointed stare. “She seems to get into a lot of accidents.”

Cody opened his mouth to say something else, but Maddy stopped him. “It’s all right. I’d rather he finds out from us than from someone else.”

“Dad, you better be nice and listen to what she says before you react,” Skylar reprimanded his father.

“Why do I have a feeling I won’t like this?” he grumbled.

Maddy lowered her head and bit her lip, scared that he was going to make his sons kick her out.

“Go ahead, dear. It can’t be that bad,” Giselle encouraged. “My boys love you, and I trust their judgment.”

Maddy took a deep breath. “I was dropped off at Little Tikes’ orphanage in Ohio when I was just a few days old. From there, I was sent to the Wings of Refuge group home, where I stayed until I turned eighteen. I was one of the few who had a plan, or I would have ended up like the rest, living on the streets.”

“I’m sure they prepare you to leave before you turned eighteen,” Jared stated, huffing.

“No, they don’t,” Maddy corrected. “At least, not where I was. They hand you a folder that contains a list of the local shelters where you can sleep and your birth certificate. That’s it. During my time there, I saw many kids leave and end up dead or in a gang because they weren’t taught how to survive.”

Gisselle gasped. “I can’t believe they would just throw you out like that.”

Maddy shrugged. “They aren’t paid enough to care. Because of my experience, I’ve been considering opening a place for kids to stay after they turn eighteen, where they can receive the counseling they need to become successful adults.”

“Where would you get the money to do this?” Jared demanded, his eyes boring into her.

He thought she wanted his wife’s money, which she didn’t need, but she wasn’t sure how he’d react to his son dating a Moretti.

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