Early One Morning (Love in Oahu Book 1)

by Aubree Lane

  She glanced back at her courtroom where Terence still sat. “Mr. Javier, are you not interested in the fate of your daughter?” she asked sarcastically.

  “Yes ma’am,” he stammered, getting to his feet. “But this is not my hearing. I’m not represented here today.”

  “Mr. Javier, I will not ask you again. Do you, or do you not, wish to attend this meeting?”

  Terence jumped to his feet and rushed to catch whatever train he was about to board.

  As soon as everyone was seated, Judge Sanchez exploded at Marissa. “Why are you wasting my time when the paternity tests have not come back? All I have is your word that Larry Wright is Miss Turner’s father.”

  Marissa leaned forward and tried to explain. “Your Honor, I believe―”

  “You thought,” Judge Sanchez snapped, “that because of my relationship with you and your family that I would give you whatever your little heart desired.”

  “No, I―”

  “And you,” Judge Sanchez said, directing her fury at Hannah’s young, inexperienced, and now traumatized attorney. “Why are you here alone? Where is your client? There is absolutely nothing more important than the welfare of a child. Your client had better be in the hospital fighting a terminal illness, because no other excuse will do.”

  “My client has been―”

  “Is she fighting a terminal illness, Mr. Jamison?” Judge Sanchez demanded.

  “No ma’am,” the distressed attorney conceded.

  Judge Sanchez leaned back in her chair and everyone fell silent. The only sound emitted was that of the drumming of her judicial nails on the top of her desk.

  Larry shot Marissa a nervous look. David stood in the background, obviously waiting for an opportunity to leave. Poor Mr. Jamison was painfully distraught at his inability to explain his client’s absence, and Terence didn’t have a clue why he was present or what was happening.

  “Well now,” Judge Sanchez said once she regained her composure. She turned to address Larry Wright until she noticed David edging ever closer to the door. “Do you need to use the restroom Mr. Crandall?” she asked with exasperation.

  David only missed one beat before he quipped, “Yes ma’am.”

  The judge cracked a smile. “Good thing you aren’t under oath young man.” Then she waved a dismissing hand in his direction.

  David hurried out of the door and Judge Sanchez faced Larry once more. “Well, this is another fine mess you got yourself into, Ollie,” she said, quoting the old comedy team of Laurel and Hardy. Larry did not respond, so the judge continued, “I am pleased to see that you and Mr. Javier are cooperating with each other, but I am not about to disrupt that little girl’s life without rock solid evidence of her parentage, and I am pretty ticked off that you thought I would!”

  Larry nodded. “I’m sorry, Theresa. We hoped when you saw how gently we wanted to ease Erika into our lives, that you would see the wisdom of granting me temporary custody. Then once Erika had been integrated into our family, and my parentage was proven, that you would agree that the next logical step would be to make the order permanent.”

  His words only exasperated Judge Sanchez further, sending her to the breaking point. The anger in her eyes flared to a new height, but instead of exploding as she had earlier, she flipped open the case file and studied it.

  “Mr. Javier,” she said looking at Terence. “I see that Miss Turner has spent several summers with you at your home on Oahu, is that correct?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Is she comfortable there?”

  Terence nodded, wondering where this line of questioning was leading.

  “Is there a school nearby, and are you able to afford a tutor to help her catch up on her schoolwork?”

  “Yes ma’am,” Terence answered, not daring to hope.

  “Then since you are her legal father, as stated on her birth certificate, and since her mother has documented in such great detail what an excellent father you are, I grant temporary custody to you for the remainder of the school year.”

  Terence could not believe what he just heard. The elation he felt was overwhelming.

  Marissa jumped up. “Your Honor―”

  “Sit down, Marissa. You knew you were grasping at straws.” She looked at her calendar and continued, “A court date will be set one week after the school year ends. That gives you all about six months to get your ducks in a row.” She turned her attention to Terence. “I trust you will return at that time, Mr. Javier?”

