Page 21 of The Doctor

“No. But she’s hot.” Jeffrey looked at the date in the photo. “Or at least she was.”

I rolled my eyes at my friend who would screw anything in a bra. “And yet, here they are three months later, bringing home their little bundle of joy.”

Jeffrey narrowed his eyes and I waited for all the dots to connect. “He must be adopted.”

“That’s my thinking, too.” I turn the photo around between my fingers. “Do you think he was curious about his birth parents?”

Jeffrey frowned. “I was. But it turned out I had deadbeat birth parents who should’ve had mandatory birth control.”

The man turned out to be a thief and a murderer. He probably had no room to judge. “But what if they weren’t dead beats? Would you have run to them when things got tough with your folks?”

“Probably.” The pennies continued to drop in Jeff’s mind. “You think he’d be with his birth mom?”

I didn’t answer as my mind started wondering. How else would a fifteen-year-old disappear with two small children? Surely, it wasn’t too difficult to find out where the kid landed. There were definitely people who could do that kind of thing.

We continued to look through the rooms. Once I was aware of what I was looking for, it made my search a lot more focused. Not that I found any more information. It was only once we were back in the car that I spoke to my boys.

“Do any of you know someone who could search adoption records? I want to know who the kid’s birth mother is.”

Martin raised a hand from the backseat. “I know a guy. He does all sorts of hacking. He’s not too concerned with the legalities of it all. If you need information, he will find it.

“Let me have his number.”

“He’s my friend. I think it will be better if I talk with him.”

I stared at Martin for a moment and decided it wasn’t worth the fight. “Fine. But at least tell me who he is.”

“AntMan. He goes by AntMan.”

13

BEX

It had been almost three weeks since Dominic and his siblings had shown up. Twenty-one days of baby cuddles and silent toddler tantrums. Or, more accurately, the tantrums were not silent but they were wordless. Though Landon gave me a fair share of goodnight kisses, as well.

Landon had still not spoken a word to either me or Logan. My gut told me it was not time to worry yet, and Logan agreed. Still, I needed some advice and my sister-in-law was a Trauma Counsellor for children

Brie was back from her honeymoon. Knowing I could ask her advice went a long way to easing my anxiety. She had been quick to reassure me that things would take time. Of course, she wasn’t surprised to find out I had a teenager and two young children living with me. Mason had shared the history with her and one of our friends had likely filled her in on the present. I think that was what shocked everyone more than anything else. Our circle was not known for keeping secrets. It wasn’t our strength. And yet we managed to keep this one for more than a decade and a half.

It didn’t bother me that everyone knew what was happening. I had bigger problems. Mostly, I wanted to know what to do about Landon.

“Bex, he cannot tell you what he is feeling.” She sat across from me at Forte Femme. I had been back a few times to pick up clothes and other stuff, but my room sat mostly vacant. Apparently, the women had called a girl’s afternoon and I was summoned to the house. “He went to bed having parents and then woke up without them. Then he was removed from his home and taken into protective custody.” She frowned at me as she continued. “You know how big and scary the people who watch over you are when you’re under protection. Just imagine that from a kid’s perspective.”

I glared at her. “How would you know? You had my brother, remember? Was he big and scary?”

“You know what I mean.” She smiled as if remembering the time she spent in the house with my brother over a year ago. “You and Logan are doing everything right for those kids. Victoria is thriving, and so is Landon. He just doesn’t want to talk. Give him time. When he has something important to say, he will say it. You may need professional help at some point, but let’s limit the number of adults who poke and prod at him for a little longer.”

“Okay.” I leaned back in the chair at the huge country style kitchen table. “Now tell me, what are we doing here?”

Brie smiled as Cassie came in through the door between the kitchen and the garage. “We need some girl time. And you needed time away from mommy duty.”

“Mommy duty?” Was that what I was doing? I was exhausted. Despite Victoria sleeping through the night, she was still both a night owl and an early riser. I went into the office for a few hours each day and Logan worked shifts at the hospital. Most days I could have the kids with me. Otherwise, I could commandeer a babysitter. “I’m just doing what needs to be done. Dom was doing it all for those days he was at the San Francisco safe house. I just needed to lighten his load.”

Cassie pulled up the stool next to her. “That’s the job, Bex. Doing what needs to be done. All day, every day.” She motioned for Brie to bring over the cake she had brought. “Just because you don’t know what the future holds, doesn’t mean you don’t need a girl’s night. Or afternoon, as the case may be. Besides, it's the only time all of us were free.”

“Who areall of us?” I used air quotes, causing both women to roll their eyes.

It was a legitimate question. All my life it was Debbie and I. Then, when she died, I had no female friends. As my brothers started getting paired off, my sisters-in-law became my friends.

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