Angel of Redemption by J. A. Little Read Free Book Online Page A

’ m pretty sure she ’ s going to have a heart attack one of
these days from the stories of our misadventures. Sara and Warren are my best
friends, my partners in crime. We work hard and party harder.
    Our
unit is managed by Mrs. Katherine Okoro. We call her Kate. She ’ s extremely tall, standing at about
six foot one, and has a thick Nigerian accent. She just celebrated her
fifty-fifth birthday, but she doesn ’ t look a day over forty.
    I
spend the next hour taking advantage of the fact that no one else is in the
office to complete the incident report from the previous night and the transfer
paperwork. When I ’ m done, I slip them into Kate ’ s inbox before heading to a foster
home just south of the city to visit another child in my caseload.
    When
I finally get back to the office, I ’ ve
just flopped myself down at my desk when Sara walks in.
    “ Did you seriously place the Davidson
boys at Wyatt House last night? ”
    “ Yep, ” I answer. “ How ’ d
you know? ”
    She
shrugs. “ My computer froze up, and I had to use
yours to type up a court report. You left your email open, and it popped up
with a message from Dean Wyatt. ”
    “ Oh. Yeah, that place is swanky. ”
    “ Right? Wish there were more group
homes like that. Who was there when you placed them? ”
    “ I don ’ t know. I just dropped them off at the
front door and hoped someone would eventually let them in, ” I deadpan. Sara scowls at me. “ Emily let me in, but I mostly dealt with Dean. Why? ” The look that I get from my best friend is comical.
    “ You had to deal with Dean? ” she asks. I nod. “ Was
he … ? ”
    “ Was he what? ”
    Two
years ago, Sara had a fifteen-year-old boy placed at Wyatt House.
Unfortunately, after only a week of living in the house he stabbed a high
school classmate at a football game. Meth-induced psychosis. He was sentenced
to three years in a juvenile detention center. DHS is no longer involved.
    “ I mean, he ’ s totally gorgeous, but I ’ ve
heard he ’ s kind of … “
    “ He ’ s
a dick, ” I say, nodding. “ I don ’ t care how attractive he is, I ’ m not looking forward to working with his moody ass. ”
    “ Really? ” she asks, smirking. “ I thought you liked dicks. ”
    “ Shut up, ” I laugh.
    “ Kayla, Kayla, Kayla, ” Kate groans, walking into the room with what I assume is my
report in her hands. “ Logan Davidson? Again? ”
    “ I know, ” I sigh.
    “ Matty doesn ’ t deserve to be at Wyatt House. He ’ s done nothing to warrant that
placement. ”
    “ I know that, too, Kate, but I can ’ t separate them. Trust me, I ’ ve tried. If I do it forcibly, I ’ ll lose Matty completely. And I ’ m pretty sure Logan would completely
give up, too. ”
    “ Logan ’ s already given up, ” she murmurs. I ’ m
not meant to hear it, but I do. And I jump to his defense.
    “ He hasn ’ t given up. If everyone would stop
telling him how worthless he is, maybe he ’ d stop believing it. ” I clench my teeth together, hoping Kate won ’ t take my frustration personally. Luckily, she doesn ’ t.
    “ How ’ s he doing with the independent-living
information? ” she asks, changing the subject
slightly.
    “ Once he gets settled, we ’ re going to start again. I think we ’ re on financial responsibility. ”
    Sara
lets out a snort, but bites her tongue when I glare at her. She has no faith in
Logan, either. She thinks he ’ ll end up in jail at some point no matter how hard I try to
steer him in another direction.
    “ That ’ s good, ” Kate muses. “ Well, I know it ’ s hard when he keeps blowing his
placements. Just try to stay on target. ” I don ’ t respond. It was a rhetorical
statement anyway.
    “ I ’ ve got another visit to do before heading over there, and then
I have to go pick up Claire. ” I announce, resting my head on my
desk.
    “ Why? ” Sara asks curiously.
    “ She ’ s staying with us for the next two
weeks. My mom and Richard