Vivian, Midnight Call Girl (Iron Orchids Book 6)

by Danielle Norman

  “Here we go.” Karen set her bag on a table and then began removing the overstuffed parachute burrito. “All right, let’s get to business.”

  Her manner changed, and she turned into a caseworker. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I wasn’t going to have to put up with the insane garble any longer. “First, as I’m sure you know, Ireland Kelly Lacy is seven years old as of—”

  “September nineteenth, yeah, I know.”

  “Both her parents were only children, and according to information relayed by Judge Lacy’s assistant, there were no other family members. She did inform us that there is a directive filed so she is trying to get that for us.”

  “Judge?”

  “Yes, Ryan Lacy was a circuit court judge, he handled traffic court, and his wife, Shannon, was a stay-at-home mom who homeschooled Ireland. I contacted you because Ireland has very few options unfortunately, but ultimately my goal is to make foster care the last option. I’ll try every possible alternative, and you are it. What I need to know is whether you are in a position to assume custody of your biological daughter.”

  “I am.” It was weird because there was no stutter or no second to hesitate. The answer just flew out. “She’s mine. I have the means to take care of her.”

  “Very well then. There will be forms to fill out, and we’ll need to meet with a judge who handles these cases. Because I’m assuming you are going to want to take her back to where you live?” Karen pulled out a huge folder and handled it over to me.

  “Of course, my job is there. I’d like to get an attorney to help go through the paperwork with me.”

  “I can—”

  Karen was cut off by a knock at the door and in walked a doctor. He had that white circle of hair that looked like a snow crown, while the top of his head was bald. Why not just shave it at this point, has anyone told him how stupid that looked?

  “Mrs. Koehler, may we speak?” the doctor asked.

  “Doctor Lewis, this is Aaron Skkye.” I stood to shake the man’s hand. “He will be Ireland’s temporary guardian until the courts make a ruling,” Karen explained.

  “Very well. Ireland is doing remarkable considering what she’s been through. She broke her radius and fractured her ulna, so we set the bones. The radius required a pin to move it up to the scaphoid. Surgery went well, but she did sustain a concussion, so we would like to keep an eye on her a little longer. Do you all have any questions for me?”

  “Nope, I think we’ve got it,” Karen answered.

  “I do. How is she emotionally right now, has anyone told her?”

  “Yes, she knows they are deceased, she was locked in the car with them until rescue could cut her out. She is how you would expect after learning of such stuff,” The doctor answered.

  I turned to Karen and whispered, “She is how is expected… How can anyone expect this? She’s a kid. I can’t imagine being locked in a car after both of my parents had just been killed.”

  “Neither can I, which is why we need to be very delicate with how we proceed. She’s seen more than someone her age ever should, and the ramifications of that could manifest in a number of different ways.”

  The doctor looked thoughtful for a second before adding, “Before we discharge her, I will make sure to pass along some referrals for child psychologists who specialize in these kinds of situations.”

  “Thanks.”

  The doctor left, and after a moment, Karen offered me a soft smile. “Do you want to go see her?”

  “I would love that.”

  “Then let’s go, but please remember that we aren’t sure if she knows that she was adopted so we need to move gingerly on this, okay?”

  Karen handed me a visitor’s badge and then led me through the hospital. On our way, I shot off a handful of texts to Heidi, asking her to find me a family law attorney, and she assured me she would get right on it.

  After what felt like a three-mile-long walk, Karen came to a stop in front of a room. The wall was glass, and the curtains were pulled for privacy, but I knew that Ireland was inside. Karen was the first to enter, and I lagged behind taking a few deep breaths before following.

  “Hello, Ireland, I brought someone here to meet you. This is—”

  Ireland’s eyes widened for a second with happiness and then with hurt. “I know who you are. You’re Aaron Skkye, my dad and I used to watch basketball together all the time. He used to tell me about you.”

  I thought that drills made my heart race, a game in overtime weighed on me, but nothing compared to this . . . she was beautiful. Her dark brown hair was wavy just like mine, but her bright blue eyes were all Maisy.

  “Hi, Ireland.” Moving nearer, I pulled a chair up next to her and took a seat. “What else do you know about me?”

  “I know that you’re my birth father, but you gave me up for adoption. My parents wanted me. I want my parents.” Ireland started crying.

  “Can you leave us for a few minutes?” I asked Karen, and she patted my shoulder like some older mother figure.

  “I’ve got calls to make. I’ll be back in that conference room if you need me, okay?” I nodded and she left.

  “I know you do, I’m so sorry this has happened to you.”

  “Really? Then why wasn’t it you? You didn’t want me in the first place, they did. You gave me up. Now you’re here, and they’re gone, and I have no one. It isn’t fair.” Ireland wailed. She wasn’t wanting for me to say anything, so I stayed silent. “What’s going to happen to me? My mom and dad were all I had.” Her tears were falling hard as she tried with a valiant effort to pull herself together, but she just couldn’t. “I want my parents!” Ireland shouted.

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  Ireland shook her head, “No, that’s my problem; I want my mom, not you. Please, get my mom for me, she’s at home, she’s waiting for me, I know she is. My dad is just at work, that’s all, he’s at work, he’ll be home soon. Tell me this was all a nightmare, please, please.”

