Today's Promises (Promises #2)(7)

Settling back on his side, he signals to merge back onto the highway. “Let’s just hope her parole is denied. Every…f*cking…time.”

“And if it’s not?” I throw out.

Releasing a heavy breath, he says, “I don’t know what we’ll do then, Jaynie. I just don’t know.”

I can’t respond, because sometimes there are just no adequate words.





Flynn



I drop to my knees on the floor of Mandy’s modest but tidy living room, and Cody—my Cody—flies into my arms.

In that moment, everything is right in the world. Jaynie was right; this kid loves me. I had nothing to worry about.

I sigh, content as I hold on to a little boy who means the world to me.

And that is when I have a revelation: This is my life.

It will never be perfect, and I’ll never be able to completely erase the pain. But I have this—these little snippets of joy I can grab on to…and hold close to my heart. These are the moments that will get me through the pretty much daily grind of bullshit life always seems to dole out.

“Flynnie, Flynnie.” Cody’s arms tighten around me, and this is so f*cking right. “I love you sooo much,” I am informed.

I’m holding on to that heartwarming snippet.

“I love you, too, bud,” I reply, a little misty-eyed.

“I missed you,” Cody says. “Lots and lots and lots.”

I’m snatching up that one as well.

I then tell the kid, “I missed you too, little man. More than you could ever imagine.”

Cody loosens his arms from around my neck and leans back just enough to show me his displeased expression.

“Uh-oh,” I say. “What’s that look all about?”

“Why you no come visit me sooner?” His tone is at once accusatory and disappointed.

Shit, time to think fast. “I would have visited you, Cody, but I was sort of tied up.”

“With work stuff?” he asks.

His big brown eyes are so innocent, so accepting of any explanation I’m about to offer, anything whatsoever. Kids, they kill me with their resilience to bounce back. If only Jaynie and I could’ve stayed innocent long enough to have been rescued, before all the bad stuff.

Softly, I murmur, “Yeah, it was something like that.”

I can’t say much more. I’m sure as hell not about to share with Cody that our wicked foster mother kept me away from him, and everyone else. That would scare him to death. I’m hoping Mrs. Lowry and her hellhole of a home are becoming nothing but distant memories for him…and for his sister, Callie, too.

Speaking of Callie, she’s hanging back, standing behind Cody, giving him time to reconnect. Jaynie and Mandy have retired to the kitchen, to give me time alone with the twins, I’m sure.

Holding out my hand, I say to Callie, “Hey, I missed you too, you know.”

“You did?” she hesitantly asks.

“Yes.” I nod emphatically. “Like every single day, Miss Callie.”

Smiling brightly, she takes my hand. And ten seconds later she’s laughing, nestling in next to her brother, all of us hugging. “I missed you so much, Flynn,” she says.

My heart is touched. And, just like that, I have another snippet of joy to stow away.

“Aw, sweetheart,” I whisper. “I missed you and your brother like you wouldn’t believe. I’m back to stay though now. And that means we can see each other a lot more often from here on out.”

“Are you really back for good?” Callie sounds unsure and takes a step back, exiting from our hug. Cody, however, stays glued to me.

“Yes,” I reply, with what I hope is a tone of certainty she will hear and believe. “I’m back for good. I promise.”

A few more minutes pass, and then Jaynie and Mandy rejoin us in the living room.

“You okay?” Jaynie asks when she sees me swiping at my eyes.

Mandy is off to the side, chatting with the kids about what they’d like for lunch.

Amid excited requests for grilled cheese and tomato soup, I tell Jaynie, “Yeah, I’m great. It all went way better than I expected.”

“I tried to tell you not to be so consumed with worry, you silly man.”

I laugh. “Yeah, yeah, you did. And you were right, babe.”

“Always,” she says, bumping my hip.

“Lesson learned. I should always trust Jaynie.”

“You bet your ass.”

The next several hours fly by, and the next thing I know our entire day has been spent with Mandy and the twins. It’s a little like old times, but way better.

For one thing, there’s plenty of food.

Mandy cooks up a huge fried chicken dinner that everyone digs into. Accompaniments that are quickly devoured include creamy mashed potatoes, peas, and biscuits with lots of butter.

“I love butter,” Cody exclaims at the dinner table. He then proceeds to lick all the butter off his biscuit.

“Gross,” Callie says as she makes a sour face.

But not two seconds later, it’s her who is slathering extra butter on her own biscuit and handing it over to Cody.

She says to him, “Here, I dare you to eat this one. It has even more butter than yours did.”