Free Twins by Francine Pascal

makes me more secure than any statistic possibly could.”
    â€œBut leaving Gaia with total strangers,” George mumbled as he stepped into the kitchen.
    â€œNatasha and her daughter are not strangers, George. They’re family—”
    â€œThey’re strangers to
her,
Tom,” George interrupted. He locked eyes with Tom, placing himself in the way of the kitchen door. His plea for Tom’s compassion felt more like a demand than a request.
    Tom knew how much he was asking of Gaia, to make another adjustment to another foster situation, but he could see no way around it at this point. Not if he wanted to protect her. Not if putting Loki out of commission was going to get his full attention. He had to believe that Gaia’s resilience would get her through the initial shock of boarding with a new family. Natasha and Tatiana would earn her trust. He might not know them that well, but he certainly knew them well enough to see their honesty and their kindness and their strength—all qualities Gaia was sure to appreciate.
    But looking into George’s eyes, so saturated with apprehension and caring, Tom realized just how far he’d regressed into tunnel vision the last few months. All this time George had been backing Tom up, taking the reins as Gaia’s guardian at the drop of a hat, Tom really hadn’t stopped to consider what Gaia had come to mean to George. He was a great friend and a deeply committed agent, but that couldn’t account for all the enormous sacrifices he’d made. After all these years how could George not have developed a deep personal stake in Gaia’s life? It was only human. Tom had never seen that as much as he did right now in George’s eyes.
    But he needed to be firm in his decisions. Wavering would only chip away at his confidence, leaving himself and Gaia that much more vulnerable to Loki’s maneuvers. George’s devotion was a blessing, to say the least, but this was no time to make Gaia’s parenting any kind of democracy. It didn’t take much for Tom to start second guessing himself on the choices he’d made with Gaia. And if he started down that road, he knew where he’d end up—huddled in a well of unfathomable self-doubt and self-hatred. He’d been there more than a few times, and he could ill afford to fall back into that well right now.
    â€œI trust them, George,” he said firmly. “That’s all I have to say on the topic.”
    George didn’t say a word. He simply marched back into the den. Tom followed, fighting his frustration.
    He sat down on the couch directly opposite George so that they were face-to-face. George ignored Tom’s eyes and focused instead on the photos by the window—framed Polaroids he’d taken of Gaia and Ella posing uncomfortably for instant family portraits. Gaia’s face had never looked so dour, nor had Ella’s smile ever looked so painfully forced. Why did George feel a need to frame and display such disposable gloom? Tom shook his head, pushing the thought from his mind.
    â€œGeorge, listen to me, all right? The situation is clear. All the old reasons for distancing myself from herhave proved totally valid. You can’t deny it. The closer I am to Gaia, the closer my brother becomes and the more she suffers. As long as he’s still out there, my proximity to Gaia is just going to cause more damage.”
    â€œYou’re missing the point,” George stated. “If you leave Gaia alone again with this Natasha woman, then you’re hardly any better than
him,
Tom.”
    Tom could barely believe his ears. To hear his closest friend compare him to his sick brother was more than just a slap in the face, it was a full-scale emotional ambush. Even after searching George’s eyes more closely, Tom still couldn’t find an ounce of remorse or regret for having made such a blasphemous suggestion. “What the hell are you talking