Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Mattie

Ihover over Evan like a mother hen. I don’t know why I’m so attached to him already. Maybe it’s because he was the first kid I managed to find. Or it could be because I was so furious at the abuse he’d suffered. No kid deserved the bullshit this kid had to put up with from the people who were supposed to be protecting him. He saved me from being bludgeoned. It could be that some small part of me wanted to save him back.

We’ve been here close to five hours, and he’s been sleeping most of it.  The doctors said he was malnourished and severely dehydrated. They started him on an IV drip and said they wanted to keep him at least overnight for observation.

I worry that after his last case worker turned out to be the person who abducted him, he won’t trust me. God knows I wouldn’t in his position. Still, I want to take care of him. I don’t know how I’m going to do that, though, since my apartment is too small to pass the criteria for a home study. I need at least two bedrooms in order to be considered.

There seems to be a million miles between what I want and what I can make happen before Evan is discharged. I hate the thought of him going to a group home or some other foster family who might not be as careful with him as I plan to be. I’m the only one who can protect him, because I have Rigs and the Savage Legion supporting me.

I grab my phone and send a text to Rigs.

Me: Hey, baby, how are you holding up?

Rigs: I’m always fine. You never have to worry about me, sugar.

Me: Are you still at the hospital?

Rigs: Of fucking course I am. I’d never leave you during an emergency.

Me: Evan’s sleeping and I wondered if you’d be interested in coming back to sit with me.

Rigs: Absolutely. I was hoping you would invite me to be with the two of you. I’m on my way now.

***

It seems like only a moment since I sent the text, that the curtain is pulled back and I see Rigs. I motion for him to be quiet so we don’t wake Evan, and he comes over and gives me a kiss on the top of the head, we move to the far side of the small bay so we can whisper without disturbing him.

“He looks like he’s resting peacefully,” Rigs states quietly.

“They gave him something to help him rest.”

“Did you get a chance to talk to him yet?” He asks.

“Not really. He was awake long enough to ask me to stay with him. I told him I wasn’t going anyplace.”

“I started the ball rolling on you getting emergency guardianship.”

My eyes widen in shock.

“I hope I didn’t overstep. I was just worried about what might happen to him. Smoke, our club attorney is pretty familiar with the judge on duty tonight. He’s going to talk to him about giving you emergency custody. If that happens it’ll buy you a few days before your agency starts poking around.”

I fling my arms around his neck, so thankful for what he’s done. Tears flow from my eyes, but I try and keep my sobbing quiet as I don’t want to wake Evan. When I get myself together, I pull back, and wipe my tears away with the back of my hands. “Thank you so much for that you don’t know how much it means to me.”

“Anything for you. You have an overnight bag on the way as well as some new clothing for Evan and a bite to eat, because I don’t know what the catering is like here.”

“Wow, you’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” I say, still in disbelief at what he’s done.

Rigs smiles at me. “Housing is going to be a problem, so I’ve been looking at homes.”

“I was just starting to realize all things I needed to get into place in order to be considered for a possible foster arrangement.”

“I thought you said you wanted to adopt him?” Rigs asks.

“Well of course I do, but only if that’s what Evan wants too. Because a social worker was behind his trauma, once gets better he might not want me around.”

“I think Evan might surprise you. He’s half grown and should be able to understand that not all social workers are the same.”

“I just hope he’s willing to give me a chance and that I can manage to workout housing reasonably quick.” I smile over at him, to see if we’re disturbing him, but he’s still out for the count.

“You don’t need to worry about that part, sugar. We can pick a nice rental while we look for the house you really want.”

I can’t quite believe how fast this is moving, it all seems unbelievable that I might be Evan’s guardian or even mother some day. “I don’t know if you’re quite aware of how much social workers earn. I’ve got some savings set aside but nowhere near enough to buy a home, I’m sure I’ll figure something out though.”

“Mattie, have you given any more thought to you and me?”

I grin at my protector and personal savior. “Oh, I’ve decided I’m keeping you for sure. Life’s too short to let the best relationship in my whole life slip away.”

I’m definitely in this for the long haul. You are the only woman I’ve ever felt this way about. And I’m not giving you up for anything.”

“It feels like I might be getting the man of my dreams and a wonderful kid all on the same day.”

“I’m certainly not rushing you. We’ll get a house sorted for you and Evan, and I’ll continue staying at the clubhouse for now. Whenever you’re ready for us to start living together we’ll talk to Evan. I feel like we all have to be in agreement about this, or it’s not going to work. That kid’s been through too much already, he needs to know he can trust us to have his back.”

“Hearing you say that just makes my heart melt for you. You are by far the kindest most decent man that I have ever met. Anyone would be lucky to end up with a man like you. I’m so glad you called me and offered to help me with my caseload.”

Rigs kisses the top of my head. “No matter what obstacles get thrown in our path, we’re not giving up on those other kids. I don’t care if it takes the rest of our lives, we’re gonna find out what happened to them and help them if we can.”

I’m blinking back the tears at his words. “Yeah, I feel the same way. No matter what we’ve got to find every single one of them.”

He takes my hands in his and looks deeply into my eyes. “You and I are a good team, sugar.”

We spent some time talking about what we want our life to look like moving forward. I ask about what happened earlier with Mel, Rigs tells me that it’s all a bit of a clusterfuck, but he thinks they have a solution. Suddenly his phone vibrates.

“Nothing urgent,” he says. “I just got a text from the prospects saying they’ve brought some stuff for you and Evan. I need to go to the lobby, but I’ll be right back.”

“Hurry back,” I say.

Rigs gives me a quick peck on the lips and head out the door.