Page 8 of Keepsake

I inhaled and let out a calming breath. The kids needed time. Even though I had waited a month already, they needed time to adjust.

My hands shook when I thought of them refusing to live with me. But quickly I dismissed that thought.Rule number two. I refused to lose the kids. I wasn’t going to do it.

I checked myself in the mirror. My long brown hair was in a ponytail, my eyebrows sharp, and my mouth closed in a thin line. Sofia was all heart. She had always been that way. Kind, full of laughter and softness. I wasn’t likable. That was the problem.

That might be the reason I was good at my job. As a portfolio manager, I had to tell my clients what they should invest in. No sugar coating. Just the harsh truth. I was supposed to predict the risk, be the pessimist they accused me of. My severity made them trust my judgment. Not something you’d expect from a caretaker.

The Bluetooth rang with a call from my phone, and I pressed the connecting button.

“I’m ok, Willa.”

My cousin laughed from the other side. “Are you sure? You sound tense. Forget it. You always sound tense.”

“Are you calling just to freak me out?”

“I’m calling to remind you that you’re meeting kids today, Lo.”

I let out a slow breath, and she giggled on the other side. “Now tell me the truth. How are you?”

I frowned at the road ahead. “I’m scared. They all hate me there.”

“Alvaro doesn’t hate you.”

“Alvaro doesn’t know me,” I corrected. “A month ago he was on my side, but that was a month ago. I don’t know what Caridad has been saying about me.”

“Ugh,” Willa groaned. “That woman. There’s nothing wrong with you. What’s her problem?”

She knows I’m going to be an unfit parent, I said to myself. Instead of voicing that terrifying thought, I went with facts.

“She was never a fan of my friendship with Sofia. And she knows I never liked David.”

Willa never knew about the sack of shit David was. I was never close to my cousins like Sofia was close to hers, but when I was accepted to Harvard, Sofia wasn’t talking to me. I got into college feeling like shit. It was my dream since I was a little girl, but I had no one to celebrate with. Dad went to Harvard as well. To him, getting in wasn’t an accomplishment, it was a given.

Then, my mom called and said my cousin Willa was attending, too. But Willa was… nothing like the rest of our family. She was bright, fun, and had no table manners. My parents were appalled by her. So we became fast friends.

I felt secure with Willa. She knew the pressure of being a Hart, she understood the need to set myself apart. And she knew we couldn’t be stupid…ever. We had privilege.

Money was important. Money brought comforts. I hated many things about my parents and the way they raised me, but I wasn’t stupid enough to turn my back on the comforts. I used that privilege and studied my ass off to get where I was. To the point, my last name didn’t even matter anymore. I could support myself.

That was the privilege I had to sell to Caridad Castillo. I knew she wouldn’t like it, but there were three kids who I could set up for life.

I could pay for Dash’s college—anywhere he wanted to go. I could do so much for them. Caridad just needed to accept my presence. Or at least my money.

“It doesn’t matter what Sofia’s mom thinks,” Willa said. “You’re not doing anything wrong. Sofia wanted you to have the kids. You’re playing nice to her because you’re a nice person, not because you don’t have a leg to stand on.”

I smirked as I turned onto the right street. Willa was unconventional, but she was still an attorney.

“Thanks, Will. I’m arriving at their house. Talk later?”

“Please call me. And relax, ok? They are going to love you.”

I didn’t believe that, but still I hummed and hung up the call. After I parked at the curb, my hands still on the wheel, I turned to my right to see the Castillo’s house.

At the edge of the fanciest public school district you would ever see was the Castillo house. Right there. They almost didn’t make it.

My life changed because I met Sofia Castillo.

She was the first person I connected with, the only one who truly saw me. She was my best friend. And sure, if times were different, Dad would have sent me to the same private school where Willa went. Just like, if this house was three streets down, Sofia wouldn’t be in my school.

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