“Wait!” Mrs. Foley called. “You can’t just take them away.”

I can, and I would. But I hated that there wouldn’t be any more spontaneous trips to the ice cream parlor or park, not when I knew they could potentially end this way.

“Is he going to try to take us?” Lyla asked in a shaky voice.

Anna pulled her niece in close on the couch. “He can’t, Lyla Bean. He signed a paper that says he isn’t allowed to.”

“Because he’s a jerk and a loser,” Justin muttered, arms crossed.

“I normally don’t like that language, but in this case, I think jerk is the perfect word. As is a loser because he lost the most precious gifts he could’ve ever been given—you two.”

I sat back, watching Anna weave her magic with the kids. Repairing wounds and bringing comfort.

Lyla sniffed. “He didn’t want us.”

Anna brushed the hair away from her face. “Which is his loss.”

She looked up at her aunt. “D-do you want us?”

“Oh, sweetie. More than anything in the whole wide world.”

Tears slipped from Lyla’s eyes, tracking down her cheeks. “Good.”

Anna pulled her into a tight hug and met Justin’s gaze. “I will do anything I can to make sure you guys stay with me, okay?”

He nodded jerkily. “Can I go play video games for a little while?”

“Sure,” she answered. “But only one hour, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” He took off for the stairs.

I understood. He needed time alone to process. Maybe he didn’t want to let the tears fall in front of us. I’d give him that space, but I’d be checking on him in an hour. Because if there was one thing I wanted Justin to be sure of, it was that he wasn’t alone.

“What about you, Lyla Bean? What do you want to do?” Anna asked.

“Can I watch a movie?”

“Sure. Where do you want to do it?”

“In my room. I can set it up.”

Anna studied Lyla’s face. “You sure you don’t want me to help?”

Lyla shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“Love you big time,” she whispered.

“Love you, too,” Lyla mumbled and pushed off the couch to head upstairs.

When she disappeared, Anna leaned back on the cushions of the couch and pinched the bridge of her nose. I couldn’t stop myself from going to her. I sat down next to Anna and pulled her against me. She went willingly, letting her head fall to my chest. “What are we going to do?”

I slipped my hand under her hair, massaging her neck and scalp. “I think we need to call Walker and Keisha and see what our options are. I’d like to get a restraining order, but I don’t think we have enough justifiable reason.”

Anna straightened. “He hit Justin. That should be more than enough.”