Page 92 of Guarding Colton’s Witness

Ryan swallowed hard, trying to get air past the tightness in his chest. “You make us happy, too, Sam.” He cupped the back of the boy’s head, then leaned in to kiss his temple. “You can call me whatever you want, little man. I’d be honored to be your dad.”

“I guess that makes me your mom,” Matti said with a tremor in her voice. Her hand found Ryan’s, their fingers tangling together without effort.

Sam grinned, then yawned so wide it ended in a hiccup. “Okay. Night, Mommy. Night, Daddy.” As if he hadn’t just rewritten all their lives with a single question, he slid off Matti’s lap and, yawning again, padded back down the hallway to his room.

Ryan didn’t let go of her hand. He couldn’t.

“You okay?” she asked quietly.

He turned to her, eyes burning. “That was the best thing anyone’s ever asked me.”

She gave him a shaky smile. “Yeah. Me, too.”

And just like that, without rings or vows or paperwork, they became a family. Although he wanted those rings and vows.

He leaned over and kissed her, and when he pulled away, he smiled and said, “Hey, Mommy. How are you feeling right now?”

She giggled. “Ridiculously happy.”

“That makes two of us.” They hadn’t had a chance to talk about being back together and their future. He wanted to know why she’d changed her mind about being with a doctor, not that he wasn’t elated she had. But that talk would have to wait as headlights flashed through the window.

“I think your sister’s here.” Kelly was going to act as their attorney to help them through the process of adopting Sam.

Matti went to the window and looked out. “That’s her car.” She opened the door, and the sisters hugged when Kelly walked in, carrying a briefcase.

Ryan stood back, waiting for the sisters to have their moment.

“I swear, Matti, I blink and next thing I know, you’re back with Ryan and the two of you are adopting a kid,” Kelly said. She glanced at him and grinned. “And you, sir, welcome to this crazy family. Hope you know what you’re in for.”

He laughed. “I think I’m better off not knowing. Just take it as it comes, you know?” The interesting part of what she’d said was that she knew they’d broken up, which meant Matti had apparently talked to Kelly about him. He sure would’ve liked to know what Matti said about him to her sister.

“Smart man,” Kelly said. She went to the dining room table and set her briefcase on it. “Gather around, kids. Let’s talk about what’s involved in adopting Sam, and then we can fill out the adoption application. This is mostly for you, Ryan, since Matti probably knows most of this.”

“I appreciate it,” he said.

“First, in North Dakota, adoptions are done through private agencies. For a foster child, the state contracts with these agencies to facilitate the adoption. Private adoptions through the agencies can run into the thousands, but the good news for you guys is for a foster child adoption, the fee is modest because the agencies’ services are funded by the state.”

“That’s good news, but I’d pay more than their modest fee if it came to that.” He glanced at Matti. “I was going to start house hunting, but—”

“No reason to since we can live here,” she said.

Kelly removed a stack of papers from her briefcase. “It’s good you have an established home because there will be a home visit to see the environment the child will be living in. You’ll go through what’s called an adoption assessment. Considering you’re a doctor and Matti’s work with foster children, you’ll breeze right through that. They’ll talk to Sam, and I assume this is what he wants.”

Ryan nodded. “You assume correctly.”

She went on to explain all the steps they’d have to go through, and then they filled out the application. “I’ll get a start on this tomorrow,” she said when they finally finished.

He reached over and wrapped his hand around Matti’s. “We’re going to be parents.”

“Always thought I’d have nine months to get used to that.”

“But just think, we skipped the late-night feedings, colic, and dirty diapers.” He kissed her, but not how he really wanted to with Kelly watching them. “Congratulations, Mommy.”

She grinned. “Right back atcha, Daddy.”

“You two are just adorbs.” Kelly put the application in her briefcase. “I guess Sam’s asleep?”

“He is,” Matti said. “Want to see him?”