  I fought my own urge to cry as I listened to her go through every possibility until she finally accepted the truth about what had happened. It didn’t matter, I was going to be here for her, never again would she be alone.

  “I’m going home.” Ireland moved the covers back but winced at the pain.

  “Stop Ireland, you have to stay here a little longer.”

  “But I’m alone here.”

  “I’ll stay with you as long as you want.”

  “I don’t want you. You don’t want me,” Ireland lashed out.

  “Yes, I do, I want you with all of my soul.” It was true, I really did want her, she had always held a special place in my heart.

  “Why? You didn’t want me when I was born. It was why you gave me away.”

  I trailed one hand down my sleep-deprived face. “That isn’t true. I’ve always wanted you, but sometimes, it is more important to think of others than it is to think of yourself.”

  “I don’t even know what to call you, what are you to me besides my biological father? I’m not going to call you that.”

  “How about Aaron, you call me Aaron, and I’ll call you Ireland.”

  Ireland stared at me. “Are you being forced to take me now, you know, because I’m all alone?”

  I grabbed a chair and pulled it up so I could sit next to her bed. I held her uninjured hand in mine, and it was tiny compared to my giant one. “I’ve always wanted you. I’ve thought about you every day. On September nineteenth—”

  “Hey, that’s my birthday.”

  “I know, and every year on that date, all I can think about is you and what type of person you’re growing up to be. I wonder if you’re happy and if you love your life as much as I hoped you would. Every day, I regret that I wasn’t able to be the parent you needed me to be back then, but I also know that your parents loved you and were able to give you the life I couldn’t have.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. It was what was best for you, and you were the on
ly thing that mattered to me. I was just a kid, I hadn’t graduated high school, and I didn’t have a good home to go to.”

  “Why?”

  “I will tell you about that another time, okay?”

  Ireland nodded.

  “What about my biological mom?”

  “Her name was Maisy, you have the same exact eyes as her, they’re beautiful. Maisy wasn’t happy giving up her teenage years.”

  “In this same hospital, right?” Ireland asked.

  “Yep, you were born in this very hospital.” I took a deep breath and recomposed myself. “I followed the nurses. I thought you were the most beautiful thing ever in the world. You were amazing, you had ten fingers and ten toes. I couldn’t believe that you were just perfect.” Ireland smiled brightly at my words. “By the time I made my way back down to Maisy’s room, she was gone.”

  “What do you mean gone? Where did she go?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Don’t know. The security guards pulled up the video from the cameras that showed her leaving, but no one has seen or heard from her again. She just disappeared.” Ireland sat quietly, absorbing everything I had just told her. “That’s why I decided it was best to give you to the Lacys; they wanted a baby so bad and would be so good to you. It was just me, and I had no way to take care of you. As much as it broke my heart—and I mean broke, smashed it to pieces—I signed the papers because it was best for you. And you were the only one who mattered to me.

  Ireland closed her eyes. I waited and waited. When she didn’t reopen them, I found it a great time to go find Karen.

  I walked out to the nurses’ station and waited for the woman behind the desk to glance up at me. “If Ireland wakes up and wants to know where I am, just tell her that I went to talk with Karen. I’ll be back.”

  “No problem, Mr. Skkye.”

  Aaron

  “What’s up, boss?” Heidi asked.

  “Tell me you have something, anything, I just need direction.”

  “I do. You are meeting with an attorney named Jameson Lane at the offices of Tuttle and Lane at six o’clock, and you are paying double the normal hourly rate for the late time.”

  “Of course I am.”

  “I’ll text you directions,” Heidi stated.

  I took a long, slow breath, trying to assure myself that this would all work out. “Thanks, Heidi, remind me to give you a bonus.”

  “Oh, I will, don’t worry.” She disconnected, and I continued on my way to find Karen.

  Opening the door to the conference room, I found her bent over stacks of papers and a file folder opened with Ireland’s name written along the top.

  “So, how did everything go with Ireland?” Karen asked as she shuffled papers together.

  “Great, we had a little heart-to-heart; she’s really worried about what is going to happen to her.”

  Karen reached forward and patted my hand. “Don’t take it as her being self-centered, this is normal. Children need boundaries, and they need to know that they belong. All of that has just been ripped from her and she doesn’t know what is going to happen. She’s establishing where she belongs.”

  “Oh, I could never think that beautiful girl was self-centered. She is curious and worried, that’s all.”

  “Anything else?”

  “My assistant set up a meeting for me with an attorney for this evening at six. I’m going to leave since it’s already after five and then go back to my hotel. What time do visiting hours begin tomorrow?”

  “Nine. I’ll be here. I’ve sent papers to the judge who has been assigned to this case. I’m hoping that he will look at it even though it’s the weekend and not wait until Monday. I hate the thought of Ireland going into foster care when you’re here.”

  “No, let me watch her,” I demanded.

  “It doesn’t work like that, just know I’m trying, okay?”

  I nodded, but I wasn’t happy about it.

