Page 49 of Finding You

“Care facilities have terrible reputations,” Alora said, offering him a soothing grin. “I fully understand your reluctance.”

“It’s not just that. It’s a family issue,” Kylen confessed. “They don’t want her in a care home, but they also don’t want to help. But I’m a single dad and a commercial pilot, so I’ve had to max out my leave and my PTO, and if I can’t get back to work, I’m going to lose my house.”

“You’re not the first person to come to me with a story like that, Mr. Harrell. People like to have very big, very loud opinions while also refusing to offer any sort of help. And caregiver burnout is a real thing. It’s a crushing thing sometimes. Especially when we’re being convinced that we’re doing the wrong thing by our loved ones by allowing someone else to care for them.”

“I just want her to be safe,” Kylen said quietly. He wrapped his arms around his middle. “She’s the only one who ever really gave a shit about me. Sorry for swearing.”

Alora laughed quietly. “Don’t apologize. And I get it. My great-aunt took me in when I was seventeen.”

Kylen looked up at her. “You got kicked out?”

“My parents caught me with a girl after volleyball practice,” she said carefully. He knew her tone intimately—the one that said she was pretty sure he was under the queer umbrella, but she wasn’t sure enough to let herself be entirely vulnerable.

“My parents never kicked me out, but they’ve spent years trying to convince me that I’m wrong. That I’m secretly straight because I got drunk and had sex with a woman once.”

Alora grimaced. “Ouch.”

“It sucks. I mean, I love my daughter’s mother. She’s one of my absolute best friends, and I wouldn’t trade my daughter for the world. But having to constantly battle their refusal to accept me for who I am hurts. And my gran is the one person who did. Now she doesn’t—” He stopped, his voice cracking. “She doesn’t remember me most of the time.”

Alora leaned forward. “There’s nothing I can say to make this grief easier for you. But I can promise you we have staff who will do everything to make sure your grandmother spends the rest of her time with us safe and comfortable.”

He was almost afraid to believe her, but Kylen had almost always had a good sense of when a person was full of shit, and Alora wasn’t one of those. He felt comforted. He felt good. For the first time in a long time, he felt like things were going to work out.

Signing papers didn’t take long. All that was left was the wait for her admission date and then, of course, the money he’d have to pay, which would be worth it. His heart ached a little as he signed her discharge papers, and his stomach swooped uncomfortably as Frey appeared with a wheelchair.

“You’re still on shift?” Kylen asked, surprised to see him.

Frey’s lip twitched. “Let’s call it overtime.”

Blinking, Kylen took a step closer. “You’re off the clock, aren’t you?”

“Yep, but my kid is with his mentor right now, and I have nowhere to be.” He shifted from his left foot to his right. “You kind of looked like you could use a friend.”

Kylen wanted to cry all over again. “You know how you invited me to that dad group?—”

“Open invitation. Permanently,” Frey said. “Have Dallas come pick you up for our next meeting. Kids are always welcome.”

Kylen swallowed thickly, then nodded. “Thanks. I’ll think about it. This is…yeah. This has been the weirdest day. It’s like the worst and the best.”

“Been there,” Frey said and squeezed his shoulder before pushing the wheelchair to the bed. “Alright, gorgeous,” Frey said to his gran, “let’s get you up and get you home.”

Home. That would mean something different soon, but for now, Kylen was grateful he had a little more time, even if his life would be just a little bit harder.

Chapter Fourteen

DALLAS

Dallas heard from Kylen three times since running into Flora’s mom at the park. He knew that some shit had gone down with Kylen’s family and that he was getting his granny moved into a care facility. Frey filled him in on a few of the details and said that Kylen wanted to come to a dad meetup soon.

Dallas wanted that. But he also didn’t. A part of him wanted to keep Kylen for himself because he rarely had things that were just his. But he knew that was just him being selfish. And maybe a little possessive.

Still, he didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on it. The school year was in full swing, and he was busy planning their first performance—a little play he’d written over the summer about a butterfly and a bear becoming best friends. They also had their first field trip coming up. And he’d finally gotten a date to meet with his lawyer.

The lawyer thing was throwing him more than anything else. He was starting to become paranoid that Katie was going to find out and somehow disappear with Audra before he had time to amend the custody arrangement. He was terrified she still had access to his emails, so he made a new, separate account to talk to the law office staff, but that didn’t stop the nightmares.

They were enough that he was getting shit for sleep, and he was struggling to keep his composure and his temper in class.

The day before the meeting was when the real panic set in, and he nearly fell apart at Frey’s house as they sat around having pizza while the kids watched the newest Disney movie about the fire girl and the water guy.

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