Impact [Suncoast Society] (Siren Publishing Sensations)

by Tymber Dalton

  Tilly thought she’d cry and somehow managed to hold it back. “Thank you, doctor.” At least one damn thing had gone right.

  They couldn’t use the decoy method this morning because of the doctor appointment. When they pulled into the parking lot at the office, there were six paparazzi across the street, and Tilly gave up trying to duck them. If they were going to take their pictures, they were going to take them.

  By lunchtime, Tilly had composed her statement and read it to Loren and Leigh, who both approved of it. After sending it to Landry and Cris for them to sign off on, Tilly started e-mailing it out in response to the inquiries.

  The first iteration of it appeared on a local news show for a network affiliate during their six o’clock broadcast.

  Already at home, Tilly and Loren watched as the anchor read snippets of the statement after showing a segment of Loren’s video, followed by a lame-ass “can’t comment due to an ongoing investigation” statement from a jail official.

  And some very uncomfortable questions were raised by the reporter as to why Sofia hadn’t been better protected while incarcerated.

  Now the photographer was looking like a real shit when all the information was put together.

  The officials in charge of the jail where Sofia had been housed were looking even worse, especially as the reporter led into a story about disturbing injury and death statistics from that particular facility.

  Loren held her fist up, and Tilly bumped her.

  “I hate to say it,” Tilly said, “but Lan was right. Spinning it like this not only seems to be working, but it’s taking the heat off us and putting it on the corrections system.”

  “Yep.” Loren sighed. “Shame it took the death of someone related to someone who is in a relationship with someone who works for someone who’s famous to get that spotlight.”

  Tilly cocked her head. “Is it strange that I totally understood that sentence?”

  “Considering how brain-fried you are,” Loren said, “I’d say it’s fricking amazing.”

  Dale Waters called Tilly shortly before Landry and Cris returned home. “Guess what? Your PR blitzkrieg worked. Archie Lounds’ attorney sent me an e-mail that they’re backing off, and would appreciate it if Loren wouldn’t mind speaking up on his behalf to get the child endangerment charges dropped.”

  “Really. What’s your opinion?”

  “Considering you’ve seemingly done the impossible and made the paparazzi look worse than they already are, I’d think he’s learned a valuable lesson.”

  “Tell him he owes me ten bucks for the food he stole from me and we’ll call it even.”

  Dale laughed. “Will do.”

  * * * *

  Tilly awoke ready to do battle Friday morning. Her emotional pendulum had swung from near-depression to kick-ass-mommy-ninja-warrior.

  Loren would stay behind at the condo with the baby. Landry drove, Tilly opting for the back seat this time, wanting to be able to think about how to maintain her composure without both Landry and Cris’ eagle-eyes on her.

  She knew she couldn’t blow her cool, no matter what was said or even implied in court. All that mattered was that the judge ruled in their favor.

  They met Dale Waters in the lobby of the courthouse and he sat with them to go over things.

  “Let me do the talking unless the judge specifically asks you a question. Hopefully, they’ll sink themselves. I was able to get the CPS investigator who was there that night to come in, too. She’ll meet us up in the waiting area. If you’ve got a CPS investigator willing to state they saw a fit home, and a recent voluntary guardianship order, I don’t see how the judge will want to overrule it.”

  “They can appeal, can’t they?” Cris asked.

  “Sure. Anyone can appeal anything, but it’s doubtful it would be overturned on appeal. There’d have to be some mitigating circumstance involved.”

  “Like a married couple living with a third guy?” Tilly quietly said.

  “That’s irrelevant,” Dale told her. “The judge doesn’t care who’s living where, as long as where the baby is living is a safe and fit home.”

  When they reached the waiting room five minutes before their scheduled hearing time, Tilly nervously felt for Landry’s hand and laced her fingers through his. She’d never seen Cris’ family. Any of them.

  Never in her life dreamed she would.

  Her biggest battle today might be not telling them off the way she’d longed to.

  Tilly didn’t miss the way Cris stiffened when they walked into the room. Two elderly women, and an elderly man on oxygen, occupied three chairs at one end of the room. On either side of them sat several other people.

  “Steady, loves,” Landry murmured so softly no one but Tilly and Cris could hear.

  Dale Waters walked over to a man who stood and appeared to be their attorney. They shook hands and started talking. When the door opened again, Tilly glanced back, relieved to see Louisa Gonzalez there.

  Tilly offered her a smile. “Dale,” Tilly said, pointing to the woman and introducing her.

  He walked over and shook with her. “Ah, thank you for coming today.”

  Tilly noticed Cris especially glared at the three elderly people before deliberately turning his back on them and focusing on Landry.

  “Who is this?” the other attorney asked.

  “She’s with CPS,” Dale said, smiling. “She’ll give her findings to the judge.”

  “That’s not fair! My client hasn’t had a home visit.”

  “Your client hadn’t seen his sister in how many years? Ms. Gonzalez went there as part of the probation home visit.”

  “You never disclosed this.”

  “You never asked, and there was no discovery.”

