Right Where We Belong (Silver Springs #4)(97)

“Of what?”

“Maybe it’ll be a picture of Spider-Man,” he said. “And if my dad doesn’t like it, I don’t care. I don’t like what he’s done, either.”

Gavin crouched down so they could be on the same level. “I know what’s happened to you has been rough, bud. I had some bad stuff happen to me, too, when I was close to your age.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Have you ever heard the story Hansel and Gretel?”

He nodded solemnly.

“I had a mean stepmother like that one.”

“Did she send you into the forest?”

“No. She left me at the park and drove away.”

“And she didn’t come back?”

“No.”

His eyes widened. “Where did you sleep?”

“The police came and took me home, but she didn’t want me, so they took me away again.”

Branson seemed stunned. “To jail?”

“To an orphanage. That’s where kids go when they don’t have parents, right?”

“What happened to your dad?”

“He was afraid she’d leave him, so he did nothing.”

“He didn’t come get you?”

“No. After a while, I went to live with a foster family. Do you know what a foster family is?”

He shook his head.

“It’s a family that lets you live with them for a while.”

“How long?”

“I was there seven years, until I turned fourteen.”

“Were they nice?”

“Definitely not. They didn’t like anything about me, didn’t want me around, either.”

The way Branson’s eyebrows knitted together revealed his concern. “So what did you do?”

“Eventually, I was sent to New Horizons, the school where I work. Did you know it’s for boys who are having trouble? That the students at New Horizons actually live there?”

“No. Did you like it?”

Gavin grinned. “I did. Very much. I still do, even though I’m grown now and don’t have to live there anymore. That’s where I met the mom I have now, and you know how great she is.”

“She told me you’re her son.”

“In all the ways that matter, I am, right?”

He took a few minutes to consider that. “I guess,” he said at length. “But do you ever see your dad?”

“I don’t. I probably could. But I’d rather not. I’ve decided I’m happier without him being in my life.”

“You don’t want to see him?”

“No. He isn’t a man I can admire. You may feel yours has some good traits, and that’s okay. When you get older, you can go visit him, if you like. Don’t feel like anyone is trying to take that away from you. You have to listen to what your heart is telling you and follow that.” Gavin pressed his fingers against the boy’s chest to emphasize his point. “Your heart is your compass in life. I just want you to know that things have gotten much better for me since all of that happened. And they will get better for you, too.” Figuring that was about as deep as he should get with an eight-year-old, Gavin turned to repack his toolbox and was nearly bowled over when Branson suddenly embraced him.

Gavin chuckled as he regained his balance and hugged Savanna’s son in return. “What’s this for?”

“I’m going to be just like you when I grow up,” he mumbled into Gavin’s shirt.

Gavin was still rubbing the boy’s back when Savanna came around the corner. She’d been calling them for dinner, but when she saw what was taking place, she stopped and waited at the corner of the house. “You’re going to be just fine,” Gavin told Branson, and a second later, when Branson raced off to go in for dinner, Gavin told Savanna the same thing. “He’s going to be just fine.”

*

The day Savanna was scheduled to go to Utah, she was already awake when the alarm went off on Gavin’s phone. So the kids wouldn’t have any clue that he’d started staying over, he’d been getting up and going home in the very early morning, and, so far, it’d worked. They figured it would work until Branson wet the bed and got up in the middle of the night, but fortunately, that hadn’t happened in the past few days. The more Gavin was around, the better Branson seemed to do. Gavin seemed to have a calming, stabilizing influence on all of them.

He was good for a lot of other things, too. The house was looking so much better. They had a running joke between them that she’d probably dump him once all the repairs were done, but she couldn’t imagine her future without him. That was why she’d had so much trouble sleeping, knowing that the day of reckoning—the day of her visit to Nephi—had arrived.

“Are you going home?” Savanna whispered.

When he realized she was awake, he paused. “Did my alarm disturb you?”

“No.” She’d been tossing and turning all night. She was surprised she hadn’t disturbed him.

“You’re nervous?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t blame you. Should I buy a plane ticket and go with you?”

They’d already agreed that he’d take some time off work to drive her to LA. She’d tried to talk him out of it, said she could leave her car at the airport so she’d also have a way to get home, but he was insisting on taking her and picking her up. “Going all the way to Utah won’t be necessary,” she said. “I have to go to the jail alone, and that’s the hard part. As crowded as flights are these days, you probably wouldn’t even be able to get on the same plane. I’d rather you be here to check in on Branson and Alia, anyway. I think they’ll feel more comfortable knowing you’re close by.”