Hale’s Song: A single dad contemporary romance

by Tallman, Darlene

  “Meow?” Turning, I see Libby sitting there.

  “Hey, pretty girl,” I coo, walking over to her and picking her up. “You hungry? Momma’s sorry she’s not been here that much, but soon, things will return to normal. Well, as normal as they can be considering you’ll have kids around.” I continue talking to her while I get her wet food ready. She’s always got access to dry food, but I give her wet twice a day. Thinking on it, I realize that I forgot last night. Libby, however, seems to have forgiven that oversight as she has her face in her bowl.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” Hale says as he wraps his arms around me. “You shoulda got me up. I’d have helped.”

  “It’s okay. I got breakfast started and Spike is outside. I know the next few days and weeks are gonna be a bit...hectic.”

  “Yeah, no kidding. I don’t even know what to do about all of the stuff at their house.”

  “We’ll take it one day at a time. Plus, we’ve got your house as well.”

  He groans before saying, “Not before coffee, woman. Please.”

  I can’t help the giggles that escape. “We’ll get it all done, honey. Marvie and I will help, and she knows everyone, so I’m sure if we need to, we can clear out the personal stuff then do an estate sale for anything we don’t wanna put up for the kids when they’re older. Did they own the house?”

  He nods then pulls away and heads to the coffee pot. “They did, and I know they had college funds for both kids, so we can sell the house once I get the shit needed to be able to handle that and split the monies into their accounts.”

  “I think they’re gonna be set for life, Hale,” I murmur. “Because they’ve got their injury claims, plus with their parents dying, I’m sure that’ll do something. Do you think you should get a lawyer? Just to be sure that they get everything they’re entitled to?”

  He runs his hands through his hair before saying, “I think that’d be a good idea. I don’t really understand a lot of this shit, and I know they had insurance policies and what-not. It doesn’t make up for the fact John and Caroline are gone, but if we can ensure their future, that’d honor their final wishes, I think.”

  “Let me get a notebook so we can start writing all this down,” I say. “I don’t want us to forget anything.”

  “Love you, pretty girl,” he says, sipping from his coffee mug.

  “Is that the coffee talking?” I tease.

  “C’mere, woman. I’ll show you who’s doing the talking,” he replies, putting his cup down. I happily walk over to him and lean up for a kiss. Once again, I find myself lost in all things Hale.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Boz exclaims, walking into the kitchen. “PDA so damn early? I haven’t even had my coffee!”

  I pull back and start laughing. Boz is a big, burly guy who dwarfs Marvie, but right now, he’s wearing a pair of Hale’s sweats and they come up to mid-shin. “You look mahvelous, dahling,” I say in my best imitation of that character from Saturday Night Live.

  He looks down at himself and chuckles. “Yeah, well, I can’t help that I’m bigger than your man.”

  “Burly, the term is burly,” Marvie states, as she walks into the kitchen. “Move outta the way, that coffee’s calling my name.”

  “I got the clothes in the dryer. Shouldn’t take too much longer. Let me get breakfast started.”

  * * *

  While we wait for the clothes to finish drying, I get a few cakes in the oven. I suspect I’ll be baking at every opportunity in order to keep up with the orders. “What can I do to help?” Marvie asks.

  “Nothing right now. They should be ready to pull out in about thirty minutes, so that’ll give us time to make a list of anything the kids might need that we forgot. I want to make this as easy as possible on them if I can.”

  “I’ve called their attorney,” Hale states. “Gotta meet with him in about an hour. Can you ride with Marvie and Boz up to the hospital?”

  “I can do whatever you need me to,” I reply.

  Hale

  Once we get everything sorted at Addy’s, I leave and head to the attorney’s office. Walking in, I see the receptionist and say, “I’m here to see Mr. Masters.”

  “Certainly, Mr. Johnson, he’s expecting you,” she replies, standing and motioning for me to follow her. At his office, she knocks and lets him know I’ve arrived.

  As I walk into his office, he stands and comes toward me, his hand outstretched. “Hale, good to see you again, even though the circumstances suck.” My chuckle is forced because the last thing anyone ever wants to do is deal with a family member’s final wishes.

  “Yeah, I hear ya. How have you been?”

  “Not too bad. I pulled their file when I got the news. There are a few forms you need to sign so I can file for guardianship, but they’re pretty straightforward. Also, they both did end-of-life plans, and their wishes were to be cremated. The funeral home is just waiting on your signature and they’ll get that handled. Do you want me to organize a memorial and send out the notices?”

  I nod. “I feel like I’m in way over my head here, Scott. I mean, I know they’ve got life insurance and that the house is paid for, but I don’t have the first clue where to start! And with the kids all being hurt and John and Caroline dying, I have those claims to deal with as well.”

  “Do you want me to handle the personal injury and wrongful death claims?” he questions. “I have no problem doing that and your sister had me on retainer, so I won’t take anything from their settlements.”

  “They sure had their shit together, huh?” I ask.

  “Yeah they did. Need you to go over to the wrecker yard too so we can get their vehicle moved. Take out any personal effects. We’ll deal with the house once you’ve had a chance to get the kids home and settled in. I presume you’ll want to sell it?”

