If you’d prefer a downloadable EPUB version, you can download that here: https://books.kaitnolan.com/si3nl9lvql
***
As Mia sat in the Johnson City social services office, her hand trembled in Brax’s larger one. The fluorescent lights and institutional furniture here were the same as the Washington state offices where they’d both once been foster kids themselves, and being here brought back memories she didn’t much care to relive. She and Brax had survived the system because they’d had each other. And she’d endure those memories a hundred times over if it meant they finally got to help someone else.
Brax brought their joined hands to his lips. “You ready for this?”
Ready to meet the kids they were taking on as their own? She nodded, though her heart was thudding so hard in her ears she could barely hear.
They’d endured so much to get to this point. The home study had seemed to take forever. And there’d been more than one disappointment when a child had ended up going back to their biological parent or another blood relative. But there were no biological relatives of these two. The circumstances these kids had been pulled out of… Mia and Brax had read the files and understood why their social worker thought they might be the perfect foster parents. Because they understood these sorts of wounds, this sort of trauma. Brax, in particular, had lived it.
The door opened, and Ms. Martinez walked in. But this time, she wasn’t alone. Behind her came two children—Dakota, only six, but with eyes far, far older; and three-year-old Duncan, who pressed himself against his sister’s side, his face half-hidden in her shirt. They were too thin, with hollows in their cheeks that broke Mia’s heart. She wanted to give them all the treats, all the love. Anything to fill in those empty spaces that had robbed the joy from their faces.
“Brax, Mia, I’d like you to meet Dakota and Duncan.”
Dakota’s arm wrapped protectively around her brother, her stance rigid, eyes darting between them and the door. Assessing. Planning. Mia recognized that look—they’d worn it themselves often enough, and so had every other kid they’d run across.
Brax leaned forward, staying in his seat so his bulk would appear less threatening. “Hi. I’m Brax, and this is my wife, Mia.”
Dakota said nothing, but her little chin lifted slightly. Duncan remained silent, pressed against her side.
Mia chose her words carefully. “We know you’ve been through a lot, and we know how important it is that you stay together.” God knew, she understood trauma bonding.
Hope and distrust flickered in Dakota’s eyes.
Brax loosely linked his hands together. “We were foster kids, too. Different state, same story. We know what it’s like to need to protect the people you love.”
Dakota’s grip on Duncan loosened just fractionally. “They said… they said you make cakes?”
“I do, sometimes,” Brax confirmed. “Though I tend to do more with pastry and cookies. I own a bakery with my friends. My pal, Holt, is really the genius with cakes. And Mia builds things. She fixed up the bakery and our house.”
Duncan peered out slightly at the mention of cookies, though he didn’t make a sound.
Mia itched to scoop him up and protect him against the world. But she knew she might have to wait a long, long time before he was ready for that. “Your brother doesn’t have to talk if he doesn’t want to. Sometimes it takes time to feel safe enough for words.”
Dakota’s shoulders dropped just a little, the first real sign of her guard lowering. “He… he likes to watch people bake. Before… before everything, our mom used to…”
She stopped abruptly, jaw tightening, but Mia understood. Before the drugs. Before the closet. Before their world fell apart.
“Would you like to see it?” Brax asked. “The bakery? Not today, if you’re not ready. But whenever you feel comfortable. It’s quiet in the mornings before we open. Or we could give you a special tour on the day we’re closed.”
Dakota studied them both carefully, the way only a child who’d had to grow up too fast could. “You won’t separate us?”
“Never.” Mia kept her tone firm but soft. “Family stays together.” And we want you for ours. But she didn’t say that. Not yet. She knew better than to make promises she couldn’t keep, and this decision wasn’t entirely up to her and Brax.
Duncan shifted slightly, one hand reaching out toward the combat boots Brax wore, before quickly retreating back to his sister.
“He likes your shoes,” Dakota translated, a hint of protective pride in her voice.
Brax grinned, but Mia could see the emotion underneath the expression. He wanted them as much a she did. “We can get you some just like them, when you’re ready. They’re yours if you want them, buddy.”
Dakota looked down at her brother. They had some kind of silent communication. Then she tightened her hold on him and glanced back to Mia and Brax. “That sounds… maybe okay.”
That reluctant acknowledgment felt like a gold medal for all Mia’s heart swelled almost to bursting.
The social worker finally spoke. “Then let’s see what we can do.”
As Ms. Martinez quietly discussed the next steps, Mia leaned into Brax’s solid warmth. She knew the road ahead wouldn’t be easy. There would be nightmares and triggers, trust to rebuild, and trauma to work through. But looking at these two children—seeing their own past reflected in those wary eyes—she knew this was right.
Sometimes the most profound healing came from helping others find their way home.
* * *
I’m so glad you wanted to see a little bit more of Mia and Brax’s happily ever after. It made all the sense in the world that these two would be foster parents. Keep reading the Bad Boy Bakers series for more glimpses of their growing family.
Holt and Cayla are up next in Wrapped Up with a Ranger.
Can a grumpy former Ranger find lasting happiness in a marriage of convenience with a sunny single mom?
After losing his leg, former Army Ranger Holt Steele is building a new life and a new business with his friends. Sure, he never expected to put small-town baker on his resume, but he finds he likes the quiet, simple life. If only he didn’t like the sunny single mom who works across the street–or her adorable kid–quite so much.
After escaping a controlling husband, event planner Cayla Black has one focus–growing her business and maintaining a safe, happy home for her daughter. She has no time or interest in a man. Not even one who charms her child with Disney songs and keeps turning up like a mind-reader to help without being asked.
But when her ex’s conviction is overturned on a technicality, and he shows up to reclaim his wife and child, Holt intervenes with an outrageous lie. The only way to fix it is to make his falsehood the truth. As they struggle to convince everyone that their marriage of protection is real, these two reluctant hearts fall deeper, until the lines between the fiction and the dream begin to blur, and they have to risk it all to protect the family they didn’t know they wanted.
Order your copy of Wrapped Up with a Ranger today!