  A bailiff opened the door to the judge’s chambers. “He’s ready for you.”

  Dale hustled the three of them inside and asked Ms. Gonzalez to wait there. The other attorney brought in a man and a woman Tilly assumed were Cris’ cousin and the man’s wife.

  Once they were all seated at the table, the judge looked over the paperwork. “Let me get this straight,” he said. “Just over a week ago, I issued a voluntary custody order at the request of the birth mother, and now the birth mother’s brother is contesting it?”

  “That’s right, your Honor,” the other attorney said before launching into what Tilly thought sounded like a lot of pompous bullshit.

  Seated between Cris and Landry, she reached under the table and caught Cris’ hand, squeezing. She was relieved when he squeezed back.

  Once the attorney finished, the judge looked at Dale. “Response?”

  “The birth mother, before she was taken into custody as a material witness in a case against the drug dealer who beat her, was being subjected to a home visit by her probation officer. As part of that visit, she had a CPS investigator accompany her. That investigator is waiting and willing to testify to her findings as to the home of my clients.”

  “Call her in.”

  Once she was seated and sworn in, Dale walked her through the circumstances and her findings.

  “Frankly,” she said, “I wish more homes were that fit. It looked like they’d just brought home a bunch of new things from the store and were in the process of setting up the nursery, but I saw absolutely no problems at the home. In my opinion, it’s a perfectly safe and clean environment, and from what I observed, I believe the child’s named guardians appear to be fit as well.”

  The opposing attorney asked several bullshit questions that Dale objected to, and the judge sustained. Finally, the attorney sat back. “No further questions, your Honor.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Gonzalez,” the judge said. “Please wait outside in case we need to call you back in.”

  Once she’d left, the judge took his time reading through his notes before he turned to Santino. “Mr. Guerrero, I want to hear from you. Specifically, in your own words, why are you insisting on filing for custody when your sister specifically said she didn�
��t want any of her family to have custody?”

  “Your Honor, my wife and I have tried to have children and can’t. I want to adopt my sister’s baby. She belongs with family.”

  “Is not Cris Guerrero family?”

  “He’s not close family.”

  “Are you saying that Mr. Guerrero is not a fit parent?”

  “I don’t think so, no.”

  “And what do you base that on?”

  “He lied to me on the phone. He told me he and his wife were going to adopt her.”

  The judge looked at Cris. “Explanation?”

  Dale had warned them not to lie, or at least not to say anything that could trip them up later.

  Tilly handed it to Cris, he didn’t miss a beat. “Your Honor, Landry, Tilly, and I have known each other a long, long time. We’re partners, we all live together, and we’re a family. I love them, they love me. We can provide Katie with not just two, but three parents.”

  The judge looked at Santino. “How long have you and your wife been married?”

  “Seven years.”

  “And is this your first marriage?”

  Santino faltered. “No, sir. It’s my third and her second.”

  The judge arched an eyebrow at them.

  Tilly successfully held in her snort.

  The judge looked at Cris. “How many times have you been married?”

  “Legally, I haven’t. But I’ve been with Mr. LaCroux for over fifteen years, and with Mrs. LaCroux for over ten. They met because of me.”

  Landry squeezed Tilly’s hand on her other side in an effort to stave off her laughing fit, which he rightfully suspected she was dangerously close to having.

  The judge focused on her next. “Mrs. LaCroux, I’ll ask you the same question. How many times have you been married?”

  She hoped her smile looked sweet. “Just once, to Landry.”

  The judge focused on Landry. “And you?”

  “The same. Only once, to Tilly. May I add something?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Our marriage came about not just out of love, but necessity. We were married before gay marriage was legal. I needed a way to make sure that, should anything happen to me, Cris would always be able to be by my side. Were our laws different, I would marry both of them. That might sound unconventional, but I am, after all, a native son of France.”

  The judge laughed, to Tilly’s surprise, but Landry wasn’t done. “Our total net worth, your Honor, is considerable. Cris and I aren’t just partners. We’re also business partners in a major software firm, which was yet another reason why I married Tilly. I wanted to make sure, financially, that she was protected. I had to make the best choice I could to protect them both. Legally, Cris already had his protection for his share of our business. In other issues, such as medical ones, Tilly could make sure Cris’ rights were protected. In a perfect world there could be equity without the convoluted planning, but there you have it.”

  “And am I correct in assuming that, with the birth mother’s death, you three wish to go forward with an official three-way adoption?”

  “Yes, your Honor. That is our plan. We’d like that done as quickly as possible so we can prevent any further disruption in her life. Also, our primary residence, as well as our business headquarters, is in Florida, and we’d like to return and get her a pediatrician there as soon as possible.”

  The judge looked at Santino. “Any other comments?”

  “They’re gay, your honor. Or…bisexual, or…whatever they are. We can give the baby a stable, traditional home with a mother and a father. We don’t have some…perverted sex thing going on.”

  The judge took off his glasses and leveled a hard gaze at the man. “For your information, my husband and I have raised three wonderful, beautiful children, who’ve gone on to be happy, productive adults. And we did it with their biological mother living with us as a co-parent, with her wife.”

