Shoulda Been a Cowboy (Rough Riders #7)(60)

“How long were you in residence in Florida?”


“Six months.”


“Where did you live previous to Miami?”


“Charleston, South Carolina.”


“How long were you in residence in South Carolina?”


“Six months.”


“Where did you live previous to Charleston?”


“Hershey, Pennsylvania.”


“How long were you in residence in Pennsylvania?”


“Six months.”


“Where did you live previous to Hershey?”


“Cincinnati, Ohio.”


“How long were you in residence in Ohio?”


“Six months.”


“Where did you live previous to Cincinnati?”


“Chicago, Illinois.”


“How long were you in residence in Illinois?”


“Three years.”


“Where did you live previous to Chicago?”


“Kharkiv, the Ukraine.”


“Could you spell that for me, please?”


Domini did.


Scribble, scribble.


“You immigrated to the United States from the Ukraine nearly twelve years ago. You became a naturalized citizen of the United States six years ago. In twelve years you’ve lived…eight places. Is that correct?”


“Yes.”


Scribble, scribble.


“Do you have family in the Ukraine?”


“No. I was orphaned at age eleven.”


“Do you have family in Sundance or any of the other seven locales you listed as former residences?”


“No.” Domini’s hopes were sinking. When faced with the cold hard facts about her nomadic life, even though she had valid reasons for the continual relocation, she felt her chances of keeping Anton were getting smaller and smaller.


Maybe he belongs with a real family.


No! She was his family.


Mrs. Beesman glanced up. “I’d like to speak with Anton now.”


Domini nodded. She poked her head in the small bedroom and gestured for Anton to come out.


Anton sat right next to Domini and gripped her hand. He was trying so hard to be brave but his bottom lip quivered and Domini almost lost it.



“Anton, I’m going to ask you some questions. Be as truthful as you can. If you feel you could be more truthful if we were having this conversation somewhere else, just between you and me, we can stop right now until I can arrange that.”


She ground her teeth. The boy was seven years old. He still believed in Santa Claus for godsake. How was he supposed to understand the implication Domini might be somehow coercing him?


“Domini, don’t leave. Don’t make me go somewhere else away from you. Please.”


“I won’t, sweetling. I’m right here.”


Mrs. Beesman’s questions for Anton were neutral. But when she asked him why he thought Domini wanted custody of him, he simply said, “Because she loves me and she already knows how to take care of me.”


Domini didn’t bother to hide her tears.


Just like that the interview ended and Mrs. Beesman bustled out.


Neither she nor Anton spoke for a while. When he started swinging his feet—a nervous habit he’d always had—she knew something bothered him. “Hey, buddy, what’s going on in that smart head of yours?”


“I think I told her a lie.”


Fear skittered down her spine. “About what?”


“About when she asked why you wanted me.”


“You said exactly the right thing, the true thing. I do love you. I do know how to take care of you.”


His blue eyes filled with such confusion and pain her heart nearly stopped. “But do you think I shoulda told her that you want me because no one else does?”


Those broken words sent her heart plummeting to her toes. “Don’t ever say that. Don’t ever think that. Anyone would be thrilled to have you, but I don’t want to give anyone else a chance because I want you most of all, understand?”


He nodded. He crawled into her lap, clinging as if he were afraid to let her go. She understood the feeling.


Not for the first time, Domini thought if the court ruled against her for custody of this sweet, needy little boy, she’d take Anton and run.


And she had a sneaking suspicion Mrs. Beesman from Social Services had come to the exact same conclusion.


***


Cam hadn’t seen Domini for days and he was going insane.


Before they’d hooked up, Cam had seen Domini every day. Sometimes twice a day. He wasn’t about to walk away when he’d come to terms with how he felt about her.


In addition to setting up Nadia’s memorial service, Domini was taking care of Anton fulltime. He’d dealt with his cousin Luke’s funeral and all the family shit that went along with it, which reminded him why he tended to avoid all that unpleasantness.


Might not be PC, but Cam could give a crap how Anton reacted to him being at Domini’s place. Far as he was concerned, the kid better get used to seeing him.