Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined #3)(86)

Yeah. I can do this.





"YOU READY?" I ask for the ninth time since we arrived at the Department of Child Services in Texas.


Leo quickly shakes his head and begins pacing again. He’s squeezing my hand, dragging me along with him. I’m sure we look ridiculous, but I can’t bring myself to care.

We arrived in El Paso bright and early this morning and drove straight here. Leo received a voicemail while we were in the air that let him know that the Avilas had already dropped Liv off and left. This led to a loud rant in the middle of baggage claim about what *s they are. Since every other word was a curse, I tried to quietly remind him that we were in public. The only way I knew he had even heard me is that he switched to Spanish. We were in a Texas airport just minutes from the Mexico border, so I’m not sure how much good it did, but at least I tried.

Most of the morning, Leo’s mood was all over the place. He was convinced that she was better off without him, and I tried to reassure him that he was wrong. Then he got emotional thinking about all the time he missed only to swing to anger at Amy for having turned to drugs. I could barely keep up. I’ve been so preoccupied with worrying about Leo that I haven’t even had a chance to stress myself out about becoming a kinda-sorta parent as well. She might be Leo’s child, but Caleb was right. I’m going to have to step up and be more than just an every-other-weekend type of stepmom. Oh. Shit.

"Um. I think I’m going to puke," I say with a quiver in my voice.

Leo stops and turns to look at me. I must have a serious case of crazy eyes, because he immediately switches gears and pulls me into a hug.

"Jesus Christ. Aren’t we a f*cking pair?" Leo whispers into my ear, rubbing his stubble against my cheek. "She’s a little girl, not a T-Rex. Let’s go in there. I’m just going to keep working myself up into a frenzy out here, and now I’m starting to take you down with me. Only one of us is allowed to have an anxiety attack at a time." He kisses the top of my head and I melt into his arms.

Sucking in a deep breath, I look up into his eyes. "I love you. I know this is scary, but we can do this." I try to be encouraging for both of us.

"Yeah. We can." He smiles sincerely.

"But you have to stop cussing," I scold.

He starts laughing, pulling me even tighter against his chest. With one brief kiss, he releases me and takes my hand before guiding me to the front door.

"Hi. I’m Leo James. I’m here to pick up my daughter," he says, and I have a feeling he says it more for himself than the receptionist.

"Mr. James." A thin woman with long, black hair and a warm smile makes her way from around the desk. "I’m Suzanne Moore. We spoke on the phone earlier. It’s nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well. This is my fiancée, Sarah Erickson," he introduces us while curling me tight against his side.

"Well, you two can come on back. I have a couple of forms for you to sign. Then I’ll take you to meet Liv."

"Can I see her first?" Leo asks, surprising me. "Yeah, I’d really just like to meet her now. Please," he rushes out.

"Um. Sure. Right this way."

Leo takes in a deep breath and pauses for only a second before grabbing my hand and following her down the long hallway. When we reach the door to a conference room, Suzanne gives us one last glance before swinging the door open and walking in ahead of us.

"Hey, Liv," she greets a gorgeous little girl with dark-brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes I would recognize anywhere.

"Hi," she responds quietly as her eyes flip to Leo then to me.

I feel Leo’s entire body tense at my side as he squeezes my hand painfully hard. I try to nudge him to get him to say something, but when I look up, I know not a single word is going to come from his mouth. It’s all he can do to fight back the tears that are sparkling in his eyes.

"Hi, Liv. My name’s Sarah, and this is your dad, Leo." I yank on his hand and he finally manages a smile and wave.

She nods as her eyes flash back and forth between Leo and the social worker, rarely landing on me.

"So. Mr. James. How about that paperwork now?" Suzanne interrupts when Leo fails to utter a single syllable.

"Yeah," he says quickly, offering Liv a tight smile before exiting from the room.

"I’ll be right back," I tell the obviously uncomfortable little girl before following Leo out the door. I find him leaning against the wall with his head in his hands. "You okay?" I ask, rubbing a hand up his back.

"I always thought she would look like Amy. I know it’s stupid. I’m her dad, but it never really occurred to me how much she would look like my family. This is just so f*cking surreal." He scrubs his hands over his face.

"Okay. I need you to put on your big-boy pants for just a minute," I say teasingly, and he gives me an unamused glare. "She’s scared, Leo. She’s about to leave with two people she doesn’t know from Adam. I know this is emotional for you, and we can hash all of that out later tonight. For now, I need you to pack it down."

"Shit. You’re right. I know. I’ll do better." He sighs, running a rough hand through his hair.

"I have no doubt that you will." I pat his chest. "Oh, and stop cussing." I stand on my tiptoes and give him a brief kiss before heading back into the conference room.