Fall to Pieces - Shari J. Ryan Page 0,86
from him last weekend.
When I pull away, he leans back in and kisses me harder. “I just want to spend more time with you right now. You make me happy, Auggie. You do, and I haven’t felt that way in forever.”
I chew on my bottom lip, understanding what he’s saying because I feel the same way. “I haven’t had a drink,” I tell him.
He kisses me again. “I want to be with you. I mean it. I want to be with you through good moments and bad. I need a friend—a girlfriend. I need you. I do.”
The happiness tugging at my cheeks is natural. Chance makes me smile in a way that doesn't feel familiar. “You do?”
“Dammit to hell, I really do, August.”
“I missed you. I couldn’t ignore your face when it popped up today.”
“My face, huh?”
“On my phone,” I clarify.
“When did you take my picture?”
“Oh,” I chuckle. “At Kenny’s Sunday night when you were telling Luke about—”
“Yeah,” he says. “Real smooth.”
“The happiness on your face was something I wanted to keep with me,” I tell him.
Chance runs his fingers through my hair. “Even though you were kind of a jerk, I still think you’re something special.”
“What can I say,” I sigh.
“You’ll have dinner with me tonight?”
“Okay,” I tell him.
“My floors are complete now, and I’ll get some fancy take out and pretend like I cooked for you.”
Just like that, you forgive me for being heartless. Chance is a softy like I am, I guess. I don’t know if I deserve his forgiveness as easily as he’s giving it to me, but I’ve hated this week. “I’ll even tell you that you’re an amazing cook if that helps.”
“You're too good to me.” I wouldn’t go that far.
Chance and I quickly scarf down a couple of sandwiches. He must get back to his job site, but he offered to walk me back to work first. The kids are outside playing as we arrive in front of the fence.
“Are those the kiddos in your house?” Chance asks.
“They sure are.”
“That little girl over there, the one who’s singing, is adorable.” Zooey is sitting on the swing herself, singing to the sky.
I laugh a little, watching her. “She’s a little firecracker. Amazing kid.” I can’t say much more about her, but I could talk about her for hours.
Chance closes his eyes and inhales sharply. Dammit. This world sucks sometimes, doesn’t it?
“She’s our littlest. I have a soft spot for her.”
“She’s a cutie pie.” He smiles adoringly at her. “I used to swing for as long as I was allowed, hoping I’d eventually make it to the moon.”
“Yeah, the swings are her favorite now that she knows how to pump her legs.”
“How many kids are in the house?” Chance asks.
“Right now, there are nine.”
“Well, I better get back to work. I need to finish the shingles on this job I’m at today. It’s supposed to rain again tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll be at your house around six. Is that okay?”
“That’s perfect.” Chance wraps an arm around my neck and kisses the top of my head. “Give those kids a hug for me.”
“I can’t,” I tell him. “We’re not allowed to.”
“I know you’re not,” he says. “Do it anyway.” Chance winks at me and waves as he walks off.
After settling back down at my desk, thoughts, and ideas of breaking through impossibilities poke at my brain.
The rules and regulations are endless, but when a situation favors a child, sometimes a person can move a mountain, or so I’d like to think.
I spend my day drafting emails and making phone calls, which isn’t the fun part of my job. In truth, most days, I see more heartache than happy endings. I try to look at these situations as if I’m saving children from having less than perfect lives but being without a family takes a toll on those never chosen. I hope that someday, each of the children that stay here with us will be given a home full of love, like Chance. He was one of the lucky ones. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Keegan had been taken from his parents at an early age. His mother was an alcoholic for as far back as he could remember, and his Dad, though non-abusive, was a mute and shallow puddle that people would step over. Keegan might have had a different outcome if he had been in foster care. After finishing a round of emails, my phone buzzes again. I thought it might be Chance, but