Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold #11)(48)

Carter nodded. “I’m not a kid.”

“You’re a teenager, which is worse. Believe me, I know.” She patted him on the arm. “You need a place to stay for the night.”

“I have my dad.”

“It’s not that simple. Here’s what I propose. You’ll spend tonight with a foster family. I’ll let your guardians know that you’re safe. In the morning, we’ll go see a judge I know. With no father’s name on your birth certificate, we’ll need to confirm the relationship with a DNA sample.”

“Like in the movies?” Carter sounded impressed.

“Exactly like that. You’ll get a cheek swab. It’s all very high-tech. While the tests are being run, we’ll get your father approved as a foster parent. We can figure out the rest as we go.”

Carter slung his backpack over his shoulder. His expression turned wary. “I’d rather stay with him now.”

Felicia understood that the thought of going to a strange place was frightening. Even if Carter had done it by choice, he didn’t know anyone, nor could he believe everything was going to work out.

She thought about offering herself as a foster parent but knew she would have to go through the approval process, just like Gideon. And that couldn’t happen on a Sunday night.

“You’re not to worry,” the mayor said gently. “I think you’ll like these foster parents. Pia and Raoul Moreno have three children of their own. Peter, their oldest, was in foster care and they adopted him. Raoul used to be a football player. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.”

Carter brightened. “For real?”

Felicia nodded. “I know his wife. Pia’s very nice. It’s just for tonight, Carter.” She thought about how to make him feel safer. “I have a prepaid cell phone at the CDS office.” She had several, along with weapons and ammunition. Not that Carter would need any of that. “Why don’t I activate one and drop it by Pia’s house? I’ll give you my number. That way if anything happens, you can call me and I’ll come get you.”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course.” She moved close and lightly touched his shoulder. “You traveled a long way by yourself to find your dad. Now you’re here and everything is strange. It’s going to take a while until you feel like this is home.”

“Thanks,” Carter said. He started toward her, then stopped himself. Instead he looked at the mayor. “I’m ready.”

“I can see that. Let’s go, then. We’re going to walk. You’ll find we can walk most places in Fool’s Gold. Not that boys turning sixteen don’t want a car. What is it with a young man’s obsession about driving? Can you explain it?”

“Wheels are cool,” Carter told her as they rounded the corner.

Felicia waited until their voices had faded, then looked at Gideon. “An unexpected development,” she said.

He swore under his breath. “He just...showed up at the radio station. I didn’t know what to do, so I came here. I can’t have a kid. I can’t. This is wrong. He can’t live with me. What am I supposed to do with him? I’m not that guy. A father?”

He gave a laugh that was more bark than humor. “No,” he said flatly. “It’s not happening. He can go live with someone else.”

Felicia placed her hand on his arm, just above the elbow. She pressed in hard, finding the nerve point that would trigger a more relaxed response in his sympathetic nervous system.

“Did Ellie have any family?”

“I don’t remember.” He drew in a breath. “I don’t think so. She was an only child and her parents were dead. I remember thinking I wasn’t the kind of guy she would want to take home, but that wasn’t a problem.”

He jerked free of her grip. “You can’t calm me like some pet, Felicia.”

“I wasn’t trying to. I want to help, Gideon. You can do this.”

“I can’t. He needs to find somewhere else to live.”

“You’re going to put your son in foster care?”

“Better there than with me.” He turned away, then faced her again. “I’m not shirking my responsibility. I’m telling you I’m incapable of being what he needs.”

“You have plenty of spare bedrooms. That’s a start.” She thought about Carter and how he acted so brave and together, but inside he must have been terrified. With his mom gone, he was alone in the world. Gideon was his last chance.

“My parents handed me over to the university when I was four,” she said quietly. “It took me a long time to understand what that meant. But by the time I was seven, I realized I was completely alone in the world. There was no one. Carter’s older, but he’s still very much by himself. He needs stability. He needs his father.”

Gideon shoved his hand through his hair. “I get nightmares, Felicia. I wake up in a cold sweat, not sure if I’m going to kill someone or have a heart attack and die. A kid? No way. If you’re so worried, you take him.”

Her chest unexpectedly tightened. A child, she thought longingly. If Carter were hers, she would be delighted to welcome him into her life.

He swore again, then shook his head. He started to walk away, then turned back.

“You’re right. I know he’s my responsibility. I have to figure this out.” He looked at her. “Can you help? Can you stay with me the first few days and get me through this?”