Uncompromising (Age Gap, gxg)

Chapter 11

The trip back to the house, once we had Jashanna back with us, was much better. Yes, the girls were both crying, but now it was tears of relief and happiness as they both knew that things were going to be okay. I already knew that tonight would be a miniature party, Jashanna deserved it, so I was breathing a sigh of relief. It didn't hurt that I had an appointment with the lawyer tomorrow too, but getting Jashanna safely into our house was a much bigger source of happiness. She needed a home, and we'd already proven we could provide that.

There was a lot of new things to do with Jashanna needing our help now though. She had almost no clothes other than the few things that we'd bought before school, and the things that she'd brought over for the summer. Everything else, from socks and underwear to outerwear and boots, was gone. Her mother hadn't even left them for her. What upset me the most was that judging by the length of the grass, they had moved out well over a month ago, and never told her. We could have brought her back at any time if they wanted to take her, or for her to get her stuff at least. Yes, it would have broken both girls' hearts, but she could have gone with her family. Instead, they just disappeared. They left her on purpose, and I just didn't want to hurt her even more by pointing out that they probably weren't coming back for her.

I also needed to do a few other things to make sure that she was going to succeed going forward too. If her mom had the house foreclosed on, I was pretty sure there would be no money for her to go to college, and she might not even have any health insurance at the moment. Those were two things I could do, but I'd have to talk to a lawyer to see if I could make sure it happened safely. The last thing I needed was for Jashanna to become a ward of the state when she already had a good home with us. But would I have to jump through some legal hoops to make sure I could adopt her? If her mother could sign over her rights, then I could do it with no issues. If not, I might have to let her stay with us until she was 18, and then I could adopt her as an adult.

There were a lot of things to take care of, but I wasn't going to let anything happen to that sweet girl.

"Jashanna, we're going to do more clothes shopping, okay? I want to make sure you have enough things to wear," I said over my shoulder. "We won't do it today, but maybe this weekend we'll go. I'm not going to take no for an answer either. You're a part of our family, and I'm going to make sure you have everything you need."

She nodded with a smile on her face and didn't argue the point, she knew better.

When we got home, there were a lot of hugs, and then the girls brought all of Jashanna's clothes back up to their room as Karma and Swiftie ran along with them. I followed along, just to see if there was anything they needed. Throughout the years, Jashanna had spent many nights there, but it wasn't really her room, it was Gracie's. Maybe it was time to make it a joint room if they were going to stay together? Or would it be better to give Jashanna her own guest room? Hell, I just moved all of Elliot's stuff out, so maybe I should give her a space of her own, even if they ended up in the same bed a lot. I already wanted to redecorate that room, so it made sense to give it a fresh start.

"Before you get comfortable, how would you like your own room?" I asked Jashanna. "We're going to have a free one now that Gracie's dad isn't going to be here anymore. You can decorate it however you like, and it's right across the hall from Gracie so you can visit each other whenever you like."

The smile that lit her face made that worth it. "My own room? Really?"

Gracie hugged her from behind, putting her head on Jashanna's shoulder. "That gives us two beds for snuggles!"

"More importantly, it gives you each a closet for clothes, places for homework and stuff, and whatever artwork you like. Think about what you might want for furniture and paint colors in there, and we can shop for that this weekend too." I had another option, one which might work once they were 18, but this would be a good solution while they were still young and learning about each other. But when they turned 18, maybe I could put them in the basement suite. It might not be necessary since they might be living on a college campus, but it was another option.