  “Eventually yes. I just got engaged, so we’re all going to be at her house since mine doesn’t have enough room and I think it would be hard on the kids to be in the house they lived in with their parents.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got somewhat of a plan. How about you go ahead and sign what I need to get the ball rolling, then go take care of the kids. The other stuff can wait. Oh, and because of the type of catastrophic accident, I’ve put their auto insurance on notice as well.”

  “Why do you need to do that?” I question. “It wasn’t their fault.”

  “I filed an underinsured motorist claim,” he states. “The at-fault party has good insurance, but when you put it up against two fatalities and three injuries, it’s not gonna go too far.”

  “Do we need to notify mine since JD was in the vehicle?”

  “Wouldn’t be a bad idea.” I grab my card out of my wallet and he jots down the information while I sign the documents he handed me.

  “Okay, gotta get up to the hospital. The boys are being released today and I want to get them back to Addy’s and settled in so I can see what work I can shuffle around.”

  “I’ll keep in touch, Hale, and let you know when the funeral home is done so we can set up a memorial for them.”

  “I want to wait until Rosie gets out of the hospital. She’s only three, but she needs to be there.”

  20

  Hale

  Once I get to the hospital, I head upstairs to see how Rosie’s doing. Seeing a nurse, I ask, “How is Rosie doing today?”

  “Oh, much better. The doctor is weaning her off the medicine since the swelling has gone down. She should wake up later today or tomorrow.”

  “Wonderful news. Do you have my contact information? My son and nephew are getting released today and I’ll need to get them settled, but she’ll need me when she wakes up.”

  “Let me check.” She goes over to a computer system and with a few clicks, says, “Yes, I’ve got you down as the emergency contact. We’ll call you as soon as she wakes up.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Mr. Johnson. It’s such a tragedy. I don’t want to pry or anything, but do they ha
ve everything they need? Some of the nurses wanted to take up a collection.”

  “My sister and brother-in-law were beyond prepared for every conceivable emergency. So while I appreciate the sentiment, please tell them we’re good. Or, better yet, if there’s someone else who needs it, do it in their memory.”

  “That’s a great idea! One of our little ones has a single mom and she’s been struggling. We’ll help her. Thanks for the suggestion.”

  I nod, eager to see Rosie and then head down to the boys. As I walk into Rosie’s room, I smile seeing her sleeping in her unicorn nightgown, with an outfit on the windowsill for when we can bring her back home. One of the nurses put a mask on her stuffed unicorn and it’s clutched in her little arms. Standing by her bedside, I lean down and smooth out her curls before saying, “We’ve got you, baby girl. Not sure how we’re gonna tell you what happened, but you’ll never want for anything.” I kiss her forehead and check to make sure she’s covered before I leave and head down to the boys’ room.

  * * *

  I can hear the laughter as I approach the room. Opening the door, I find Addy and Marvie on the beds with a board game in the middle. “You cheated!” Johnny says, pointing at Marvie.

  “Me? Never, young man! Now, move back like the card says,” she replies.

  “Looks like I got here just in time!” I state.

  “The nurse said to let her know when you got here. She’s got their discharge papers ready to go.” Nodding, I go back out the door and over to the nurse’s station.

  “I understand you’re ready to cut the boys loose,” I say to the nurse sitting there.

  “Yes, sir. Here we go,” she replies, handing me a stack of papers. More fucking paperwork. “I need you to sign here, here and here. Then, initial here.”

  I take the pen and quickly sign and initial where she indicated. “We’ve sent over their prescriptions to Barge Falls Pharmacy for y’all.”

  “Thanks, that’s the pharmacy I use.”

  Once I’m done signing, she hands me my copies and stands, saying, “We’ve gotta take them down in wheelchairs. Hospital policy. I’ll get someone to help me and be right in.”

  “Thank you again,” I tell her as I walk back over to the boys’ room. “Okay, y’all, time to get ready to split,” I say.

  Within minutes, the boys are loaded up and we’re headed home.

  Once again, life is about to change exponentially.

  21

  Addy

  Two weeks later

  I sigh as I switch out the laundry. These past two weeks have been rough. The boys have both been having nightmares, and Rosie doesn’t want to sleep at all. We finally got her home about four days after the boys. That was a challenge as well because one of us would stay at the hospital, the other here at the house, so the kids had at least one of us around all the time. Add the lack of sleep to the fact that Hale and his crew are trying to finish up several jobs, and the orders for my cakes have tripled, and we’re both running on caffeine.

  “This too shall pass.” I can almost hear my grammy’s voice saying that very thing. Any time something would happen that was beyond our comprehension, she’d say that. “You’re right, Grammy, we just have to get a system going and get the kids on track.” I’m glad Marvie found a child psychologist for us. It pays to have a best friend who knows practically everyone.

  Tomorrow’s the memorial for John and Caroline, so I’m trying to get the kids’ clothes ready. Marvie and I went shopping and bought them new outfits. It was a crazy day because we left Hale and Boz holding down the fort and literally hit every store possible to make sure we had everything for the kids as well as my orders. Still not sure how we managed to get it all in my SUV.

