Page 50 of The MC's Little Brother

She lifted her chin, her eyes narrowed. “I’m Rachel Packman. I’m from Child Protective Services. I’m here for a wellness visit for Xander Ruiz.”

Wyatt mentioned they’d be stopping by soon, but I didn't know they’d show up without notice first. I considered her suspiciously.

“Do you have identification?”

She looked surprised that I would ask, but obligingly showed me her official ID from her office. Once I was sure she was who she said she was, I took a step back and let her into the house. She was just here to make sure Xander was okay. I knew better than to get in her way.

“Thank you. I’m here to make sure Xander is in the best place for him to be. We prefer it if displaced children end up with immediate family, but we don’t want to make assumptions. I’m sure you understand.”

Something about the way she said that put my hackles up. It was almost like she was trying to prepare me for him getting taken away. She hadn’t even spoken to me yet.

“What do you need to know?”

“Well, I’ll need to see his sleeping conditions, take a look around the house to make sure it's safe, that kind of thing. I’d also like to talk to him and get his point of view on the matter. Is he here?”

I almost asked why the hell he wouldn’t be because it still sounded like she was expecting the worst every time she said something to me. Before I could question her, Xander stood from where he’d been rubbing Thor’s belly. He’d been partially hidden by the table, which was why the woman hadn’t noticed him before.

“Oh! There you are. Hello, Xander. I’m Rachel Packman, your new caseworker. Care to join us?”

Xander looked behind him at the food, then down at Thor, before finally settling on me. He looked like he wasn’t sure what to do, so I jerked my head towards the back door. “Let him out first. That way, he won’t get into anything.”

He relaxed and nodded, ushering Thor out the door. The mangy animal didn’t want to go, so I joined Xander and tossed out a treat to keep Thor distracted long enough to close the door behind us. The backyard was fenced. He wasn’t going anywhere.

We came back together to the living room where Rachel waited, eyeing me like she thought I was going to do something insane without warning. My suspicions rose the longer I was around her. Were CPS workerssupposed to come in with such a heavy bias? We’d barely said a few words to each other, but she already looked like she hated me.

“Do you have a pet?” she asked, smiling at Xander.

He made a face. “Obviously.”

I bit back a snort, shooting him a look. “Dude.”

He looked a little sheepish, but honestly, I liked that he was feeling more confident about speaking out. It was a little rude, but she asked a stupid question. The living room was a straight shot to the kitchen. She watched us while we let Thor outside.

Rachel’s smile faltered for a second before it cleared again. “Xander, do you know why I’m here?”

He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. His clothes were still too big and stained. We’d need to fix that today.

“I’m here to make sure you’re put into the best place possible going forward. I–”

“I don’t want to go back to my dad. He was an abusive asshole. If you send me back, I’ll–”

She put a hand up to stop him, her expression softening into something more reassuring. “I promise, that’s not what I’m here for. I got a copy of your medical file when I was given your case. No judge is going to hand you back to the person responsible for your injuries. I just want to make sure that this is the best place for you.”

She was trying to help, but she was only making him more defensive. I could understand that since I felt the same way.

“Oh! I didn’t know we had company already.”

We all swung around to where Mel was watching us from the kitchen. Her hair was a mess, and she was wearing my shirt from last night, along with her pajama bottoms. She looked cute as hell and I wanted to say something about it, but now was not the time.

“Good morning?” Rachel said uncertainly. “I’m Rachel Packman, with CPS. And you are?”

Mel’s surprise was short-lived, and she smiled brightly at the woman. “Good morning! I thought you’d come by soon. I’m sorry, no one told me you were coming, otherwise I’d be more presentable.” She gestured to her outfit with a playful grimace.

It was hard to resist Mel’s sunshine personality, but Rachel was doingher damnedest. She frowned hard at Mel and didn’t immediately reply, raising an eyebrow instead to her unanswered question.

“She’s my girlfriend,” I said, my voice harder than probably necessary. I didn’t like this chick. She didn’t come in here looking to make sure Xander was okay. She came in here to prove he wasn’t.

She proved my point when she said, “And she lives here with you?”

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