He nodded and sipped on the last of his cocoa as well. ”Do you have any family on this planet Jack? I know Katelynn’s mother is not exactly… stable so she isn’t a part of Katey’s life.”
Jack bit his lip. “Katelynn’s mother actually died this s-spring.” For a moment, as a pang of guilt shot through him, his stutter came back. “She … hell, I’ll c-come right out and say it, she was a horrible person. But it still hurt Katelynn a lot. She doesn’t like to talk about it, so … I just wanted to warn you.”
He swallowed uncomfortably. “But yes, I have family. My adoptive parents, Aloysius and Bonnie Maple.”
Harrison’s face softened. “She didn’t tell me,” he said quietly “Though from what I’ve heard about her mother from others, I don’t blame her. This might be prying, but has your family met her? Do they like her?”
That got a smile out of him. “Yes, they like her a lot. When she was in the hospital last December, they came with me and visited her.” Just remembering that visit – how he’d introduced them, and how the elder Maples had taken to Katelynn like their own child – warmed him even more than the cocoa.
“Even before she lost her mother,” he said quietly, “Katelynn didn’t really have any family. But my parents already consider her part of ours."
Jack Maple 