  As I made my way back out to the parking lot, I contemplated going to find the judge myself since he was probably just on some golf course. After a second, I dismissed it. Pissing off the person who had total control over where my daughter went was a terrible idea.

  I’d let my attorney do it.

  I got into my car and followed the GPS directions to the attorney’s office.

  It was a brick building that looked just like the buildings to its left and right. It had a dark brown roof and dark wood fascia. The whole thing looked like something from That 70s Show. I parked along the curb.

  Getting out of my car, I heard a gasp from a guy walking to his car but ignored him as I walked up the small flight of steps and opened the door, which was also dark brown—shocking.

  A brunette, a man-eating brunette in a dress that was almost too sexy for work, waved for me to join her as she stood from a table in a glass-walled conference room. As I neared, she immediately began speaking. “Mr. Skkye, I’m Jameson Lane. Have a seat.”

  She pointed to a chair opposite her. “I’m so glad you could make it; this will give me the weekend to do some research and get my ducks in a row. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

  “None at all. Let’s get started, we have a lot to go over.”

  “First, I need you to sign these.” She slid a attorney-client privilege information act form in front of me along with a contract. “Your assistant has already received a copy of both as well.”

  I snagged my phone and sent a text to Heidi. I trusted no one when it came to contracts.

  Me: The legal contract for this attorney?

  Heidi: Dan read over it, standard protocol nothing hidden. Sign.

  I put my phone away relieved that Heidi had gotten Dan, the team’s contract attorney, to review it for me on such short notice. I signed both and then handed them back over, waiting for what was next.

  “First thing I’m going to do is contact Judge Lacy’s chambers and see what paperwork he may have had on file. Being who he was, I’m sure he had a final will and testament, and his assistant probably knows where that is. I’ll also get in contact with Judge Martin Cree, he’ll be the one to oversee this case; we need to get an immediate ruling for temporary guardianship under extenuating circumstances.”

  “What do I need to do?” I asked, totally blown away by this woman’s plan of action.

  “Right now, nothing.”

  “How long do you think it will take for the judge to rule on temporary guardianship?”

  “It’s Friday so he’ll be going to Petroleum Club with his wife.” Petroleum Club was a members only restaurant, and you could only get a membership if you were willing to pay thousands of dollars for it. When I was a teenager, the assholes in school would talk about eating there, as if they had dined in New York. “But tomorrow, he will be on the green, so I’ll catch him around the eighteenth hole.”

  “That’s it?” I asked.

  “That’s it. Just wait for my call, telling you that you can take the child—”

  “Ireland.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” Jameson was perplexed.

  “You said child; her name is Ireland.”

  “Oh, yes. I’ll let you know when you can take custodial guardianship of Ireland. But be ready, I’m sure we will have to meet the judge on Monday or Tuesday.”

  “No problem.” I rose and extended a hand. We shook, and I let out a sigh of relief. This was all going to be okay. I had just gotten into my car when my phone rang.

  Assuming it was Heidi, I answered. “Yes?”

  “What the fuck happened? Where are you? I went by your house and your Aston was in the garage, but the Porsche was gone.”

  “Whoa, Gage. First, glad to know that key I gave you in case of emergencies is useful.”

  “Yeah, well, if you had thought to send your best friend a text, I wouldn’t have had to try to hunt you down to try to get my wife off my case. She’s been freaking the fuck out ever since you ran out at the timeout, because she didn’t know what the hell happened.”


  “Remember when I told you about me being a teenage father?”

  “Yeah, and you gave her up for adoption. What about her?”

  “Her adoptive parents were killed in a car crash.”

  “And your daughter?”

  “She has a broken wrist, but other than that, she’s good.”

  “Wow, so why were you contacted?”

  “She has no other family at all, so I’m going to get her back.”

  “You mean—”

  “I mean, I have a daughter, and she is coming home with me to live, permanently.”

  “Whoa.” Gage let out a deep breath. “Whoa.”

  “Anything else you have to say besides whoa?”

  “Not sure there is anything else except congratulations.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Just wait until LeeAnn finds out.”

  “Gage, tell her not to tell anyone else just yet. I trust you two and would never ask you to keep something from your wife, but no one else, okay?”

  “You got it. We’re here if you need us.”

  I disconnected just as I was pulling up to the valet. He took my keys, and I pocketed the ticket as I made my way up to my room.

  Only, once I got there, I was too restless to relax. I paced the room, sat, watched some television, and sat again. Finally glancing at the nightstand clock, I saw it was just after twelve, it was the time when Vivian and I normally spoke. I couldn’t believe it had only been a day, one single fucking day. Biting the bullet, I snagged my phone and dialed.

  “Oh my god, Aaron, are you okay?”

  “Hi, Little One, yes, I’m fine.”

  “What happened?” The sound of Vivian’s voice was so soothing to my tangled up brain.

  “There was an emergency, and I had to come up to Indiana. I’m sorry for abandoning you after I asked to take you home.”

  “Oh stop, that’s no biggie, it’s you I’m worried about. Is everything okay?”

  “It will be now that I have it under control.”

  “Do you want to talk about it? I’m a great listener.”

  “When I get back home, I’ll tell you all about it; it’s too big to talk about over the phone.”