“I’ll be fine. Like Val told us in the beginning, we have to take the bad with the good. This is all part of it, right?”
“If you say so,” Alec said, but he was ready to be done with this. He had a plan and come Monday morning he was going to fix this once and for all.
18
It was Monday morning and Alec sat in his office and waited for Trevor Howell and his lawyer to show up. He had called for a meeting with them after Trevor went to the press. They were going to decline, but Alec convinced them it would be worth their while.
Waylon and Katie Lyn met with some of the entertainment press the next morning after the story broke out. The press was more than happy to let them explain their side of things and the father daughter duo were able to charm the press and win back their favor. Trevor’s plan backfired and radio stations were playing more Lipstick Outlaw and Waylon Bishop songs than ever before to show their support.
The fans were also excited to hear of Waylon Bishop’s comeback tour at Disney World at the end of the month . . . and that Lipstick Outlaws would be joining him that evening.
Katie Lyn was relieved that the band’s popularity wouldn’t suffer due to what was currently going on in her life. Once again, she told them that she’d be willing to step down as the lead singer if they needed her to, and once again, they reminded her that they were in this together.
Alec didn’t tell her about this meeting, in fact she was with the band right now rehearsing with Waylon for the concert in a few weeks. As far as she was concerned, they still had a pending court date on the 18th, but if Alec had his way, this whole mess was going to be over within just a few hours.
“Mr. Howell and his attorney are here to see you,” Alec’s secretary paged him.
“Thank you. Send them on in.”
Alec tried to remain professional and even offered Trevor a handshake, that he quickly declined. Just as well, he thought.
“I’m glad you could make it to see me this morning.”
“What’s this all about and where is your client, Mr. O’Donnell?” Trevor’s attorney, Susan Walker spoke up.
“My client will not be joining us for this meeting, I’m speaking on her behalf.”
“What’s this all about?” Trevor asked.
“Well, since you’re determined to be awarded custody of your daughter, I wanted to go over some things with you. First of all, where do you plan to be residing?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“I see. Well, you do realize the judge will want to know the child’s residence once you meet with him.”
“Not a problem.”
“How about your place of employment? Do you have childcare set up for Madison?”
“Childcare?”
“Yes, it’s my understanding that you work nights at the Dancing Trout. Do you have someone set up to watch her those nights, while you work?”
“I’ll find someone, or the kid can sleep in the back, while I work. My boss, Frankie, won’t mind.”
“Are you seriously suggesting you’ll bring a four-year-old to a bar . . . at night? Especially a bar with a reputation like the Dancing Trout has?” Alec was amused as he watched Trevor look back and forth from him to his attorney.
“I’ll figure something out. If I get custody, maybe I’ll make enough in child support to not work at all.” He smiled and Alec was tired of playing. It was time to cut to the chase.
“Trevor, what do you really want? I think we can all agree that raising your daughter is not high on your list of priorities.”
“How do you know, Mr. Hotshot Attorney?”
“Because you wouldn’t have left Katie Lyn alone to fend for herself if it was.”
“I told you she never told me she was pregnant.”
“Really? Let me ask you this. Do these text messages look familiar?”
“What’s that?”
“Your text messages . . . to your wife. At least she was still your wife at the time.”
“You made these up.”
“Check the date. I think you can read that it clearly states when those texts were sent.”
“How did you get these?”
“From Katie Lyn, of course. I don’t think you give her enough credit in how smart she really is.”
“This doesn’t prove anything,” Trevor said, giving him the papers back.
“Oh really? Seems to me that she told you several times about the pregnancy,” Alec said as he handed the papers over to Susan.
“Fine, but she’s still my daughter. And I want joint custody.”
“Why? Are you really ready to make a commitment to raising a child?” Alec asked him.
Trevor sat back as his attorney whispered a few things to him.
“Fine, she can keep the kid. I still want my piece of her earnings. She wouldn’t be here without me, and she agreed. You saw the paperwork . . . she signed it.”
“I did see that and you’re right, she did sign it.”
“Fine, then just have her write me a check and I’ll drop the custody thing.”
“I think the judge would be very interested in knowing that you coerced her into signing a document that she was unable to read.”
“What do you mean I coerced her?”
“Did you not tell her that if she signed it, you’d return the guitar you took from her?”
“I never said that.”
“How about her disability? Did you tell the lawyer that she struggled to read and had no way of understanding what she was signing?”
“Doesn’t matter. She signed it.”
Alec held his temper. He’d love to bring this guy before the judge and watch him squirm, but he wanted this to end today. He wanted Katie Lyn and Madison to enjoy the rest of this month with no worries of Trevor Howell interfering with their lives again.
“Trevor, I’ll make you a deal.”
* * *
“Do you want to go over the song one more time?” Katie Lyn asked them as the girls took a break from rehearsals.