  Terence felt his head bob up and down like an idiot, but he didn’t care. He had Erika for six whole months without any interference from the Wright family or Hannah. “Thank you, Your Honor.”

  Hannah’s attorney finally found his voice and stood up. “I must object!”

  Judge Sanchez silenced him with a vicious glare. “You tell your client, the next time she blows off a hearing in my courtroom that it will be her last. She will automatically lose all parental rights, and we’ll all get to go home early.” With that she stood, shrugged off her black robe, and stormed out the back while Mr. Jamison beat a hasty retreat out the front.

  Marissa and Larry stood and hugged each other. Then they turned to Terence. With a sincere almost joyful smile, Marissa reached out to Terence and shook his hand. “Congratulations, Judge Sanchez did the right thing.”

  Larry slapped him on the back and wrapped him up in a bear hug. Then he turned to Marissa. “Well done, daughter.”

  Terence hadn’t expected this reaction. He thought they were going to be upset with the judge’s ruling. “This didn’t go the way you planned, did it?”

  Marissa laughed. “Well, not the part about you taking Erika back to Hawaii, but our main goal was to get Erika away from Hannah, and we accomplished that quite well,” Marissa stated proudly.

  “Wait a minute.” Terence needed a moment to catch up. “You expected me to get custody?”

  Larry wrapped an arm around Terence’s shoulder. “Theresa, I mean Judge Sanchez, hates seeing someone getting railroaded. We decided to use that to our advantage. I hoped since she doesn’t have jurisdiction outside of California that she would force you to stay here. She’s taking a big risk trusting you to bring Erika back next June.”

  Terence stared at the man. “Aren’t you supposed to discuss strategy like this with me? I’m not sure whose side you’re on.”

  Marissa patted his back. “Remember what I told you back on Oahu? We’re on Erika’s side, and that her welfare would always come first.”

  For the first time since they told him Erika was not his daughter, Terence felt like maybe he could trust them. The selflessness they showed floored him. The amount of respect he felt for Marissa and Larry was off the charts. “I am totally amazed.”

  Larry’s eyes danced with joy. “That’s not surprising. We always have that effect on people.” He guided Terence towards the door. “Now that we have you off-balance, can I convince you to bring Erika and Annie to my home for dinner this evening? Marissa’s kids will be there and we’ll have a big family dinner. I’ll get to meet Erika, and you and I will have a chance to get to know each other a little better.”

  Terence must have agreed, because a short while later he and Larry were off to pick Erika up from school, leaving Marissa to fill out all the necessary paperwork and to inform Annie of the latest development

  • • •

  With the air conditioning blasting away, the leather upholstery of Larry’s Volvo felt cold against Terence’s back, and conversing with the older man had grown awkward and almost unbearable. He was still bowled over by what happened in the courtroom, but as his initial elation faded, he grew suspicious of all the good will he was being shown.

  In hindsight, he saw how easily Larry and Marissa manipulated him. In the future, he had to be much more careful if he wanted to come out of this on top.

  He rolled the day over in his mind and tried to come up with something concrete to solidify his doubts. They had not consulted him a
bout their strategy, but then seemed genuinely pleased with the results.

  Terence shook off the doom and gloom. He was in the driver’s seat for the next six months. Larry had absolutely no legal rights to Erika, and where they stayed until they were able to fly back to Oahu, which would be as soon as possible, was his decision. He smiled and wondered if Annie was up to having houseguests for a few days.

  Doom and gloom rushed back in as he realized what Marissa and Larry had just done to him. Yes, he had Erika, for now, but he and Annie would once again be separated by an ocean. That distance could destroy their budding relationship. Phase one of his systematic disposal had been accomplished, and he had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

  • • •

  Annie relaxed on the comfortable suede sofa in Larry’s living room. It was a recent purchase she helped Larry with. It was the only item he had permitted her to change in the family home. His late wife decorated the large rambling house, and he was having a hard time changing anything. The result was that most of the furnishings were grossly outdated, worn, and downright shabby. Annie was determined to work on him, one piece at a time, until she fulfilled the master plan she had mapped out in her mind.

