Free Gideon's Redemption by Maddie Taylor Page B

commit a crime, bud, except for the forgery. There was no money involved, and after ten years, I don’t think they’d do much. I did fire him, though. I can’t stand a liar and won’t tolerate someone so dishonest or spiteful working for me.”
    “I’m sorry I told you Gideon was dead, Eli. I thought he didn’t want you and I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
    Eli sat silently considering this for a long time. She watched as he shifted his gaze between her and the man he now knew for sure was his dad. She’d give anything to know what was going on in that nine-year-old brain. The buzzer rang and Gideon got up to serve the pizzas.
    “Are you okay, Eli?” Shannon asked worriedly. He was very quiet for such big news.
    He shrugged, then proceeded to scarf down three slices before coming up for air. His first question was for Gideon. “So, are you gonna marry my mom?”
    “Absolutely! I’d like us to be a real family. That’s why I had you guys come stay with me.”
    Eli grabbed another slice, and after he was done with that, asked another question. “Will I have to change schools?”
    Of course, he’d want to know that. It was a big part of his life—school, friends, and his basketball team. She and Gideon exchanged glances. They hadn’t discussed that yet.
    “We haven’t even thought about that, Eli,” Gid offered. “Private or public school options are both open, or there is tutoring. Malibu Unified Schools have an excellent reputation.”
    “I don’t like my school. The kids are mean, and the librarian sucks.”
    “Don’t say sucks, Eli,” she said reflexively. “It’s not polite. You never told me you didn’t like your school. Were you being picked on by someone?”
    “Not me, but one of my friends was. I told the teachers, but they didn’t do anything.”
    “I say we check out the Malibu schools on Monday,” Gid suggested. “There’s an elementary school just a few blocks from here where a lot of the neighbors’ kids go. You could make some new friends. How’s that?”
    He just shrugged again.
    Gideon looked at her, quirking a brow in question. He would learn that kids were unpredictable, devastated by inconsequential news at times, unconcerned by devastating news at others. She shrugged, giving a good impersonation of their son, smiling at his puzzled expression.
    Gideon shook his head, a smile curving his beautiful lips. “Any other questions, bud?”
    Shannon watched as Eli chewed thoughtfully. He was on his fifth slice, and she wondered where he put it. She waited expectantly for another question as soon as he swallowed. He’d been averaging one per slice.
    “I’ve got one more…”
    “Ask away, bud.”
    “Cool, can I see your tattoo?”
     
    * * *
     
    “He handled that well.”
    His voice had Shannon turning from the window where she’d been watching the waning light over the Pacific. Gideon and Eli had gone swimming after dinner, and it was 9 o’clock before they finally managed to drag him away from the pool. She had taken Eli upstairs while Gideon locked up. He was half asleep before his head hit the pillow on his new bed, in his new room. Shannon had tucked him in and was heading out the door when his sleepy voice called to her. “It’s going to be okay, isn’t it, Mom?”
    She had gone back, crouching down beside his bed as she watched him struggle to keep his heavy eyelids open. “Yes, honey. Gideon is a good man and he loves you already. We are going to be fine. Sleep tight now.” Before she finished those reassurances, he was sound asleep. Leaning forward, she whispered against his forehead, “I love you, Eli.”
    Now, as Gideon entered the room, she thought of them together again after all this time. Her eyes followed him around the room as he emptied his pockets and kicked off his shoes. As his hands moved to his belt, his eyes found her and she remembered he’d asked her something. About Eli, maybe. She tried to recall, but it didn’t come to