Family Matters (DiCarlo Brides book 4) (The DiCarlo Brides) (14 page)

“So what’s going to happen when the lady gets here?” Cleo asked.

Rosemary wasn’t entirely sure, and hoped the woman had been honest when she said it wasn’t a big deal. “She’ll take a look around the house to make sure it’s safe for you, ask about our routine, and talk to you for a little bit. It’s not a big deal.” But it felt like a very big deal.

“Then why are you so nervous? You keep checking your watch. And you keep walking between here and the living room.”

“Right. Well, maybe I’m a little nervous. Everyone says it’s not a big deal though.” She made herself stop pacing.

The doorbell rang and Rosemary hurried over to it.

A middle-aged woman with a very good dye job and penciled brows stood on the other side. “Hello, I’m Lena Carpenter. I’m with CPS.”

“Of course, I’m Rosemary. Please come in.”

Lena looked around the open spaces as she entered. “Nice house. I remember when it was being built.”

“Yes, we’re lucky my father was so forward thinking.” If he hadn’t been, they would surely have killed each other before now. “We have an exercise room and a sitting room downstairs along with a couple more bedrooms. Each of the bedrooms has a private bath.”

Lena’s gaze caught in a corner of the room. “You have cameras?”

“Yes, it’s part of the security system. They cover the yard as well. My sister Sage’s husband installed them when we moved into the house as extra security. You can never be too careful.” She really hoped Lena didn’t ask why they needed the extra security—talking about Sage’s stalker, or any of the other things that had happened since their arrival—wouldn’t impress Lena. Though every time they’d called the sheriff’s office was on record somewhere, so she supposed it wouldn’t be hard to find out.

“No, careful is good.”

Rosemary showed her the garage and other public spaces and Cleo took Lena into her room and showed her the private bathroom. They stayed in her room and talked for a while. Rosemary stayed in the kitchen as directed and pulled out vegetables for dinner that night, cutting them nervously, wishing she knew what they were discussing. What if the caseworker didn’t like her, didn’t think she was a fit parent? She couldn’t stand to lose Cleo again—especially not to one of the uncles. She told herself she was being ridiculous, of course they would let her keep Cleo, but it was hard to believe sometimes.

They came back down the stairs, Cleo talking about how much fun she had with Jonquil.

“Sounds like you have a helpful family,” Lena said. “I’ll need you and your sisters—the ones who live here—to come in for fingerprinting for background checks. If everything clears, I don’t anticipate there being any problem with you getting permanent custody. You might want to consider officially adopting Cleo, though.”

Cleo’s face scrunched up. “But I told you, she’s my birth mom. Why would she need to adopt me?”

Lena turned to her. “Because when your adoptive parents signed the paperwork, that made them your legal parents, and Rosemary didn’t have any more rights to you. If you want to make it all official again, then she should adopt you so the courts see her as your mom, all nice and legal.”

Cleo looked worried about this. “I don’t know if I want to be adopted again. Would I have to change my name?”

Rosemary’s throat grew tight. “That’s okay, bug. We can talk about it later, if you decide you want to. Until then, we’ll just worry about permanent guardianship so you can stay with me.”

Cleo nodded, but she looked troubled.

“Where do we get the fingerprinting done?” Rosemary asked.

“The sheriff’s office can handle it. Let me leave these forms for you. You and your sisters will have to have them notarized and there are directions for getting me the fingerprints. Since you’re from out of state, the reports can take a few months to come back, but the initial background checks look good for now.”

“Thank you.” Rosemary felt one of the knots inside her release.

Lena gave them a few more directions and then left.

“Are they going to take me away?” Cleo asked when Rosemary had closed the door behind the caseworker.

Rosemary forced a smile. “No way, bug. You’re here to stay. How about pulling out your homework?”

Cleo sighed heavily. “Do I hafta? Can’t I help you cook instead?”

Pleased, Rosemary relented. “Fine. I’ll help you with the homework later. Can you grab the chicken out of the fridge?” She pretended that she wasn’t worried, but deep inside she couldn’t shake the feeling that they would find her lacking.

“Good. Just like that.” Rosemary encouraged one of her new hires as they rolled croissants for the next morning’s breakfast. “You’re a natural.”

“It’s not hard like I expected,” Julie said, grinning.

“Nope. Just another two hundred to go and we’re golden.”

She felt more than heard Harrison enter the room. “What’s going on, Harrison?”

“Did you lose track of time? Cleo’s getting out of school in a few minutes,” he said from behind her.

She glanced up at the clock and frowned. “What happened to the past two hours?”