“No, I think we got it and congratulations again, you two, on what I’m sure will be another hit song for Lipstick Outlaws,” Rissa said as Katie Lyn and Cinnamon smiled at each other.
“I knew you had a hit song hidden deep inside you somewhere. It’ll be a perfect song for the next album,” Val said.
“Okay. But promise you guys won’t say anything to Alec. I want to surprise him at the concert.”
“Deal.” They all agreed as they started putting away the instruments.
“We better hurry and get this place fixed up so we can open, and you girls can skedaddle before the crowd insist you play for them tonight,” Jake said as he started setting the chairs down.
“That wouldn’t be such a bad thing. We really should one day,” Rissa said as she closed her guitar case.
“It would be fun. Maybe after the new year,” Mac said as she stepped off the stage.
Katie Lyn was thankful for having the distraction of practice today. She had been on pins and needles all day. Earlier, she had that funny feeling again that something was wrong. She called her mom several times during the day to check on Madison, only to find she was perfectly fine.
All her worries washed away when Alec walked into the bar.
“Hey, you.” She smiled and greeted him with a quick kiss.
“Well, hello. You sure are in a good mood.”
“I am. I always feel better after singing and we’re going to go get the Christmas tree tonight. I can’t wait for Madison to see it. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, but just a minute. I have something to tell you. All of you.”
Katie Lyn started feeling nervous again as everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around.
“Alec, is something wrong?” Katie Lyn asked as she braced herself for bad news.
“No, nothing’s wrong. It’s over, Katie Lyn. Trevor dropped the lawsuit. He no longer wants custody of Madison.”
“What? Are you serious?
You mean we don’t have to go to court?”
“Nope. It’s over.”
“So, he gave up just like that?” Val asked, a skeptical look on her face.
“Well, he dropped the custody part, but he still wanted the money that he got you to sign the agreement on. “You were right, Katie Lyn, he only wanted money, so he accepted a nice check and agreed to drop everything. I didn’t let him off the hook that easy though, so in order to get the check, I made him sign a few agreements myself.”
“What agreements? “Katie Lyn asked.
“Effective today, he no longer has any legal rights to custody of Madison, and he’ll not be allowed to draw any more money from you. His contact with you is officially over.”
“How much do I have to write the check for? I will gladly give it to him if he promises to stay away.”
“It’s already been taking care of.” Alec said.
Katie Lyn couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was over, it was finally over. Waylon must have paid Trevor off. She would have to find a way to thank him, but first she needed to thank her hero.
“Oh, Alec. Thank you.” Katie Lyn cheered and jumped into his arms as he spun her around.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she kept chanting as she covered his face with kisses.
19
“Mommy. Mommy, wake up. Santa came,” Madison whispered as she snuggled close to her in the bed.
Katie Lyn opened one eye to see that the room was still dark.
“Baby, go back to sleep, it’s still nighttime.” Katie Lyn closed her eyes again, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep.
“It’s morning, Mommy. The clock has a four on it.”
“4 a.m.?” Katie Lyn looked at the clock to confirm a big red four shining bright.
“Baby, it’s early. Crawl up here and sleep some more with Mommy.”
“But you said I’m a big girl now and have to sleep in my own bed and it’s a special morning, Mommy. Santa came.”
Katie Lyn was starting to wake up, and while she was tired, she couldn’t help but be excited for her daughter. This Christmas was special. First Christmas in their new home. First real Christmas tree. First Christmas with someone special in her life to share it with. Alec made her promise last night that she’d call him as soon as they woke up so he could share in the excitement of watching Madison open her gifts.
“Give me my phone, baby.”
“Are you going to call Mr. Alec?”
“I’m going to send him a text, in case he’s still sleeping, like we should be doing right now.”
“Yay!” Madison sat up and started clapping. “Can I go wake up Nana?”
“Yes, baby, but try to be quiet about it, okay?” she said, but Madison was already halfway out of the room.
Merry Christmas!
She sent the text she already had waiting to send him this morning. Hopefully, he’d be able to wake up and come over soon. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to make Madison be patient. She immediately got a response.
Merry Christmas!
Katie Lyn smiled when the selfie of the three of them she took last night beside the Christmas tree popped up on the screen letting her know she had an incoming call. She was touched that he remembered how she struggled to text.
“Good morning,” she answered.
“Good morning, my love. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too.”
“Does this mean I can come over now?”
“Yes. I can’t believe you’re up. It’s just a little after four.”
“I’ve been up since three. I decided to get a workout in early.”
“Darn, I was hoping we could work out together later. I have a feeling I’ll need it after all this Christmas stuff is over.”
“We can. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day. So, let me get off this phone and hurry over. Be waiting for me under the mistletoe.”
“I will. Be careful. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Be there in a few.”
She hung up and fell back into her pillows. If this was a dream, she hoped she’d never wake up.
