A Million Wishes (27 page)

Nodding she hugged her back “Thank you, I would appreciate it. I don’t like people looking at me with pity. I’d rather not be noticed at all.” Miki wanted to say something about the comment of “I’d rather not be noticed at all” but she dropped it for now, knowing she’d be watching to see if this was a pattern with the young girl, or if it was just because of the bruising.

Lilah turned the fire off out from under the eggs and scraped them into the bowl Miki had placed on the counter for her. Miki pulled the biscuits from the oven and took them to the table as well.

“
Ok, looks like breakfast is ready everyone, dig in.” Noah smiled as they enjoyed their first breakfast together, wincing when the crews banging started again.

“
What’s all that noise out there? That’s what woke me up.” Dom said, stretching to peek out the bay window out into the backyard.

“
That’s where we’re building our new house. This house was my Mother’s; she left it and the land to me when she passed away. It’s pretty old and run down with so many plumbing problems and stuff it’s not really worth fixing up, so we decided to build a bigger house instead. Once we move in there we’ll tear this place down. I grew up here and Noah’s family is next door. That’s how we met. Growing up next door to each other, and he’s best friends with my older brothers.”

“
We’ll take you two up to see the new house once it’s clear of construction workers this afternoon or maybe tomorrow. For now though, we’ll finish breakfast, clean up and get dressed so we can head into town. Meghan said she would pack up your things from old foster home but Mikayla and I would like to go ahead and get you the things you need in case it takes a while for her to get your stuff.”

“
We don’t want to be any trouble Noah. I still have a key to the house. If you could take me there, I can go in and get our things.”

“
No son, we need to give that key back to Meghan and let her handle getting your things. It’s no trouble at all to get you kids some new things ok.” Noah patted Dom’s shoulder and smiled. He pushed his empty plate aside and took a sip of coffee.

“
Besides, there’s something Miki and I haven’t told you kids about our life yet. Quite a few things but that will all come in time of us all getting to know each other. One thing that’s important for you to know now, before we go into town, is that we received a gift on our wedding day from my father. We actually laughed about it, and then forgot about it until our honeymoon was over and we were driving back into town from the country cabin we stayed in.”

“
What was the gift?” Lilah asked curiously.

“
A lottery ticket.” Miki replied.

Both kids looked up and Dom grinned. “No way! Did you guys win something?”

Noah laughed and nodded his head. “We did. As we were driving back home Miki checked her cell phone for the first time since we had headed out of town. She had a ton of missed calls and messages from my father. I panicked at first and pulled off the road to call him back, obviously worried something bad had happened, but it wasn’t anything bad at all. He was letting us know we had just won the largest lottery in Georgia history.”

Lilah dropped her fork on her plate and squealed. “Oh my gosh! Are you serious? You guys are the ones that won over $300 million dollars? I remember hearing about it on television!”

“
No way! That is awesome!” Dom gave Noah a high five and went to Miki and hugged her.

Noah nodded and laughed. “That was us, $341 million before taxes. We knew we needed to tell you before we go to town, because sometimes we get recognized and people come up to us, and we didn’t want you guys to freak out over it. Sometimes it can be overwhelming.”

Lilah was smiling when she spoke. “I knew when we met you last night that you were good people. As many homes as we’ve been bounced around, you get to where you can read people pretty well. I just had this feeling you guys were good hearted and we’d be safe here. Remember Dom? What we saw on the news about them?”

He smiled as looked over at his sister and replied. “I remember. They were the ones that were showing up at grocery stores paying for people’s groceries and stuff, taking truckloads of food to food banks and shelters. We said we hoped that one day we’d be lucky enough to help people like that. Poor kids that never had enough to eat or new clothes of their own instead of hand me downs like we’ve grown up in.”

“
How about while we’re out today we find some people to do that for then?”

The kids looked over at Miki and smiled. “Really Miki? That would be so fun!” Lilah was scooting her chair back and hurriedly cleaning off the table.

“
Get up Dom and help me so we can go to town and play secret Santa even though it’s not Christmas!” The kids made quick work of cleaning up with Miki and Noah chipping in. It didn’t take long and they had the kids and themselves ready to go to town. It warmed her heart that the kids were more excited about helping others than about getting things for themselves. She was going to love spoiling them.

They were walking out to the van and Dom questioned Noah. “You looking like a pimp walking with your cane Noah. Do you have to use that all the time?”

Laughing, he reached over and ruffled Dom’s hair. “It gives me something to lean on and kind of brace myself with without having to use those damn crutches all the time. Hopefully it won’t be much longer and I can manage without it. Besides, Miki says I look sexy with it.”

The drive into town was full of laughter and jokes. The kids seemed more at ease and to Miki; it just felt right, like they belonged together. She was quite happy with her growing little family.

Once they reached the mall she had Noah take Dominique to pick out clothes, while she took Lilah with her to the makeup store and had the lady at the counter apply her makeup so she wouldn’t be self-conscious all day, worrying about people seeing her bruises. The girl was positively glowing as she picked out the colors she wanted to purchase and enjoyed her first bit of pampering she’d ever received. Miki made a mental note to herself to have a girl’s day sometime soon and go get mani pedi’s together.

Her cell phone rang and she dug through her purse to find it. “Hey babe.”

“
We made a detour and haven’t been to the clothing store yet. Where are you two?”

“
Just got done at the makeup counter, want to meet at the department store now?”

“
Sure, we’re right by there.”

Walking upstairs to meet them Miki couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the big bag from the video game store. “Finally got one now that you can blame it on the kids huh?”