  She and Marissa were impatiently awaiting Erika’s arrival. Something was holding them up, and Annie prayed Hannah wasn’t making trouble.

  Annie pulled her legs into her chest and hugged her knees. She looked at Marissa, who was lost in thought. “I can’t believe you actually lost today,” Annie said, bringing Marissa back to the present. “First time for everything.”

  Marissa grabbed an oversized pillow off the sofa and bopped Annie in the face. “I used to lose quite frequently.”

  Annie picked a few pillow fibers off her tongue and shot Marissa a skeptical look. “Not recently.”

  Marissa raised her chin in defense. “If you want to get technical about it, I only partially lost. I achieved our main goal, which was to get Erika away from Hannah.”

  • • •

  They had been waiting a long time, and Marissa only now noticed that Annie’s face was blotchy beneath her makeup and her eyes were red and puffy. Terence’s rebuff about how this was going to affect her best friend echoed in her mind.

  “You’ve been crying, girlfriend.” She tapped her shoulder. “Come on over, it’s ready and waiting.”

  “No way, I don’t want to be blubbering all over the place when Erika arrives.” Annie got up and walked to the far end of the room. “What’s wrong with me?” she wailed. “I’ve been crying all afternoon, and that was just because Terence was going to be staying here, a few minutes across town. Now he’s going back to Hawaii, and I’m hanging by a thread.” A tear spilled out onto her cheek. “What’s with this crying crap anyway? I don’t cry over men, especially not in front of them, but I did today, and I’m about to do it again.”

  Marissa held her arms out. Annie hesitated for a moment then dove into the velvety nap of the sofa and laid her head in Marissa’s lap.

  Marissa stroked her hair. “Want to know what I think?”

  Annie replied by wiping her runny nose on Marissa’s jeans.

  “Hey! You’re not one of my kids,” she yelled and pushed Annie to the floor. “Now you’re just being disgusting! Why did you do that?” She grabbed a tissue off the end table and rubbed the goop off her pants.

  Annie sat up. “You were about to say something sappy. I had to stop you.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  Annie didn’t have a chance to answer because the door flew open and in rushed a little whirlwind of energy and happiness singing, “Thank you, Marissa. You did it! You did it!” Erika jumped into Marissa’s arms and planted a joyful kiss, which ended with a loud smacking sound, upon her cheek.

  “You’re welcome, sweetie, but it’s only temporary. Don’t get your hopes up too high. There still might be some big changes in your future, and they might not all be as nice as this one.”

  When Erika saw Annie sitting on the floor, she wiggled out of Marissa’s arms and tackled Annie with such force that they toppled to the ground.

  Like an excited puppy, Erika covered Annie’s face with kisses, and Annie couldn’t help but laugh. For the next few minutes they rolled on the floor, tickling and laughing with each other.

  Annie found it strange how she and Erika seemed to connect. She liked kids, but, with the exception of Jack and Sandy, her experiences with children had been pretty sparse.

  Marissa pulled Erika off of her. “Okay, you two, time to settle down.”

  Annie looked up and found Terence offering his hand.

  She took it, and he pulled her up beside him. “Erika, I need to talk with Annie for a moment. Will you be all right with Marissa and Larry?”

  Erika shrugged. “Yeah.”

  • • •

  Erika, Marissa, and Larry watched Terence and Annie walk hand in hand out onto the terrace. The couple wrapped each other up in a warm embrace and kissed.

  Erika giggled and turned to Marissa. “Know what I think?” she asked in a whisper.

  “What?” Marissa whispered back.

  “I think Annie’s going to be my mom someday.”

  Marissa glanced over at her father, who was grinning from ear to ear. “I think you’re right,” she whispered back. “Now let’s go into the family room, and I’ll introduce you to my kids.” She took Erika’s hand and they skipped away, leaving Larry standing alone in the entryway.

