“But Daddy will be all alone,” she replied in a small voice.

“I know, sweetie,” I whispered. “But I can’t help him, he has to help himself. What I can do is look after you.” I reached out a hand and set it flat on the bar in front of her. “And I want to. I want you here with me, Billie. Will you stay with me?”

“You want me here with you?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“Do you want Billy?” she asked.

“Definitely,” I answered.

She stared at me then her eyes moved beyond me to Mitch before she looked back to me. “I like my new shampoo, it smells pretty.”

I smiled at her. “Is that a yes, baby?”

“Are you lonely without us?” she whispered.

“I worry about you when I’m not with you,” I told her. “If you’re with me, I don’t have to worry anymore.”

“I don’t want you to worry.” She was still whispering. “But I don’t want Daddy to worry either.”

“Dad won’t worry,” Billy muttered and Billie’s head swung to him.

“Look at me,” I called quickly as her lip started to tremble and Billie’s eyes came back to mine. “You don’t have to make a decision now. Just have Mitch’s eggs. Go to school and you can think about it. We’ll talk about it again when you’re ready. Is that a deal?”

She took in a breath then nodded. “Deal,” she whispered.

“Okay, baby,” I whispered back.

Then I felt heat at my back as Mitch leaned into me to set two plates filled with fluffy scrambled eggs and buttered toast, with cutlery resting on the side of the plate, in front of both of the kids. Once he’d done this he stayed where his was, both fists on the counter on either side of me, his body pressed to mine.

“Eat up, we gotta get on the road,” he ordered.

Billie looked down at her food. Billy looked down at Mitch’s fists in the counter. I tried to straighten and slide away which meant one of Mitch’s hands left the counter and his arm curled around my belly.

“You want toast, sweetheart?” he asked quietly in my ear.

I figured I’d throw up if I tried to eat anything. But I nodded because I was hoping he was offering to make me some and he couldn’t make me toast pressed into and holding me. Therefore, I nodded.

I was right. He let me go and I heard the bread bag rustling.

Billy’s eyes came to my face and he studied me looking about fifty years older than he actually was. Then he started eating.

Billie was already wolfing her food down at the same time inspecting the unusual plethora of jelly at her disposal.

I was thinking of school runs, Child Protection Services, buying new beds, when I’d have time to take foster parent classes and Mitch’s “Ma”. I was thinking about this so hard Mitch was in front of me holding a plate of buttered toast before I knew it.

I looked down at the toast then up at Mitch. The instant my eyes hit his, I knew it was definitely time to take control.

I took the plate, set it on the counter and asked him quietly, “Can we talk?”

He studied my face and I watched his eyes grow guarded. Then he nodded.

I walked around him, saying to the kids, “I’ll be right back.” Then I walked to the front door and out into the breezeway.

Mitch followed and closed the door behind him.

I sucked in breath and pulled up the courage to look him in the eye.

“Can you take a minute to explain to me what’s happening?” I asked.

“Thought I did that inside, Mara,” Mitch, eyes still guarded, answered.

“No, I mean from here on in. With Bill and the kids and Child Protection Services,” I explained.

He kept watching me and finally he nodded.

“Bill’s been arrested,” Mitch answered. “I’ll know more when I get into the Station. Child Protection Services have been called. Normally, Bill would decide who looks after his kids. Considering the state we found him in, I made that decision. They’ll be contacting you and they’ll do it soon because usually they’d decide who was an appropriate guardian if Bill was incapable of making that decision, which I deemed he was. While Bill stays incarcerated, they’ll stay with you. If Bill gets out then you’ll need to convince Child Protective Services he’s unfit and then prove to them you are. If the last happens, it won’t be difficult from what I’ve seen. But to be awarded guardianship, you’ll have to take foster parent classes.” He paused and finished, “So that’s where we are.”

I nodded then asked, “Why was Bill arrested?”

Mitch stared at me a minute, his expression shifting quickly to one that said he didn’t know what to make of me. Then he answered, “Mara, he was in possession of illegal substances and I’m a police officer. We tend to do something when we see someone in possession of something illegal. That’s kind of our job.”

This was true. Shit. I was such a dork!

Though possession of illegal substances wasn’t that bad unless you were in possession of a lot of them and, from what I saw, Bill wasn’t. That said, he’d been arrested twice that I knew. The first time he got community service. The second time wasn’t a big deal, his jail sentence was six months and he’d been paroled after three. It was only Billy then, Billie hadn’t been born yet and I’d looked after him those three months. It had been tough but I did it. Then again, Billy hadn’t been able to dress himself since he was a toddler and now both of them could dress themselves so maybe it wouldn’t be that tough this time around.

But three strikes wouldn’t be good. And I’d walked a police officer into his house.

Damn.

“Right,” I whispered and noted Mitch was studying me closely, it made me feel weird and it reminded me I needed to get this done. “Can I ask why you need to talk to the office at school?”

His head tipped slightly to the side like he was confused before he replied, “In order to introduce myself, tell them I’m a cop, explain what’s going on and get my name on the list of who they can expect to drop the kids off, pick them up and who they should call in case of emergency.”

“My name is already on that list,” I informed him.

“I guessed that but now my name needs to be on it,” Mitch informed me.