Noah was grinning like a kid in a candy store. “What? Dom said he likes playing war games and fighting games, so I just thought it’d be fun.”

“
Uh huh, don’t blame Dom. You know you’ve wanted that console for a while.” Miki winked over at the kids and hooked her arm in Noah’s, leading them all in to do some clothes shopping.

“
You look pretty in your new makeup Lilah. I can see I’m going to need an arsenal to keep the boys away from you.” Lilah blushed, beaming a smile at him and quietly thanked Noah.

“
I’m pretty good at scaring guys away from her Noah. It makes her mad sometimes but I’m pretty protective of her.” Dom looked proud and had his chest puffed out when his sister punched him in the arm. “Ouch!” He started limping, holding his arm, teasing his sister “Noah, I might need your cane a while, she’s trying to beat me up over here.”

“
If she’s anything like my sister she packs quite a punch. Don’t tease her too bad or you might have to live the rest of your life knowing you got beat up by a girl.”

Lilah was giggling now and hooked her arm in Noah’s “Yeah! Don’t mess with me! I’m gonna have Noah teach me some fighting moves. Will you Noah? Teach me how to defend myself?"

“
I sure can sweetheart. I’ve given Miki lessons too. Every woman needs to know at least the basics.” Lilah looked over at her brother and stuck her tongue out and giggled.

“
Ok kids; let’s get down to business, time to load up the carts. Let’s each get a cart and load up. Dom and Noah go to the men’s department and get enough socks to last two weeks, same with underwear and pj’s and Lilah and I will do the same. Let’s do the same with clothes. We’ll start out with enough for two weeks of outfits for school then we’ll get some casual stuff for around the house, comfy stuff ok? It’s starting to get really warm so we need to get you some shorts and tank tops for summer too and a few swim suits. If you don’t find that much here that you like don’t worry about it. There’s plenty more stores here to choose from but this one is the best when it comes to under things and pj’s, so I figured we’d start here ok? Then we’ll hit the shoe stores.”

The kids were both looking at her like she was crazy.

Noah laughed. “She’s a shopping guru lately. She’s gotten it down to an art when she brings someone to get a new wardrobe. I think she found her calling. Not only is she a fantastic writer but she’s also an amazing shopper, just roll with it kiddos.”

Chapter 23

By the time they left the mall the van was packed tight with all the clothing items they’d need to finish the last few weeks of school and cooler clothes to last through summer. They still needed to get groceries and toiletries but they had to run home and unload before they went out again. The kids were excited and wanting to change into a new outfit before they went out again, so Noah pulled Miki onto the couch with him and draped her legs over his, hugging her while they waited. He brushed a soft kiss on her neck, whispering to her. “Can you believe how much our life has changed in the last seven months? Who would have thought you’d finally make an honest man out of me and a father.”

Her fingers slipped through his hair and she pulled his mouth to hers kissing him with all the love in her heart. “I’ve tried to make an honest man out of you since I fell head over heels for you in the peach orchard when I was only nine years old Noah Cane. I’m so happy. So happy I want to cry right now. They’ve only been here a day and I love them Noah. We have to adopt them. They need us as much as we need them and they just fit, you know?”

“
I know. We’ll talk to Meghan and it would probably be best to call our lawyer too. See how quickly we can get this in motion and talk to the kids too. Make sure they feel comfortable and want to stay. I know it doesn’t bother me that we aren’t the same ethnicity and I know it doesn’t bother you either but it’s probably something we should ask them, if they are ok with it, you think?”

“
I don’t think it matters. I think they just want a family that will love them, keep them safe and be people they can depend on. They have been through so much already. They need stability and to feel like they can trust again.”

“
It doesn’t bother us.” Lilah said in a near whisper.

Looking back over the couch, she saw the kids standing there in their new jeans, t-shirts and sneakers.

Miki smiled and waved them over. “We didn’t hear you guys come in here. We were just kind of thinking out loud about what we’d like and wondering about what you kids feel and want. I know y’all haven’t been with us long and we haven’t had much time to talk so there’s no pressure, none at all to answer right now.”

“
We want to answer now, if that’s ok.” Dom said as they sat down on the coffee table in front of Miki and Noah.

“
Color doesn’t matter. Our parents were both biracial so I guess we don’t really see color like most people do. Our mom was mixed but she looked more light skinned, and our dad, he was dark skinned. They taught us to treat people the same no matter what they looked like or what color they are. I have a picture in my wallet if you want to see them.”

“
We’d love to see them Dom. They had to be some amazing people to have raised such good kids. I imagine your older brother is just as great as you two are.” Noah took the picture he handed him and smiled. “They’re a handsome couple. They look so happy together.”

“
They were.” Lilah was looking down at the floor, twisting her hands together. “Did Ms. Meghan tell you what happened to our parents?”

“
No she didn’t, but she did give us some paperwork on you two and we read some of it before we went to sleep last night. Do you want to tell us about it?” Miki reached out her hand and covered Lilah’s, trying to comfort her.

“
Momma and Daddy were really loving with each other like you and Noah are. They had date night once a month, and would go out to dinner together and maybe to a movie or dancing. One night when they were driving home they got hit by a drunk driver and they both died in the accident. Since we didn’t have any relatives that would take all three of us we got put in foster care. Our older brother Dakota graduated high school last year, so he was aged out of the system. He was able to get scholarships and is in his first year of college and he works too. He can’t afford to take care of us, plus he lives in the dorms, so we’ve been alone since then. Dom’s been pretty mad at him for leaving us. I have too. We’ve tried running away several times just so we can try to see him, and that’s part of why we’ve been in several homes. That and because Dom fights a lot.”