  I hear the ding and head back into the kitchen to pull out the cakes. I’ve found that if I bake early in the day, I can frost whatever I’ve made during homework time. Somehow, I’m keeping up. I put in the next four cakes and set the timer, before I go check on Rosie. I put her down for a nap about an hour ago so she’s probably due to wake up any time. She cries a lot for her parents and the only thing I know to do is hold her.

  She’s still asleep so I close her door and head back out to the kitchen. Time to set something up in the crockpot. Hale’s been working so late that he has missed more dinners than he’s been at, but I can’t say anything because he’s built an impeccable reputation. Once I have dinner going on low, I make lunch for myself and Rosie. When my phone rings, I grab it and seeing that it’s Hale, I’m smiling when I say, “Hello?”

  “Hey, baby, how’s it going?” he asks.

  “Rosie’s still napping, I’ve got dinner in the crockpot, Spike and Libby have a truce of sorts going since they’re both sleeping on the porch swing, and the laundry’s nearly done.”

  “I miss you,” he states. “I mean, I know we’re in the same bed every night, but you’re asleep by the time I get home and, in the mornings, I have to rush right out.”

  “I miss you too,” I admit. “We’ll get a schedule going, honey.”

  “I’m dreading tomorrow.”

  “I know. Did Scott reach you?”

  “He did. It looks like none of the kids ever have to work if they don’t want to.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s not raising them to be productive members of society. I don’t have to work, but I do.”

  He chuckles before saying, “I know, pretty girl. Boz and I are almost done with this job so it might be late. Trying to take the next few days off so I can spend them with y’all.”

  “The boys will still have school.”

  “I know, but Rosie won’t be awake the whole time. I need you, Addy.” The tone in his voice has my panties dampening.

  “I need you too,” I whisper. “I’ll try to stay up tonight if you want, but if I doze off, you better wake me up.”

  “It’s a deal. Gotta run, Boz is back with lunch. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Hale. Y’all be careful.”

  I hear Rosie through the monitor and go get her. “Hey, sweetie, let’s get you up and go potty, okay?” She nods and follows me into the bathroom. Caroline had her fully potty trained, but she’s regressed a little bit. The doctor said it was normal and to act as if everything was fine. Some days she does well, other days, it’s a disaster. Which explains the never-ending laundry pile.

  Once she’s done and her hands are washed, I pick her up and take her back into the kitchen where I get her set up with her lunch. While she’s eating, I fold laundry and put it away, making a mental note to tell the boys that we need to do their sheets this weekend.

  I decide to go ahead and make some cookies and lemonade for the boys’ snack after school since I’m ‘ahead’ on the laundry and the house is picked up.

  Hale

  “How’s Addy holding up?” Boz asks me as we finish staining the deck we’re working on.

  “We’re both wiped out. The boys are having nightmares and Rosie just doesn’t really sleep. We’ve got an appointment set up with a child psychologist next week.”

  “Given any thoughts about when y’all wanna head to the courthouse?”

  “Not really, figured we’d get through the memorial, then work on their house and mine, before we do that.”

  “Well, you know we’ll help any way we can. My folks as well.”

  “Can’t tell you how much I appreciate it, Boz. Y’all have been lifesavers.”

  “Let me finish up here and you go get some rest.” I look at him because he and Marvie both have been pretty much balls to the walls with us, except the nighttime stuff we’re dealing with.

  “You sure?” I’d love nothing more than to go home, shower, maybe grab a nap, then spend the evening with the kids and Addy.

  “Get outta here. Me and the boys got this shit under control.”

  “Not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, my friend.”

  I clean my brush before I head to my truck.

  “See you tomorrow. We’re planning on coming to th
e house early so we can give y’all a hand.”

  “Appreciate it more than I can say, Boz.”

  “You’d do the same for us. Now go!” I laugh because he sounds like I do when I’m trying to get the guys to leave. All of them have pitched in to keep on top of the jobs we’ve got. Think I’m gonna talk to Addy about giving all of them bonuses.

  * * *

  I pull into the driveway and smile. If I timed it correctly, Rosie might be down for her afternoon nap and maybe Addy and I can curl up for a bit as well. My cock hardens at the thought and I shake my head. He doesn’t seem to care that my exhaustion is so deep I don’t think I’ll ever catch up. As I get out of the truck, I grab the floral bouquet I bought for Addy. I had to stop for gas and an older gentleman had a stand set up.

  “Hey, baby,” I call out as I walk into the kitchen.

  Her smile is radiant as she walks toward me. I can see the dark circles under her eyes, but it doesn’t deter from her beauty. “What are you doing home?”

  “Boz made me come home.”

  “He did, did he?” she asks, leaning up to kiss me. I take the kiss over, pouring out all I’m feeling. Breathless, I pull back slightly before kissing her forehead.

  “Yeah, he did. I thought I’d grab a shower and see if maybe you wanted to lay down for a little while before the boys get home? Is Rosie napping?”