  Santino cringed back in his chair as his attorney stammered a last-ditch intervention. “Your Honor, we’d like time to have a home visit done by CPS as well before you rule on this issue. It’s only fair. Please?”

  The judge glared at the attorney for a long, uncomfortable moment. “You have two weeks to come back here and give me a legally sound argument that doesn’t have any inference to an argument that reads anything remotely close to ‘gay people have cooties’ or ‘non-traditional three-parent families are less valid than a two-parent home.’ Do I make myself clear? If you can’t make a valid argument, citing legal precedents, beyond those two points, do not waste this court’s time. Understand?”

  “Your Honor, her grandparents are here, and—”

  “It’s my understanding from the counter-motion to quash the emergency order that the grandparents not only had little to no contact with the birth mother in the years leading up to the birth, but when the mother was pregnant and approached them for help, they turned her away. Correct?”

  “Yes, technically, your Honor, but—”

  “Two weeks,” the judge emphasized. “Your client’s emergency motion is hereby denied in its entirety, with prejudice. The counter-motion to quash the emergency order is granted. The standing custody order is hereby upheld, pending the outcome of the next hearing, where I will render my final ruling. Schedule a hearing with my clerk immediately for two weeks from today. Mr. Waters, the birth father is deceased, correct?”

  “Yes, your Honor.”

  “Then feel free to draw up adoption papers as well, to be prepared and save this court’s time.”

  The other attorney protested. “Objection. Your Honor, my client would at least like to—”

  “Overruled. Your client is being given two weeks to prove why two people who have multiple marriages under their belts are more fit than three parents with a stable, long-term relationship nearly twice as long. If they cannot prove that point in two weeks, I see no reason why I should keep this child’s fate in limbo. I refuse to burden the guardians or this court with an unresolved custody issue that shouldn’t be in question in the first place. In other words, I’m doing you a favor by granting a continuance. We are adjourned.”

  Everyone quickly rose as the judge stood and departed through a door behind his desk.

  Tilly fought the urge to crow and point across the table at Santino and his wife.

  She couldn’t resist one little jab, however. “Unfortunately, Santino, I am not able to have children, either. So please don’t try that sympathy tactic on the court. Because unless your wife was raped by a monster when she was fifteen and as a result suffered injuries that forced her to finally have a hysterectomy last year, then I guarantee you, you won’t win this one.”

  Landry patted her on the shoulder. “Behave, love. It’s all right. We can afford this little delay.” He stared at Santino. “Feel free to look up our company, sometime. Crislan Global Software Solutions. We made the Forbes top 50 in tech companies last year.”

  As they were walking out, Landry leaned in and whispered, “And that’s how you properly twist the knife once you plunge it in, love.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  That was only round one of the gauntlet, Cris knew. When they reached the waiting room, Dale started talking to Louisa Gonzalez. Cris’ mother stood and walked over to him.

  “I hope you’re happy about the pain you’ve put this family through! Now we can take that baby and—”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but the judge denied Santino’s motion.”

  She looked shocked, he was pleased to see. “What?”

  “It’s been continued,” Santino said. “And it doesn’t look good for us.” He glared at Cris.

  Landry stepped forward, the vicious smile on his face both warming Cris and nearly making him giggle. “Pity you didn’t show this much interest in your sister when she was alive. Perhaps she would have reached out to you instead of to us.”

  Landry’s smile faded, the way it always did before Landry delivered a verbally leth
al blow to someone in a meeting when they’d failed to perform as required.

  “As I said in there, we have the money to take this as far as necessary. Katie will have the best of everything, including the love of three parents, love that Sofia obviously felt was lacking from her own family. Katie will grow up surrounded by a close-knit group of friends as well, and will never want for anything. She will go to the finest college she can qualify for. She will be loved.”

  Landry leaned in. “And I can guarantee you something she never will be—abandoned. She will never suffer the fate her mother suffered.”

  Cris noted with more than a little satisfaction that his uncle didn’t look very well. “And she’ll never be beaten the way you beat me, old man,” Cris called out at him. “She also won’t be raised with your abusive views, either.”

  His uncle tried to stand, but his aunt and Dante both grabbed his arms and made him stay seated.

  Cris turned back to Santino. “The world is changing, Santino. Change with it, or be left behind. Every day, less people share your narrow-minded view of the world. All that matters is if someone is a good person and can provide for a child. That’s all that should matter.”

  “She was a drug addict!” Santino shot back. “We couldn’t trust her!”

  “She was clean when she died,” Tilly practically screamed, silencing the waiting room. “The initial toxicology reports from the autopsy? No drugs in her system. Which is in line with the emergency room drug screens, urine and blood, that they did on her last Wednesday when we took her to the ER after we rescued her. She wanted a better life. She reached out to you people months ago and you spit in her face. How loving is that, huh? But as soon as you find out there’s a baby, oh, you’re all about the family. Well, guess what that makes you all—hypocrites. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. None of you deserve the right to have kids, and you damn sure aren’t getting your hands on this baby.”