“Work would be my guess. You get distracted sometimes.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him and saw the smile teasing the edges of his mouth. “True enough.” She pulled off her gloves. “I gotta head out, but you’re really doing great. Just keep going.”

“Thanks!” Julie beamed and bent back to work again.

Harrison moved out of the way so she could get to her office. She collected her purse and coat and they headed toward the front doors.

“Just out for a stroll?” she asked.

“Something like that. How is Julie working out?”

“So much better than Rulon. She’s a peach.”

“She seemed to like working with you,” he said.

“Who wouldn’t?” She snuck a peek at him in time to see him shake his head slightly.

“I do, so I guess anyone would,” he answered. “I guess I mostly see when things aren’t going well with your employees, but most of them seem happy enough.”

“Glad to hear it.” They bundled out into the back parking lot and she stopped and stared at her car. Then swore vociferously as she rushed over to it. All of the windows had been smashed out—even the windshield was mostly missing. “How? Who? When?”

Harrison already had his phone in his hands. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” When he started talking to the person on the other end of the line, it was clear he had called Joel. He pulled keys from his pocket and handed them to Rosemary. “You better go. Take my car. I’ll catch up with you later to get it back.”

She wanted to protest, but school would be out any second. And Joel could catch up to her at home. “Thanks.” She crossed a few cars over to Harrison’s and slid inside—then pounded on the steering wheel a couple of times with her fist. Rulon was behind this, and she was going to prove it.

When Harrison came into her house a couple of hours later with Delphi he looked terrific—all tousled and a little tired. He shook his head and answered before she could ask. “There are no cameras in that part of the lot and the cops aren’t hopeful about being able to prove who did it.”

Rosemary gritted her teeth and passed back his keys. “Perfect. Now I have to get the windows all replaced. What’s that going to run me?”

“We had it towed to the shop for repair. They’ll work it out with your insurance company. You should just have your deductible.” He leaned against the counter, watching her chop veggies for dinner. “Are you going to have extra of that?”

She wanted to growl, but smiled instead. “Since you handled all of the hassle with my car, it’s the least I can do, isn’t it?”

“I think so.” He smiled, which would have turned her knees to gelatin—if they hadn’t already headed that way when he walked in the door.

“Think you can get the runt from her room to help you set the table? She’s probably ready for a break from ignoring her homework.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” He sauntered off, leaving Rosemary torn between wanting to smile and wanting to smack herself for even thinking about him like that.

“Hear anything about my car?” Rosemary asked Joel the next afternoon.

Joel sat at his desk scowling at the computer. He shifted away from it to look at her, relief sliding onto his face, as if he was glad to have an excuse to take a break. “They’re looking for Rulon. His mom said he’s visiting some friends for a few days, but either she doesn’t know where he is or she isn’t telling. When they track him down, they’ll bring him in for questioning.”

Frustration poured through her. “Why can’t this just be easier? Why can’t something go right?” She balled her hand into a fist.

“I know,” he soothed. “We’ll find the answers. Don’t worry, they’ll bring him in.” He nudged the chair near his with his foot. “Sit down.”

She shook her head and rubbed her lower back. “I need to get back to work. I just wanted to take a break and see what you know. I’m sure it’s Rulon.”

He steepled his fingers. “You’re probably right. Let me handle it. You’ve got your hands full.”

Rosemary nodded, knowing he was right. “Let me know when you hear something.”

“I will.”

She headed back to the restaurant. Her date with Harrison was that night. She was going to put this out of her head and enjoy a night out.  

Three days passed before Rosemary and Harrison were able to coordinate their schedules with Jonquil’s so they could have their date. Harrison’s schedule was the standard eight-to-five, but Rosemary’s was all over the map, and a wedding that weekend had Jonquil working until her eyes started to bleed—or so she’d said.

When the night finally arrived, Rosemary stood in front of the long cheval mirror in her room and studied her clingy black tea-length dress. She wondered if she should have worn something else. Did it show that pudge of fat on her hip? Ever since Harrison had come back into her life, the weight consciousness had increased ten-fold. Now he had become such a big part of her life, she wondered all the time whether he still thought she was fat—even though she had slimmed down after the cruise where they first met.

“You look beautiful,” Cleo said as she sat on the bed, watching Rosemary pick through her jewelry.

“Thank you.” She pulled out the diamond studs her father had given her when she turned eighteen. She didn’t own much jewelry and hardly wore it, but tonight, her first date with Harrison, felt like the kind of night where she should wear something that glittered. It would give her a little boost of confidence that she needed when her stomach quaked and her nerves stretched.