  • • •

  A small, satisfied smile rested on Larry’s lips. The last few minutes helped reassure him that he was doing the right thing. He didn’t like manipulating people, especially the ones he loved, but sometimes people needed a little nudge now and then to get moving in the right direction.

  • • •

  Out on the terrace Terence felt the wind blow in off the Pacific. The marine layer which engulfed the city for most of the day was just beginning to burn off. Annie was warm against his body, but the chill in the air cut him to the bone.

  “It’s freezing out here.” He wore a white long-sleeved, tailored shirt and gray dress pants. Getting dressed up wasn’t something he particularly enjoyed and was one of the reasons he chose not to work in an office. The fine, thin material didn’t offer any protection from the moist damp air. Ever since arriving in San Diego he’d been growing perpetually colder. “I never knew a body could get this chilled.”

  Annie pointed at the thermometer mounted on the side of the house. “Terence, it is sixty-eight degrees out here. You’re just used to the weather being a balmy eighty-five without any fog. You’ll get used to it.”

  Terence released her and headed back inside. “Maybe someday, but not today. I’m going to borrow a jacket and you’re getting one, too. I’m cold just looking at you in that tiny top.”

  “It’s supposed to make you hot, not cold,” she called after him. Her top was fine. It was a blue, cap sleeve, V-neck that showed off an inch or two of her belly.

  Terence came back wearing a brown barn jacket and started fussing over her. She was going to be much too warm in Larry’s scratchy wool sweater, but she put it on anyway just to make him happy.

  Terence reclined in a wrought-iron lounge chair and pulled her into his lap.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned. “You like this position don’t you?”

  He hugged her a little tighter. “I do, but this time you’re more of a blanket than anything else.”

  She rubbed his arms and shoulders to warm him up. “We can always go back inside if you’re that uncomfortable.”

  He shook his head. “I’m all right. I want to be alone with you for a few minutes. I need to ask you something.”

  He paused for what seemed an eternity and her mind traveled to the notion that perhaps he was about to ask her to marry him. Her heart began to race, even though she knew it was a long shot. They hadn’t known each other for very long, and most of that time they had very little contact. The attraction they felt
for each other was strong, but was it love? She wasn’t even sure what being in love felt like. The longer he hesitated, the more convinced she became he was about to pop the question.

  Annie shivered with anticipation and she knew that Terence could feel it. She sat up and punched him lightly on the arm trying to knock him into action. “What?”

  He rubbed his arm and looked slightly hurt. “Am I taking too long?”

  She threw her hands up in frustration. When he hesitated again, she decided to let him off the hook. She wasn’t sure if faced with the question of marriage that the word no would actually come out of her mouth. “Okay, forget that for now. Tell me your version of what happened today.”

  She wasn’t sure she appreciated the look of relief that washed over his face before he pulled her back to his chest.

  “I know you love them,” he said, referring to Larry and Marissa, “but I don’t trust them. They let me go in there cold today. I didn’t have any idea what they had planned. They want me to trust them, but they obviously don’t trust me.”

  Annie hated to admit it, but she didn’t care for how they treated him either. Just because it worked out to his benefit, didn’t justify practically lying to him. “Tell them how you feel,” she suggested. “I’ll work on them, too, and hopefully it will never happen again.”

  Terence leaned his head back and sighed. “Next time they’ll be in control. Once Mr. Wright is declared Erika’s father, it won’t matter what I think or feel.”

  No matter how upset Annie had been with Marissa lately, she didn’t believe that for a minute. “It won’t be like that. They’re decent people. You can trust them to do what is right for Erika.”

  “What if they decide I’m not right for her? What if they decide that having me in the picture makes life too complicated?”

  Annie cut him off. “That’s a lot of what ifs. Once you get to know them, you’ll feel better. I know it.”

  Terence gave her a dubious look and changed the subject. “I hate to leave so soon after we finally got together, but I need to get Erika out of here.” He kissed her forehead. “Can we stay with you until then?” He idly rubbed her arm and gently caressed her through the thick weave of the sweater.