Christmas. According to Sistine, she never went anywhere without it. Sophie was the same way with her unicorn backpack stuffed full of her favorite books. “Is this all they have with them?” I looked around the room for any other signs of their belongings and didn’t see any.
“We were more concerned with getting them to the hospital.” Cindy shot me a dirty look. “Neither of them were willing to part with these things. It was easier to let them bring the items along.
Cindy was lucky I had my arms full of Sophie, or I would have given her a piece of my mind. In no uncertain terms. How dare this woman try to separate my nieces from the things that made them feel safe in a world that had capsized?
“What do I need to do to take them home with me?” I was done with this woman and the situation.
“There’s paperwork to sign. It’s late. Why don’t you let us place the girls for the night and you can see about custody another time?”
“I’m all these girls have left in the world. I’m not going anywhere without them. I’ll wake up every lawyer and judge in Essex County if I have too.”
“Miss Canton,” Dallas began softly. Lola had curled herself up in his arms and was asleep. “We both know Saxon is the legal guardian of these girls. Both of us also know there’s nothing you can do to keep him from them. Show him what he needs to sign so we can get out of here.”
“We’ll need to make sure you have the proper car seats, or we can’t let you leave with them.”
Dallas worked his phone out of his back pocket without disturbing Lola. He tapped in his passcode and handed the phone to Cindy. “Open the photos and you’ll see not only the seats, but also pictures of the bedroom the girls will be staying in.”
Bedroom? What the hell was Dallas talking about? I managed to look over Cindy’s shoulder as she flipped through the images. There were two single beds set up in what looked like my spare bedroom. At least I thought it was my bedroom. When I’d left this morning, it was filled with boxes I hadn’t bothered to unpack yet. I turned to Dallas with a questioning look on my face.
“My adoptive parents have been in the foster care system for the last fifteen years. The minute they found out about Sophie and Lola, they went to work setting up Saxon’s spare bedroom for them. Not only do they have beds, they also have toothbrushes and clothes to wear.” Dallas wore a don’t-fuck-with-me look on his face.
Cindy pulled a manila folder out of her bag and handed it to me with a pen. “Sign these.”
I did what she asked and handed the folder back to her.
“Okay, Princess Sophie, let’s go.”
“Where?” she whispered.
“Home, sweetheart. We’re going home.”
19
Dallas
My thoughts were an absolute jumble as we drove south on I-95. It was hard to believe that only a few short hours ago, Saxon and I were enjoying our second date, and now, everything had changed.
“It’s like one of our calls at work,” Saxon mumbled.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Life being upended in the blink of an eye. How many times have we been to accident scenes where someone died or was permanently injured? Those were just another job to us, but to the people involved, life would never be the same.”
I knew where Saxon was coming from. Not only had he lost his sister, but he’d become an instant father. “Do you know if Sistine had a will?”
Saxon grunted. “I paid for her to make one.”
My heart clenched in my chest. “You wanted to make sure the girls would be in good hands in case the worst happened.” It wasn’t a question.
“Right,” Saxon admitted. He twisted in his seat to look back at the girls. I’d been keeping an eye on them from the rearview mirror myself. Both had been asleep minutes after we’d put them in the car. “Unless Sistine rewrote the will, I’m their legal guardian. I can’t imagine her changing anything, since that would have cost money and I haven’t received any bills from her lawyer.”
After hearing there was no food in the house, I knew Sistine’s money undoubtedly went to drugs. “Mom and Dad have a great adoption attorney in Gloucester. I know she’ll be happy to give you their number.”
“Christ,” Saxon sank his head into his hands. “There’s so much I