Flynn's In (Lexi Frost Series) (29 page)

He let Manny know the plan, took the rest of the roses out of the trunk, and tossed them in the backseat of the limo. They looked slightly worse for wear after sitting in a warm trunk, but he trusted they’d thrill Sophie regardless. He just hoped Teri wouldn’t feel guilty about putting off what should have been a romantic weekend.

Hailing a cab
, Flynn took a mental inventory of what he might need for a smallish almost ten-year-old. He had extra toothpaste and toothbrushes at home, shampoo, and conditioner. He hoped there was bubble bath. His daughters rioted without bubbles at bath time, but that was a long time ago. Now anything he had was leftover from a romantic bath for two.

Once in the department store
, he enlisted the help of a bemused saleswoman who could almost have been his mother. It was easier not to deal with a fan.

Flynn quickly realized that
, Teri’s need to rescue this child aside, they knew nothing about Sophie. Sundresses and sandals were simply the most forgiving clothes he could get in terms of sizes, but she grew up on the street. Would this be a treat or disturbing for her? He bought shorts as well and a few feminine, but not too girly shirts, as a compromise.

Moving on to pajamas
, Flynn didn’t know whether to get the silky dress style or soft cotton shirt and pants so he got both. And a plush robe and slipper set. He almost forgot underwear until he was moving on and, on impulse, bought her an ultra soft pillow and blanket set to snuggle with. Maybe she’d stay in her room and he’d get Teri after all.

By the time he made it home
, Flynn took up the space of three people on the elevator. It didn’t matter; only one other person rode up with him, giving him a critical eye. He ignored the old woman. Flynn only knew a couple of his neighbors. He simply didn’t spend enough time at his New York apartment to recognize many faces. The old woman with him was only familiar because it had always surprised him she lived in an upscale apartment building like this one. She struck him as a crazy cat-lady and no pets were permitted here. Flynn let her out of the elevator first, knowing she lived at the opposite end of the same floor, and tried to ignore her as she watched him walk down the hall to his door. He knocked with his foot, not wanting to go fishing for keys.

Teri answered
, soaking wet.

“It
’s like trying to give a cat a bath.” Teri backed up to let Flynn by her.

“Was there bubble bath?
”

“Yes
, now I’m trying to get her to let me wash her hair.” Teri closed the door behind him and Flynn set down his haul.

He smiled. “Have fun with that.
”

She rolled her eyes at him and returned to the bathroom.

Flynn sat down and started unpacking the bags. It’d been awhile since he dealt with such small things as children being difficult at bath time. He stopped, holding a pair of small sunshine-yellow slippers.

He wanted Teri more than anything
, where did Sophie fit in? Flynn knew dating Teri would lead to marriage, although he hadn’t consciously acknowledged any desire to get married again before Dev mentioned it was a requirement for a physical relationship with her. It was part of loving Teri, he accepted that, embraced it even. Her kids weren’t children anymore and his relationship with them wouldn’t change much once they were married. Sophie’s entrance into the mix meant being a father again and Flynn struggled to pinpoint how that made him feel.

Glancing at the clock on the wall
, he saw it was past eight. Saffron and Simone, his twins, were out gallivanting around the world. The last he heard, they were in Bangkok. What time was it in Bangkok? It was morning whatever the time, they wouldn’t be up. His girls were not morning people.

What was the problem? Was he worried about his ability to raise Sophie? He thought the twins turned out all right. His former stepdaughter
, Mindy, seemed well adjusted. None of the girls he had a hand in raising turned out to be bulimic drug addicts or raging nymphomaniacs. He should be more worried about his track record as a husband than a father.

Teri
’s return disrupted his tumultuous thoughts. Flynn set aside the slippers and pulled out the robe. He started removing the tags.

“
Mission accomplished. That conditioner in the green bottle said you could leave it in or rinse it out. Was it lying?” Teri asked.

“Yes. Well
, sort of. You can leave it in if it’s only a small amount but you’ll have to wash it out tomorrow. I assume you mean for detangling purposes?”

“Yes. Cassie always accused me of trying to pull her hair out
. I figure I’d take the chance to give Sophie a break.”

“I
’ll take detangling duty then. Saffron and Simone never screamed at me.”

Teri sighed. “That
’ll be a relief. She’s drying off, so I came to get jammies. What’d you come up with?”

Flynn motioned to the piles he
’d sorted out.

“I half-
thought everything would be pink.” Teri surveyed the pale blues and yellows.

“That dress is. The thing is
, we don’t know if Sophie’s a girly-girl princess type versus a tomboy. Sophie might not even know yet. I figured pastels are largely inoffensive. A little pink, but not an onslaught. She should be her own kind of girl, once she figures out what that is.”

Flynn was surprised to find Teri suddenly on his lap
, arms around his neck.

“That
’s very . . . I don’t know.”

The sound of small wet foot prints stopped Flynn from kissing Teri. He looked to see Sophie
, wrapped in a towel with hair dripping down her back, staring at them. He was about to shoo her back into the bathroom when the doorbell chimed.

“Right. You get the girl
, I’ll get the door.” Flynn eased Teri off his lap.

“Are you expecting someone?
” Teri asked before walking around the couch to Sophie.

“No
, but Tim knows where I live. So do Kyle and the girls.” Flynn opened the door, but it wasn’t Tim or Kyle, or even Cassie and Tiffany. It was a tall dark police officer and a heavy set woman holding an identification card.

