It was the monthly family get-together for the support group that Caleb, Lexi, Bea, and all their friends were a part of. James, Harper, and Sophie had all started going to the group meetings at Caleb and Lexi’s invitation. Together.
Sophie lived across the landing and spent a lot of time with Isaac. But so did Harper and James. The baby was always with at least one of the three, and they parented him as a unit. They hadn’t started a formal adoption process yet, and James and Harper were happy to give Sophie whatever time she needed. Maybe she’d never decide to give him up. That was okay. They were a family. An unconventional one, for sure, but still a family.
The support-group members hadn’t even blinked at their unusual situation, and over the past few months, they’d learned that every member of the group had a different parenting setup themselves. Some had lost their spouses, some had divorced, some had never had a spouse to start with, and some had spouses who were gone for long periods of time, like Lindsey’s husband, Matt, who was stationed overseas with his army unit. The thing they all had in common was wanting to be the best parents they could be and the need for support from other parents.
“Wow, he’s getting so big.”
Harper looked up at Dana Trahan, Logan’s wife. She had their youngest daughter propped on her hip. Harper had quickly figured out that Logan Trahan was just meant to have girls. Lots of girls. Everyone thought it was hilarious, but it was obvious that he was a fantastic dad and embraced everything about raising his girls.
“I know. I can’t believe how much they change and learn in the first few months,” Harper said.
“It’s crazy,” Dana agreed. “So, hey, us moms are going out next week for a spa day. Massages, mani-pedis, and lunch. Addison, me, Lexi, Lindsey, Ashley, Roxanne, and Bea, if she can make it. We’d love to have you and Sophie join us.”
Harper smiled at the other woman. “Thank you. It’s so nice that you include us both.”
“You’re both his mom, right?” Dana asked with a shrug. “One thing that we know very well in this group is that families are formed in all kinds of ways. As long as there’s love and support, it really doesn’t matter how the people in the family come together or if they share blood.”
Harper felt tears prickle at the backs of her eyes. “I love that.”
James had told her that all of this was just one more way she was proving she was good at rolling with things, just like he was. She was starting to believe him.
Sometimes she thought she was Isaac’s mom. Sometimes she thought she was Sophie’s mom. Sometimes she didn’t think either of them really needed her. Some nights they both needed her. And having two kids—three if she counted James, which she definitely did sometimes—meant never knowing exactly what the next day would bring.
She loved every bit of it.
James’s phone rang just then, and he glanced down at the number. He frowned slightly.
“So that’s a yes?” Dana asked.
Harper pulled her eyes from James. “Yes, definitely.”
She and Sophie had enjoyed the evenings together when James had been working. Harper had loved getting to know the younger woman better, and Harper really did feel that she was mothering Sophie, too, sometimes. She’d taken care of her when she’d had a sinus infection a month ago. She’d helped with homework. She’d taught her a couple of recipes. It was fun having a new friend-daughter figure. Harper would never have expected that. Nor would she have discovered it if she hadn’t been open to bringing Sophie into their lives.
“Saturday?” Dana asked.
“James, do you work Saturday?” Harper asked. Celia had offered to help sit Isaac anytime they needed someone, but so far they hadn’t needed to take her up on that.
“Uh… no,” he said, clearly distracted. “Hang on.” He lifted his phone to his ear. “This is James Reynaud.”
Harper watched his face go from frowning to surprise. He glanced at her.
“I, um… yes.” He paused. Then he nodded, holding Harper’s gaze. “Yes. Definitely yes.” He listened again and then smiled widely. “Great. We’ll be right there.” He disconnected.
“What’s going on?” Harper asked.
“You might not be available next Saturday,” he said. “You’re going to be a little busy.”
“Why?” Harper felt a little thrill shoot through her that she didn’t understand. She didn’t even know what was going on, but she could sense James’s excitement.
“They have a foster kid for us.”
She felt her eyes go round. “What?” They’d just completed all of their paperwork and interviews two weeks ago.
He nodded. “A girl.”
“Oh.” Harper reached out and squeezed his hand. “Wow.”
“Yeah. And… she’s thirteen.”
Harper stared at him. “A teenager?” She hadn’t been expecting that.
His gaze went to something over her shoulder. “Apparently one of the people they interviewed about us said that we’d be awesome with teenage girls.”
Harper didn’t have to look to know he was watching Sophie. She felt those tears prick her eyes again. “She did?”
“I guess so. What do you say? Think we can handle a teenager whose mom just went to jail for child endangerment because her boyfriend was dealing drugs out of their house?”
Harper shot to her feet. “Yes. Come on. Let’s go get her.”
James grinned and got to his feet. “That’s what I’d figured you’d say.”
Harper grabbed her purse. “I’m sorry, Dana, I don’t know about next weekend.”
“It’s fine,” Dana said with a big smile. “You guys go. We get it. Spa days can happen anytime.”
“Sophie!” James called.
The girl swung Isaac up to her hip and came over to them. “Hey, what’s up?”
“We need to go meet our new foster daughter,” Harper said, her heart pounding. “Can you get Isaac home all right?”
“Of course,” Sophie said with a nod. “A new foster daughter?”
“Yeah. What do you think?”
“I think that’s amazing.” Sophie gave them a big smile. “I’ll make cookies.”
Harper grinned. “That would be perfect.” She loved that Sophie wanted to be a part of this. A part of making all of this work for whoever needed them, even while she needed them.
“Logan and I will get them home,” Dana offered. She waved to her husband. “Logan will come out and get the baby’s car seat out of your car.”
Instinctively, Harper leaned in and gave Sophie a quick hug, then she kissed Isaac on the head. “We’ll see you later. At home.”
“Yep.” Sophie looked a little overwhelmed but happy.
Exactly how Harper was feeling.
James took her hand and lifted it to his lips. He kissed it and said, “I feel like I should go get her and show up at your door and say, ‘I don’t suppose you know anything about thirteen-year-olds?’”
Harper smiled. “Well, the answer would be the same as it basically was all the other times—’no, but I’ll learn.’”