Page 34 of All of Me

We went into the bedroom, and I appreciated that Drake had added some new socks and a cardigan to the pile of clothes. I quickly dried and dressed her, thanking my lucky stars for the weeks I’d lived with Pink and their kids, then opened the bedroom door to see Drake standing outside, looking awkward. I handed her over with another towel for her hair and she was happy to go. “Don’t suppose you’ve got a bath hidden away anywhere, do you?” I joked.

His eyes widened comically, then he groaned. “Yeah, Ellie’s room has one. I should have thought.”

“Just gonna get dry,” I chuckled, wondering how I was able to laugh at any of this. When I was dressed, I grabbed the wet clothes and walked toward the mud room. Drake had Tammy sitting on one of the chairs at the table, watching cartoons on his tablet and eating toast.

I shoved the wet clothes in the washer and came back into the kitchen. Drake passed me a coffee. I watched Tammy, who seemed completely absorbed in a cartoon about a blue dog and took the papers Drake handed me. “A file, including a guardianship petition.”

“A what?”

“According to what I could quickly look up, you still have to go to court to claim her. Obviously we’ll get a lawyer—”

“I don’t have the money for a lawyer,.” What the hell was I even thinking of? How could the social worker possibly think I could look after my baby sister? How could I possibly take care of a three-year-old? I had no money, no stable job, no idea what I was doing...

Drake's hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts. "Hey," he said softly. "Breathe. We'll figure this out together, remember?"

“What about everything with Ryan, though?” I couldn’t have her somewhere she wasn’t safe.

“My first call’s to Danny and Rawlings. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with that. You think when Rawlings finds out she’s here, this place won’t be locked up tight?”

I took a shaky breath and nodded, trying to calm myself.

"As for the lawyer," Drake continued. "Don't worry about that. I've got it covered."

I started to protest, but he held up a hand. "No arguments. This is important, and I want to help. Let me do this."

The sincerity in his eyes made my throat tighten. I nodded again, not trusting myself to speak.

Drake squeezed my shoulder. "Good. Now, why don't you sit with Tammy while I make some calls? We need to figure out sleeping arrangements and probably get some more supplies."

I settled into the chair next to Tammy, who glanced at me briefly before returning her attention to the cartoon. As Drakestepped away to make his calls, I found myself studying my little sister's face, searching for any family resemblance.

Her hair was darker than mine, her skin a shade or two darker as well, but there was something about the shape of her eyes that reminded me of our father. The thought made my stomach churn. I pushed it aside, focusing instead on how small and vulnerable she looked.

“Danny?”

I glanced at Drake in confusion, and he met my gaze while still speaking on the phone.

“I just sent you a text and a file.” He paused. “Yeah, I know, but can you look into the circumstances?” He paused again. “Yeah, especially about her history, thanks.” He nodded to Tammy, and I glanced at her. She was yawning and looked like she could barely keep her eyes open. I bent down. “How about we go sit on the couch and watch the show from there?”

She glanced over at me but didn’t object, so I picked her up. When her little arms came around my neck, my throat thickened. I grabbed the tablet as well and walked over to the couch, sitting down. I was gonna sit her next to me, but she tightened her arms, so I just pulled the small blanket over her while she sat on my lap.

I doubted it took even a couple of minutes for her eyes to close and, turning her face into my chest, she was out like a light.

Realizing Drake had stopped talking, I glanced over and watched him looking at us both. If I’d been in any doubt before that I was in love with this man, the soft smile and approval on his face as he stared at us both kind of sealed the deal.

I just had to convince him of that.

Chapter Thirteen

Drake

I opened the door to the small bedroom for the first time in months and just stared. The basics were okay, but it was filthy and looked exactly like what it was, a dumping ground. So, I rolled up my sleeves, literally and figuratively, and called a local cleaning company I’d used before. Once I told Serena what was going on, she promised she would be there within the hour, which was amazing.

Then I ordered a bed, a matching dresser and bookcase, a Disney Princess rug, and then I fell down a rabbit hole to make sure the house was child-proof. I’d just managed to shift the room’s contents into the garage when Serena texted me to say they were here.

I walked back toward the door and saw Shae still cuddling a sleeping Tammy, but he glanced at me questioningly. “Got a company to clean things up, and some furniture will be arriving in a couple of hours.” I caught the look of consternation on his face, and knew he would be feeling guilty, but we couldn’t talknow as I wanted to get to the door before they woke Tammy up by ringing the bell. Serena and Maria stepped inside and beamed at the sight of Tammy curled up asleep. “Go help Angelo,” she whispered, and waved me outside to their minivan.

Shit. The minivan made me realize I needed some sort of car seat for Tammy, and I’d forgotten when I was ordering the other things. Serena’s hubby Angelo was one of the nicest guys I’d ever met, and he grinned and put his hand out to clasp mine when he saw me. “I really appreciate this,” I said.

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