* * *
Katie Lyn snuggled up to Alec on the couch and watched as Madison began opening all her gifts. Between herself, Alec, her mother, the girls in the band, the road crew, her grandfather— not to mention Santa—Madison had an overwhelming number of gifts to open. Now that material things were coming a lot easier for her, she was going to have to be more diligent about teaching Madison it’s better to give than to receive.
Finally, it was time to open the final present from Santa. Madison quickly tore open the big box to find a small suitcase with Mickey Mouse ears on it. Katie Lyn could tell at first she didn’t understand when she looked at the tickets in the bag. When she explained, they all had to cover their ears, as she squealed in delight.
Once Madison was done running around hugging them all, it was Lynette’s turn. She was delighted to watch her mom’s eyes light up over her gifts. Her mother sacrificed so much for her growing up, that she took pleasure of being able to do things for her now.
After a little playful arguing between the two, Katie Lyn insisted that Alec went next. Out of all the shopping she did this last month, buying something for Alec was the most difficult. What do you buy for a man that has given you so much? She bought some cutesy gifts from her and Madison that she was sure he’d like, such as a new water bottle with his name on it and some new ties to help him keep up with the latest style trends. The last gift he opened made her nervous.
As he delicately opened the box and folded back the tissue paper, Katie Lyn watched as his expression went from shock, to joy and then to emotional. He looked at her with tears in his eyes.
“Do you like it?” She was nervous now. Maybe it was too soon in their relationship. Maybe it was too personal.
“Are you kidding? I love it. It’s just how I remember you both that day.”
“Well, I was a little better in that picture than when you were with me that day. My mom took that just before we left the hospital.” She stared down at the photo of her holding baby Madison and smiling at the camera.
“Thank you. I’ll cherish it. I know just the place on my desk to put it.”
“That’s me,” Madison said as she came over to look at his gift.
“It sure is. You and your Mommy.”
“Baby, I have something to tell you.” Katie Lyn looked over to a surprised Alec.
“What, Mommy?”
“Maybe I should have Alec tell you.”
“Are you sure?”
Katie Lyn nodded as she pulled Madison into her arms and laid back on the couch with her.
“You see, this picture means a lot to me.”
“Because it’s Mommy and me?”
“Yes, that and the fact I was there the day you were born.”
“You were?”
“Uh huh. You see, your mommy needed someone to take her to the hospital. I decided to help her, and I stayed with her when she had you.”
“Are you my real daddy?”
“No, baby. I’m not. Mr. Trevor is your real daddy, by birth. But I hope one day soon, I can be your daddy, too.”
“I want you to be my daddy now,” Madison whined.
“Come on, sweetie, let’s get that breakfast casserole out of the oven and give your mommy and Mr. Alec time to talk, okay?” Lynette said as she smiled at them both.
Madison quickly climbed out of Katie Lyn’s lap and headed to the kitchen with her Nana right behind her.
“Did I overstep my bounds? I wasn’t sure what to say to her.”
“You did fine.” She took his hand in hers as he sat back and looked at her. “She’ll understand better one day.”
“Speaking of that. You still haven’t opened your presents and I have one that I would like for you to open while it’s just you and me,” he said as he quickly got up and went to the tree. He grabbed a small gift bag and handed it to her.<
br />
Katie Lyn nervously took out the tissue paper as Alec continued to stand in front of her. Then she noticed the small blue box that she recognized instantly as being from Tiffany’s. Her hands were shaking as she took the box out of the bag.
“I don’t think I can open this,” she whispered as she tried to hold back her emotions.
“Allow me,” Alec said as he knelt in front of her and took the box into his hands. He smiled at her and opened the box.
Katie Lyn was in awe at the beautiful diamond ring staring at her. One big round diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds, as well as diamonds on the band. It was like something out of a fairy tale. A ring beautiful enough for a princess.
“Katie Lyn Bishop, the moment you walked into my life, I knew I’d found the one. Being with you that day, the day that beautiful little girl came into this world, was one of the most precious days of my life. I was so happy to share that moment with you. I want to continue to share moments like that with you.” He paused as he took the ring out of the box and reached for her hand. Her hand stopped shaking instantly the moment his touched hers.
“I know our lives are busy, and many things are happening so quickly for both of us, but I want to be there with you both, whether it be good times or not so good times. I promise to stick by you and that little girl through it all. Will you marry me?”
Katie Lyn couldn’t speak and just smiled and nodded as she tried not to cry. Alec barely had time to slip the ring on her finger before she was in his arms and they were sitting on the floor.
“YAY! Santa didn’t forget.” Madison was cheering as she tried to work her way in for a group hug. Katie Lyn and Alec released each other just enough to fit her in their arms for a hug one more time before letting go. They had to wipe the tears from their eyes.
“Sweetheart, what are you talking about?” Katie Lyn tried to laugh. She didn’t want Maddie thinking she was sad.
Katie Lyn’s Guarded Heart: Sweethearts of Country Music, Book 4 Page 14