Chasing Kane (40 page)

“Yeah.”

Georgia curled up next to me on the arm of the chair. I shifted to the side enough for her to slide into the corner while I wrapped my free arm around her.

“I think they’ll do okay,” I continued. “He talks and texts with Danny a lot. He met his dad’s wife—”

“His stepmom,” Georgia corrected.

I chuckled. “Yeah, that. Old habits … Anyway, I guess things went well with her and the girls. The older one is still a little weird around him, but I’m sure CJ’s just as awkward.”

“Can you even believe we’re having this conversation?” Georgia’s voice carried the awed weight of history. One she and I knew all too well. All the anger CJ had. The pain, the frustration, all of it.

“He’s really turned himself around. And inside out. I mean … It’s really incredible.”

Georgia kissed my temple. “Things have certainly changed, haven’t they?”

I looked down at my wife, and a glow came from deep within her that was brighter than the tree in front of us.

“Yeah,” I grinned, “they certainly have.”

During the last three months I was on tour, Georgia and I did a lot of research on adoption.
A lot
. We tracked down information sessions in La Jolla for her, and in cities where I’d be traveling. If she happened to be with me at a certain stop, we’d go together. Either way, we talked, texted, and emailed constantly about the sessions we’d been to—comparing notes and thoughts and fears. We Skyped a few therapy sessions with Dr. Weeber, and resumed seeing her once a week once the tour ended.

As Georgia and I gazed at the white glow of the Christmas tree, we were in a state of hopeful limbo. We’d filled out the official—and incredibly lengthy—adoption application, and had completed the first of a few interviews earlier in the week. Up next would be more interviews, letters of recommendation, and home visits from a social worker.

We were planning our family.

From what we’d been told at information sessions and from families we met who had been through adoption, the whole application-interview-home visit process would take roughly six months. If everything went through and we were approved for adoption, the agency told us it could take a year or two before we received our child.

We were ready to see it through. To be patient. We did hear a story of a family who received their six-month-old daughter three
weeks
after they were approved, and while we didn’t anticipate this would be the case for us, it did remind us of the uncertainty that can come with adoption. With parenting. Building a family was going to be full of trials, joys, and surprises no matter how we went about it.

“I love you,” I said to Georgia. I’d been watching the soft glow of Christmas and impending motherhood radiate from her face for a couple of minutes. She was stunning. And mine.

She gazed up at me softly, and from the white-painted brick fireplace in the living room, an old clock chimed with the notice of midnight.

“Merry Christmas, Regan.” Georgia kissed me with a chocolate and whipped cream-flavored kiss. “I love you, too.”

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered back. “You have no idea how happy I am to be home.”

She grinned. “I’m happier to have you home.” Georgia nuzzled into my side as we sat in the quiet of the first minutes of Christmas Day. A new beginning.

As of January first, I was slated to draw up a new contract with Grounded Sound. One that would keep me at home for more than ninety percent of the year, and focusing on local outreach. Dates and responsibilities would shift when our child arrived. I’d still be writing and recording, of course, but I’d be doing it from La Jolla, and not all over the continental U.S.

Whether we received the next piece of our family puzzle in the next several months or the next couple of years, it didn’t matter. Life was good when I slowed down long enough to realize what had been right in front of me the whole time. And it was only from that point that Georgia and I could focus on the future.
Together
. As we always had been, and always would be.

Copyright 2016 Andrea Randall

ISBN 9781632021670

All right reserved.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction and the characters in this book are fictional characters. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is unintentional.