Page 29 of Cosmo

“There was no mention of him in any other papers?”

“One. One headline, then nothing. Like someone wanted to keep it quiet. I can’t say as I blame them, but why would the papers not report more about it? Not why she did it, if anyone knew, whatever. It’s sick, Eazy. How could any parent…?”

“I don’t even want to think about it. Looking at our two, it boggles my mind, but of course, that is likely it. The mind, playing some horrible trick on her,” Eazy said as he added the peppers to the cast iron on the stove and got to work whipping the eggs.

“Well, of course. How could anyone do that unless they were sick or evil?”

“They couldn’t.”

After he stirred the dish, he set it in the oven and turned back to Murphy. “Maybe we should talk to him about it.”

“We’d chase him off, and you know it. I wasn’t even going to tell you,” he said as he threaded his fingers together, clutching them hard on the wood block counter. “Baby, it’s insane that we’re even thinking of keeping him. This explains why he didn’t stay in the foster homes, and let’s face it, that’s what we’d be.”

“I suppose you’re right, but…”

Eazy had light eyes that fluttered slowly and a gentle smile whenever he cared about someone, and those attributes were two of the many reasons Murphy had fallen for the man. “Between you and Tally, we’d adopt every orphaned adult in the city.”

“Not all of them. Just six. We don’t have rooms for more.”

“Nowyou’re being practical.”

Eazy laughed quietly and reached for his hand. “Baby, we helped Mims, and we had the same worries for him. Now, he’s loyal, we trust him, and he’s part of this family. Please, take a breath. If it turns out he can’t be trusted, we’ll send him to another job.”

“Okay. You’re right. Of course, you are.”

Eazy’s sweetness was only dwarfed by his fierce protectiveness. “If he stays, we’ll prove to him he never has to worry again about his family leaving him. Or anyone hurting him.”

As his baby’s words poured over him, Murphy felt his own resolve take hold. That face, in those strange hazel eyes that Cosmo had, he saw the hurt life had dealt him and his own parental instincts came into play.

Later that day, before the guys readied for the evening, Mims came into the kitchen, white as a ghost. “I got in,” he announced, and both Katy and Little Mick were all ears, not to mention Big Mick.

“Got into what? No good?” Mick asked, then laughed at his own joke.

“Dad…”

After watching his father shrug and continue to eat the homemade pot pie Eazy had made that evening, Murphy took Mims into the living room. “What’s going on?”

“I got into the DHS archives. That…man, his dad, threw up his hands after Liam started getting into trouble, and he gave up his parental rights. He gave away his kid!”

Mims’s eyes were welling with tears, and he’d obviously already been crying. His face was red with the streaking of already cast tears. “Damn.”

“We can’t do that to him, Murphy.”

“I know. I know. I think, this next week, I’ll have the talk with him. We’ll go from there.”

“Are you gonna tell the others about this?”

Murphy wondered the same. He feared they’d all insist on keeping him at the pub, even if he wanted nothing to do with their other line of work. “Let me think about that. I may…I may want to speak to Cosmo first.”

“I won’t say anything. Murph?”

“Yeah?”

“If he…if he went through all that, how is he even…okay?”

“He’s not, Mims. Not by a longshot, but he’s strong, and has likely had to be strong for a long time. Now, go wash your face and get ready. If you aren’t there, the guys will wonder why.”

“Okay. Remember, Hippy’s leaving early.”

---