The Girl in the Love Song (Lost Boys #1)(124)

I see Violet’s thoughts are following the same train, her eyes shining, watching the little boy hesitantly open a present that he should already know is his.

“Oh, this is a very nice lens!” he says, almost formally, his eyes wide and a smile finally breaking over his face. “Just what I needed. It’s the best one too. Thank you so much.”

He hugs Violet and then me, quickly letting go. In the few months he’s been with us, he treats us like the wrapping paper too; gently, careful not to tear anything, careful not to make us angry for fear we might send him back.

Violet and I spend every waking hour trying to show him that will never happen, but he’s been let down too many times.

“Now can I open the card?” he asks. Violet and I sit down together on the couch, her hand clasped tightly in mine.

“Yeah,” I say roughly. “You can open it.”

“It’s awfully thick for a card,” Sam says.

I nod, not trusting my voice. Violet already has a tissue pressed to her mouth.

Sam opens the envelope and pulls out a sheaf of papers from the California Health and Human Services Department.

“What is this?” he asks and then reads the words at the top. The papers drop from his hands, and his chin drops to his chest.

“What do you think, Sam?” I ask, my voice fraying at the edges.

He manages to raise his chin, taking in both Violet and me. “Does this mean I get to stay?”

“Yes, baby,” Vi says, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Would you like that? Would you like to stay with us?”

He doesn’t answer, the disbelief is too strong. “You’re adopting me?” Once the word leaves his mouth, his shoulders start to shake, and the tears fall. He covers his eyes with his hands.

Violet and I both shoot off the couch to either side of him, hugging him between us.

“We love you, buddy,” I say. “We don’t ever want you to go.”

He nods, unable to speak and then he hugs Violet tight. She meets my eye over his little shoulders, smiling through tears in the most beautiful expression of pure joy I’ve ever seen her wear.

Then Sam turns and hugs me, but it’s not like any hug he’s ever given me before. He lets himself go, surrenders to the happiness. I hug him just as tightly, hoping that he can feel how permanent it is, this love I feel for him.

I look over at Violet, tears in her eyes as a thousand words pass between us. This is only the beginning of our happiness. Our future stretches out before us on parallel paths, never diverging, carrying us toward something beautiful.

And there’s no holding back.



The End