Reckless (Mason Family #3) - Adriana Locke Page 0,32

a better cook than our mom, even as a teenager. And she has the best hair.”

Boone squeezes my forearm. It causes the dam in my eyes to break and a cascade of tears to drop across my cheeks.

I sniffle. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cry.”

“It’s all right,” Boone says softly.

Sergeant Boudreaux hands me a tissue. “Crying at the loss of a loved one is a normal reaction, Miss Thorpe.”

I nod and dab at my eyes.

It might be normal, but I still hate it.

“There is one other thing that I’d like to talk to you about,” Sergeant says. His Adam’s apple bobs. “Are you aware that your sister has a child?”

“No,” I say, scooting to the edge of my seat. “I had no idea.”

“Well, she does. And your sister, Jeanette, signed a Last Will and Testament at the hospital and named you as her guardian.”

Whaaaaaaaaaaat?

My jaw drops to the floor as I let that bit of information sink in.

I hold my head in my hands. “She named me as the guardian. What does that mean?”

“It means that if you would like custody of the child, a little girl, then that’s what the State would like to do. But if you don’t, then the State will take custody and put her into foster placement.”

“No. I’ll take her.”

I answer quickly—probably too quickly, but there’s no way I can let that happen. This little girl that I’ve never seen before is my flesh and blood.

A flurry of questions and situations and potential problems catapult through my brain, and the influx of energy causes me to feel light-headed. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to stay balanced.

The sergeant says something that I miss altogether. I sense him getting up and walking to the door, but my gaze falls on Boone.

His eyes are wide, but the centers of them are calm. I grab onto them like buoys in a raging ocean.

“Miss Thorpe?”

I look up to see a woman in a black pencil skirt and tan blouse standing in the doorway. She walks toward the desk and sets a pad of paper on it.

“I’m Shera Wan, and I’m sorry for your loss,” she says.

“Thank you.”

“Sergeant Boudreaux told me that you are opting to take custody of the minor. Is that correct?”

All I can do is nod.

How is this happening? How the hell is this happening right now?

Nettie … Oh, Nettie. What happened to you? Why did you not reach out for help?

I blink back tears.

“Are you in a place to financially and emotionally care for the child?” she asks me.

I nod even though I have no idea if that’s actually true.

“Okay.” She scribbles something on the paper. “This is a process we will have to work through together. But because this is probably quite a shock to you, we will make it as painless as we can today.”

“I would appreciate that.” My brain picks one question out of the queue and blurts it into the room. “So do I adopt her or … how does this work?”

She smiles. “You can. Right now, you’ll have guardianship. The State gives us a process to follow to ensure that the child is in the best environment.”

“I understand.”

Lies. I don’t understand at all.

She scribbles something again. “So you can care for the child. I just need to confirm that you have permanent housing and the address of that location, and we’ll be set for the moment.”

Oh. Shit.

Sweat dots my forehead as panic floods my veins.

I don’t have permanent housing.

The closest thing I have to that is in freaking Hawaii with a family that I haven’t even technically met before. And with Ted boning the neighbor, I can’t even stay with Libby until I figure this out.

Will they take a hotel room? Can I afford that long term? No, but I could get one for now and then—

Boone clears his throat. “It’s 7639 East Scott Street.”

My head whips to his. He ignores me.

“Does anyone else live at the home?” Shera asks.

Slowly, Boone twists in the seat until those gorgeous eyes find mine again.

“She lives with me.”

Eleven

Boone

I’ve said a lot of things in my life that I didn’t think through.

I told a girl I loved her after having sex with her on a pier. I told my father to shut up. I also made straight A’s one grading period my freshman year without considering that my mother would expect such greatness on the regular. Immediately following each of those events, I had an oh, shit moment, and the world felt like