Page 70 of Protector

I look at Anna. “You want this?”

She nods so fast, I’m worried she might hurt herself, but then she becomes solemn. “I don’t want to hurt you. I know you wanted to raise us...”

“I just want you guys to be okay,” I say because I didn’t mean to put that on them.

“We like it here,” Mary says and hugs Mrs. Bates. “A lot.”

I smile at that and then turn to look at Mrs. Bates. “I’ll help you in any way I can.”

She nods with a smile but doesn’t look worried at all. Adam squeezes my leg again and looks over at his parents and my sisters. “They’ll have a room in our house too. Any time anyone needs a break or just wants to stay there.”

They all nod at that, and I sit there, trying to process this.

This was my goal. I was going to graduate and then find a way to get custody of them, keep them safe.

I needed to protect them, and even if this isn’t at all how I saw this going, I think somehow, I ended up doing just that.

“Are you okay?” Adam asks me, and I nod my head, looking at Mr. and Mrs. Bates, who are the best parents I’ve ever known.

“Thank you. You don’t have to do this. But thank you for wanting to.”

And they do. I can see it on their faces. They want this. They’re more than okay with this. “Go enjoy your new house,” she says like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

Like she didn’t just take on this huge thing. But to her, it’s not. It’s family. It’s simple.

People think simple is some sort of bad word, but it’s not. There’s something absolutely beautiful about simplicity.

I stand up, giving my sisters and Mr. and Mrs. Bates a big hug before taking Adam’s hand and walking to the home we built together.

“Are you really okay?” he asks, now that we’re alone.

I unlock our front door and pull him inside before closing and locking it again. “More than. It’s...” I sigh softly, feeling bad for what I’m about to say, but I know he’ll understand. “It’s this huge weight off me that maybe I didn’t even know was sitting there.”

He smiles and brushes the hair out of my eyes. “You take a lot on.”

I laugh and shake my head. “Yeah. You’d know all about that.” He just grins and kisses my nose. “But your mom seems to be fully invested in this.”

He nods. “She always wanted more kids. She loves the girls.” He kisses my nose again. “And you.”

I grin. “And this means we don’t have to hide.”

He kisses my lips now. “Nope. We sure don’t. Not ever.” He kisses me softly, and my back hits the foyer wall. “But if you want to get custody of the girls in a year or two or three, we’ll figure it out.”

I nod in agreement, although I think that maybe they’re right where they’re supposed to be now.

And so am I.

THIRTY-FOUR

ADAM

“Oh, holy fuck, my body hurts. I think I’m dying.” I laugh at my adorable boyfriend as we make the short walk to our house after a day full of farming.

“You’re getting more and more used to it every day.”

He groans again, and I chuckle, wrapping my arm around him and kissing his sweaty temple. It was hot today, and the sun is no damn joke out here in the corn and wheat fields.

But goddamn, did it feel good out in the heat, knowing every bit of hard work is going to benefit the family. We hooked Oakley’s crew into adding on an extension to my family’s house so the girls can have their own rooms. They’ll all have more space, in general.

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