Page 90 of Guarding Colton’s Witness
“Hmm. Maybe I’m not the person you should be asking that.”
“You’re confusing me, Matti. If not you, then who?”
She chuckled, then left him standing in the middle of the living room, a very perplexed man. And when she returned with Sam by her side, he decided he was hallucinating, or that all of this was a weird dream and he really was back in his apartment in his bed.
“Doc! Surprise!” Sam ran to him.
Ryan scooped the boy up, felt Sam’s tiny arms wrap around his neck and Sam’s warm breath on his cheek. Real. Not a dream. His boy was real. He lifted his gaze to Matti. “I thought you would’ve taken him to his foster family by now.”
“I did. Got all the way to the Baileys’ but I couldn’t do it. Not when he’s ours.”
“Ours?” What did that mean?
Sam put his hands on Ryan’s cheeks and turned his face, then looked into his eyes and grinned. “Matti told me to hide so I could surprise you. Are you surprised?”
“I’m many things right now, and surprised is definitely one of them.” He was still stuck on ours. When his eyes met hers, she smiled, and in that soft smile, his hope grew.
She came to them, her eyes shimmering, though whether it was from emotion or uncertainty, he couldn’t tell. She reached for Sam’s hand, the three of them forming an awkward little triangle in the center of her living room.
“Ours,” she said again, quieter this time. “If you meant it—what you said about adopting him—then I think we should do it together.”
Ryan blinked. “Together? As in…you and me?”
She gave a tiny nod. “I want a family. I want this family. You. Me. Sam.”
Ryan stared at her, stunned. “Even if I’m a doctor?”
Her smile trembled into something raw and honest. “Even if you’re a doctor. I was scared, Ryan. I’ve spent so much time fearing I’d be left that I forgot some people stay.”
He swallowed hard, Sam’s weight grounding him as emotion swelled inside his chest. “Matti…” He took a breath. “You’re not going to be left. Not by me. Not ever. I want both of you. Always.”
Sam squirmed and looked between them. “Does this mean I get to stay with you forever?”
Ryan kissed the top of Sam’s head, then looked at Matti, who nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Yeah, buddy. Forever sounds pretty perfect to me.”
Matti stepped closer and wrapped her arms around them both. Ryan slipped his free arm around her waist and held his family close. They weren’t just two people and a kid anymore.
They were a family.
* * *
Aiden: Dyl, you owe me a hundred bucks, dude.
Aiden: Dylan? I know you’re here.
Wyatt: Why?
Aiden: He bet me Matti wouldn’t keep Sam.
Cal: Hell, we all knew she would.
Aiden: IKR?!!!!!
*Dylan Colton has left chat group*
*Aiden Colton has added Dylan Colton to chat group*
Matti: You blockheads bet on me?
