Lost and Found (Twist of Fate #1)(79)

I couldn’t help but laugh. Her lightness was contagious, and I found myself enjoying her company even more.

“Well, I hate to break up our conversation, but I’m joining some friends for a game of tennis in a few minutes. Would you two like to come watch?”

“Sure,” I said, standing up.

Xander stood up and put his arm around my waist, squeezing my hip as if to send me a message. “No, actually. We have to get back to the lodge to check on the kids. Sorry we can’t stay, Lolly.”

After saying our goodbyes, we got back in the car and began driving down the lane toward the main road.

“Why didn’t you want to stay? The kids are busy with the ropes course for a little bit longer,” I asked.

“Babe, if you’d ever seen a naked tennis match, you’d understand.”



“I’m nervous,” I admitted as I waited for Xander to come around the car. I couldn’t contain my goofy smile as he automatically reached for my hand. Damn, I could so get used to this.

I would get used to it.

Because Xander was mine.

I still couldn’t believe everything he was willing to do for me… to be with me. The fact that everything was changing so fast should have scared me, but it felt like my life was finally starting. I didn’t even care that my father would shit bricks when he found out that his plans for me had gone up in smoke the second Xander had told me he’d make the move to New York to be with me.

Because like I’d told Xander, I had no intention of remaining in New York.

Xander belonged in Colorado.

Which meant I did, too.

I’d fallen in love with this place as much as Xander had. It was scary as fuck to uproot my life, but I couldn’t wait to do it.

The idea of being a full-time father to a sixteen-year-old kid, however, was a little more daunting.

Okay, that was the understatement of the decade.

I was absolutely terrified by the prospect.

But I also wanted it. I wanted to give Lucky what Xander’s aunt had given him. The only question was, did Lucky want that?

First, I had to get Lucky to admit there was even a problem with his foster family. Between what Calvin had said and the bruise I’d seen for myself, along with some of the behavior Lucky had exhibited these past few months, I was pretty sure it was true.

“You’re going to do great,” Xander assured me. He pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. The move gave me the strength I needed. It took only a few minutes to find Lucky, because I’d called Aiden from the road and asked him to have Lucky waiting for us in the lodge’s lobby. Sure enough, when we walked through the doors, Lucky was sitting in one of the leather armchairs in front of the fireplace. He was flipping through some kind of outdoor adventure magazine.

“Hey,” I said as I led Xander to where Lucky was sitting. The kid jumped up and wrapped his arms around my waist. His eyes shifted to Xander’s and my joined hands.

“So does this mean I can sing the song?” he asked. He opened his mouth as if to start singing right there in the lobby, so I quickly clapped my hand over it.

“Maybe later,” I said. “And somewhere no one can hear you.”

He nodded, his eyes bright with humor, as I released him. “I’m happy for you, B,” he said as he gave me another quick hug. “Aiden said you wanted to talk to me,” he added.

“Yeah, let’s go for a walk, okay?”

Lucky nodded. I released Xander’s hand so I could put my arm around Lucky’s shoulders as we left the lodge and began walking along a path that surrounded the property. There was enough room for all three of us to walk side by side, but Xander held back just a little, presumably so Lucky wouldn’t feel boxed in.

“Lucky, I wanted to talk to you about something before we go home.”

“’Kay.”

I spied a picnic bench a few feet ahead of us and said, “Why don’t we sit?”

Once we were settled, with me sitting across from Lucky and Xander sitting next to me, I tried to figure out where to start.

“Lucky, I wanted to see how things were going with Gloria and Ed.”

The second Lucky dropped his eyes and began scratching his fingernail along the edge of the wooden table, I knew.

Fuck.

I managed not to say a word, but Xander must have sensed something, because his fingers curled over the hand I had fisted on my thigh beneath the table. He linked his fingers with mine.

“Good,” Lucky murmured.

“Are you having issues with them or any of the other kids staying there?” I knew Gloria and Ed were fostering four other kids, all younger than Lucky.

Lucky’s only response was to shake his head. He still refused to look at me.

“Lucky, would you look at me?” I asked gently. When he looked up, I saw that his eyes had gone blank.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen that kind of reaction, but now I finally understood the reason for it. “You can tell me anything, Lucky.”

His eyes shifted to look at the scenery around us. “It’s not so bad,” he finally said.

I squeezed Xander’s hand hard and his thumb began tracing patterns into my skin. The move helped, since I had nothing else to occupy my hands like I normally did when I got anxious. I took a deep breath and focused on his touch for a few more seconds before saying, “Are they hurting you?”