“Hello
, I’m Penelope McNally, from Social Services’ Child Welfare Division. This is Officer Waters. We’re responding to a report that you’ve taken a child off the streets that should be given over into our care.”

Flynn sighed. “Of course you are. Come on in.
” He stood back and gestured for them to enter.

“I won
’t go!” Sophie yelled from behind Teri. “I won’t go back, you can’t make me!”

Teri turned
, but she was too slow. Sophie bolted back through the master bedroom and into the bathroom, slamming the door. Teri followed, but returned a moment later.

“She locked the door
,” Teri told Flynn, tears in her eyes.

“Of course she did
, she’s nine. I remember this part.” He put an arm around Teri’s waist and kissed her forehead. “I’ll coax her out in a minute.”

Turning to the new arrivals
, he tried to maintain control of the situation. “Ms. McNally, Officer Waters, I’m Flynn Peterson, this is Teri Giles. Please have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?”

Ms. McNally surveyed the stacks of children
’s clothes on the coffee table as she edged toward the couch. “No, thank you. I’m fine.” Officer Waters took her lead and shook his head.

Flynn turned to Teri. “Pick out pj
’s for her will you? I’ll go see about getting our guest of honor to join us.” He looked at the pair on the couch. “I assume you want to talk to Sophie?”

“We
’ll need to take her to an appropriate care facility,” Ms. McNally said.

“But
—” Teri started. Flynn pulled her close to stop her.

“I suggest you speak with Sophie first. This is about her best interest after all.
” He led Teri toward the clothes on the table and walked back toward his bedroom. Once out of sight, Flynn pulled out his phone and called Tim.

“Sophie
?” he called through the door as the phone rang.

“I wont!
”

“You just keep saying that
, honey,” he whispered. “Sit tight.”

“Flynn? I
’ve got someone looking for —” Tim answered the phone.

“There
’s been a development,” Flynn interrupted. “Social Services is here and they’re trying to take Sophie —”

“I
’ll call Kyle. Stall. Also did you propose yet?”

“No
, got a little sidetracked.”

“Get a ring on her finger ASAP and it
’s merely making it official. You’ve discussed it, it’s not a rash decision based on a little girl.”

“Understood.
”

“We
’ll get someone legal over there as soon as we can.”

“Well
, for now Sophie’s locked herself in the bathroom.”

“Good girl
, I approve.”

“Teri
’s a wreck.”

“It
’s fine, it’s genuine. I’ll get back to you.”

Tim hung up. Flynn looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was in the room.

“Sophie?” Flynn whispered.

“If I don
’t come out, they can’t take me.”

“That
’s a good plan for now. But eventually they’ll realize I can unlock the door.”

“I
’m naked. That’s child pornography. I’ll press charges.”

Flynn laughed. “You ran away from a foster home before.
”

“And I
’ll do it again.” Flynn could picture the little girl’s decisive pout.

“Do you want to live with us?
” Flynn asked. He didn’t know if Teri already broached this question, but it was important for her to make an official decision.

“Yes. Teri said it
’d be different. I’d have brothers and sisters. I’d have to go to school, but that’s okay because it means I’d get to be something when I grow up.” Sophie paused, but he knew she wasn’t done yet. “Flynn . . .”

“I brought a full change for her
, pajamas like you said but that McNally woman kept pushing for regular clothes.” Teri appeared, eyes frantic when she saw the door is still closed. “I thought you were coaxing her out.”

“She
’s a stubborn one,” Flynn responded, then whispered, “Teri, as long as she’s in there, she’s not going anywhere. I called Tim and he’s calling in the cavalry, we need to stall for time. Also,” Flynn stood up and pulled Teri into his arms. He spun her around to face the window looking out over the city, his arms still wrapped around her waist.

“Flynn!
”

“Listen for a moment. I didn
’t want to do it like this, you deserve better. Remember when you were angry our relationship wasn’t going quite as planned, and I told you I couldn’t . . . do certain things until we were married.”

“You were listening to Devin
,” she growled.

“Yes
, and I put the subject of marriage on the table then, remember?”

Teri froze. Slipping one hand into his pocket
, Flynn brought out the ring box, flipping it open as he brought it up for her to see.

“Teri
, I love you. Will you marry me?”

“Oh!
” Teri melted, twisting in his arms to kiss him.

“I
’ll take that as a yes.” Flynn cut the kiss short reluctantly, but with relief to have the details done with regardless. “Can I also take it as said that we agree this is not impulsive, and the subject of marriage was discussed some time ago?”

“Because of Sophie?
” Teri whispered.

Flynn nodded
, pulling the ring out of the box and slipping it on her finger.

“Don
’t play with it or call attention to it,” he reminded her.

“Actually
, if I was washing Sophie’s hair, I wouldn’t be wearing it.” Teri admired the ring, then slipped it off, sadly. She bent down and slipped it under the door to the bathroom. “Put it on the counter well away from the sink please.”

“It
’s pretty,” Sophie’s reply came from the other side of the door.

“Clever
, but it defeats the purpose of putting a ring on you.” Flynn dropped the ring box in the nightstand drawer. Teri left the stack of clothes by the bathroom door. “You stay and talk to her. I’ll go man the fort.” Flynn kissed her. “We’ll get through this.”

Back in the living room
, Ms. McNally gave Flynn a disapproving look.

“She
’s stubborn.” He gave her one of the smiles he used for photographs, trying to win her over. “Teri’s having a go at it.”

“I don
’t think you’re really trying.” Ms. McNally stood up, clearly unimpressed with Flynn’s winning smile.