Page 90 of Anything for You
She walks past me into the house, straight into the living room.
“Hey, Jeremy.” Hallie turns around and smirks at me, eyes gleaming.
I shake my head at her and settle back down on the couch next to Jeremy, reclaiming my coffee while Hallie plops down in a chair.
“Morning, Hal. What brings you here?”
“I have something I need to talk to Emma about. It’s important and potentially time sensitive. I wanted to tell you here so you had some space to think about it if you needed it. It’s about Maddy.”
I suck in a breath, and I know Jeremy hears because he takes one of my hands and wraps his other arm around my back, pulling me closer to him. I close my eyes for a second, steadying myself with the feel of his warm, solid body next to me.
“What about her?”
Hallie’s eyes slide to Jeremy and back to me. I hear the question without her having to ask it out loud, but I let her ask anyway because I want Jeremy to hear the answer.
“I assume from the fact that Jeremy is in your house at nine in the morning and both of you have wet hair that I can talk about this in front of him?”
“Of course. He loves her too.”
The tightening of his hand around mine and the hitch in his breath is the only sign he’s affected by my words. It’s enough.
Hallie’s eyes warm and she nods.
“Good. Okay. Cindy from The Center for Children and Families called me early this morning. I don’t know all the details yet, but Maddy’s father has had his parental rights terminated. They did an exhaustive search for family members when her father was first incarcerated and there’s no one. Since returning to her father is no longer an option and there is no other family, Maddy needs a permanent home.”
My mind races to keep up, but I feel calm. Maybe a part of me has been prepared for this all along. Whatever the reason, the time is here, and I already have my answer.
Maddy is mine. She has been since the second I answered Hallie’s phone call on the trail.
I glance over at Jeremy, and he’s already looking at me. We’re so new, and I know he’s wary of words like forever. We’re in this now, though, so whatever I’m about to say affects him too.
But Jeremy’s eyes are soft. There’s no anxiety and no hesitation. He must see the question in my gaze because he gives me a small nod. It’s all I need.
“I want to adopt her. She’s already mine.”
Tears fill my eyes and spill over. When I look back at Hallie, she’s crying too.
She stands and walks over to me, pulling me up from the couch and wrapping her arms around me. “I love you, Em. You look happy,” she whispers in my ear.
“I am.”
“You deserve it. You deserve everything.”
“With both of them, it feels like that’s exactly what I have.”
Hallie sniffles but when she lets me go, she’s back to business Hallie.
“Obviously it’s a whole process, and I’ll take you through it every step of the way. I would advise not saying anything to Maddy for the time being until we get a better idea of what the timing will look like and if there will be any roadblocks.”
“I won’t. Hal, can you let everyone know I’ll be late? I think we need a minute.”
“Of course. Come find me when you get in and we can talk more. Bye, Jeremy.”
“Later, Hal.”
When the door closes behind Hallie, Jeremy and I look at each other silently for a few seconds before he snickers.
“So…I guess it’s a girl?”
