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.

"Thank you!" Jashanna stepped forward, holding out her arms for another hug, which I happily returned. In my mind, this was what Elizabeth had done for me when I was younger, and I wanted to be able to make a difference for Jashanna too. Pay it forward, right?

"There is no need to thank me. I may not be your mother, but I'll do the best I can to make sure you're happy and healthy." I felt bad, knowing what she was going through. I'd lost my parents with no warning, and when my grandparents had enough of raising me, they just handed me over to Elizabeth. I was just a hindrance to them. That was what her mom had done, except instead of giving me a chance to adopt Jashanna by signing her parental rights away, she just disappeared, and made things more difficult.

But we would still make it work.

"You're right, you're not my mother," Jashanna whispered into my shoulder. "You're so much better." I could feel hot tears soaking through my blouse, and I started crying a little myself. Gracie had watery eyes when she joined us in a group hug, and I knew my makeup was ruined soon after. Fuck it, who cared?

"Okay, get settled. I have to finish a little work, and then we'll order some pizza for dinner. Tonight is going to be a good night, so let's see some smiles."

My office seemed boring now as I sat down and booted up my laptop. Not that I didn't have anything to do, but with everything going on right now, work seemed to pale in comparison. Luckily, I'd saved myself some easy things like performance reviews that I could do in my sleep. The last thing I needed right now was something I needed to do heavy thinking on when I was way too distracted.

When I was finally done, I stood up and stretched, then walked out to the kitchen to see the girls gazing into the fridge like they were hypnotized by the food. "Are you two, okay?"

They spun around, looking at me guiltily. "Yeah, we're just hungry," Gracie admitted. "Are we ordering the pizza soon, or should we have a snack?"

"I'll order it right now," I assured them. They were both addicted to Mellow Mushroom, so I quickly placed an order for two pizzas and some pretzel bites. Yeah, we were going to have some major garlic breath, but only the girls would be affected as I had nobody to kiss.

Not yet anyway. I was making progress on that though! With Elliot gone, I'd be free and clear and single. Maybe I should ask around to find out if anyone could recommend any of the many dating applications out there.

"Jashanna, have you talked to your mother at all?" I wondered as we sat at the table and ate pizza a little later. "I know you mentioned you didn't know where she was, but I was hoping to talk to her."

She looked at me with wide eyes, then swallowed quickly. "She hasn't answered my texts in weeks, but she didn't block me. She knows now that I found out about her leaving. Why do you want to talk to her?"

I sighed after a moment, hoping that she'd be okay with this. "I want to adopt you, if you're okay with that." I heard Gracie gasp, but I kept looking at Jashanna to gauge her reaction. She offered a tentative smile, then nodded.

"I'd like that, but only if I don't have to stop dating Gracie. We won't really be related, right?"

"You better not!" Gracie yelped in alarm. "Mom, she won't, right?"

I shook my head at them. "No, this is just a piece of paper to make sure I can provide everything you need. That way I can be your emergency contact at school, or if you ever have to go to the hospital, I could be there to help make decisions, and you could be on my insurance for doctors' visits and things like that. But I'd never make you stop seeing each other. That is all up to you, and I'll support you both no matter what. This is just to make things legal from a paperwork standpoint. Hopefully, your mom is alright with that."

"Then yeah, I'd love that. Then you really will be my mom."

"And we can freak everyone out when we call each other sis and then kiss!" Gracie said with a snicker.

"Eww, no! None of that!" Jashanna covered her eyes just imagining it.

"You better not do that!" I couldn't help but laugh at the thought, but it wouldn't shock me if Gracie did that someday, just to annoy someone. "We don't need anyone freaking out about that."

"I won't," Gracie said with a smirk. "Unless they really deserve it! I promise."

"Gracie, I'm serious, you better not!" As funny as that might be, knowing Florida something bad would happen. There were just too many crazy people living here, and someone would take it all too seriously.

"I know," she grumped. "Maybe we'll just do it to Hollie. She'd think it was funny."

I couldn't deny that. Hollie would probably pee herself laughing just because she had the perfect amount of twisted in her sense of humor. "Just Hollie, that's fine."

"So, I have Gracie, and I'm living here. Does that mean that finding someone for you is next?" Jashanna with a little smile. "Or do we have to wait?"

"Let me get my divorce started and see about getting you adopted. It might be a few months, but I think I'll be ready soon." I couldn't even imagine trying to date and explain all that drama happening. People would run away screaming!

"Maybe around Halloween then?" Gracie asked hopefully.

I thought about that, and the timing seemed like it would work. "Fine. I think Halloween can kick things off. Are you two going to help me on the dating apps to find some people?"

"Yep, we'll help you find someone!" Jashanna promised with a giant smile.