by Tamie Dearen
“Can we change it?” he asked, holding it up to the light.
“We can change some things...”
“I want it in rose gold.”
“We’ll have to cast a new one. It will take some time.”
“I need it Friday.”
“But that’s four days!”
He set the ring down and turned to walk from the store.
“Wait! Are you willing to pay a fee for rushing it?”
He twisted back. “Why not? Rushing it is already costing me big time. I’m getting used to it.”
“I’m sorry? I don’t understand—”
“Never mind. I’ll pay to rush it, and I need it engraved.”
She squinted at the ring. “There’s not much room. Just a few letters.”
“I want it to say Ruth 1:16. Can you do that?”
“You’ll have to pay in advance if you want it engraved.”
Josh reached for his wallet, murmuring, “Please, God. Let this be the right ring.”
“WHY ARE WE MEETING at the Parson’s house?” Charlie gripped Josh’s hand as they moved up the long walkway to the front door. “It’s a long way out; I’m surprised we didn’t meet on neutral ground somewhere in the city.”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I just want to get this over with.”
“You need to have an open mind, Josh. Maybe they’re really nice people.”
“How nice of people can they be when they’re willing to reject an innocent nine-year-old simply because he’s not their biological grandson?”
“Maybe something happened we don’t know about. Maybe Jace rejected them.”
“No. He obviously loves them. He’s asked several times when he’s going to see them. He has no idea they don’t want him.”
Charlie stopped in her tracks, pulling him to face her. “Josh. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my mom it’s giving people the benefit of the doubt. There’s a chance we don’t understand the circumstances. Please swallow that righteous anger and be nice. Do it for Chloe and Jace’s sake. Maybe we can talk them into still being grandparents to Jace, too. He doesn’t have to know they weren’t planning to continue a relationship with him.”
“They don’t deserve him.”
“No. Jace doesn’t deserve to be hurt. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy when we signed up for it—we’re not going to blow it the first time the going gets rough. We can be the bigger people here. We don’t have to sink to their level.”
Josh hung his head. “I know you’re right. It’s...”
“I know you hurt for Jace. You know what it feels like. I understand. That’s why I know you’ll do whatever it takes to make his life easier than yours. Even if it means swallowing your pride and pretending you’re not angry.”
He took a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face. “How’s this?”
“Awful! But better than that scowl you had on your face before.” They continued up the walk.
“Come, my dear Olivia,” he drawled. “Now, remember, you’ve met the ad litem once before in his office. His name is—”
“Drew Warner. I know. But if he asks me questions about being a nurse, we’re in hot water. What about the arm wrap?”
“He already knows we went on a ski trip together before Christmas.”
“That’s handy.”
“Ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, squeezing his hand before he knocked on the door.
“HELLO, JOSH. THANKS for coming,” said Drew, as he opened the door. “And I see you’ve brought... uhmm...”
“My fiancée,” said Josh. “You remember Olivia, right?”
He narrowed his eyes for a moment before smiling at Charlie. “Of course, Olivia. How could I forget a girl with eyes as beautiful as yours?” Josh winced. Had he already seen through their subterfuge?
“You know my eyes change colors depending on what I wear,” Charlie covered, quickly. “Sometimes they’re brown and sometimes they’re green...”
“Well today they’re gold,” said Drew. “Very gold. Not brown at all.” He led them into a living room. “By the way, what happened to your arm?”
“Skiing accident. Remember, we went on that ski trip?”
“Ah, yes. I seem to be getting so forgetful. You broke your arm?”
“It’s actually just a bad laceration. And I have a few other injuries, but I’m good.”
“Did you hit a tree?”
“No. Collided with another boarder. I think he had a broken leg.”
“Perhaps you need a personal injury lawyer,” he joked. “Have a seat here. The Parsons will be out in just a minute.”
Josh whispered, “So far, so good. I think he bought it.”
“I don’t know. He seemed a bit suspicious.”
“No, I think we’re safe for how.”
He surveyed the room. Nothing too opulent. The home was comfortable and well-kept, although the décor was slightly dated.
“Ah! Here they are. Ron and Kay Parsons, I’d like for you to meet Dr. Josh Branson and his fiancée... Olivia.”
Josh turned his head toward the dark hallway from which Drew had emerged. He steeled himself to greet the heartless couple, ready to mete out judgment upon them for their lack of charity. But he was stunned speechless at the sight that greeted him. From the dim light, emerged a distinguished-looking gray-haired man in a wheelchair, pushed by a thin woman of similar age. Charlie elbowed him out of his astonished reverie, indicating they should stand to meet them.
Charlie took a few steps forward and stuck out her hand with a warm smile. “Mr. Parsons? Mrs. Parsons? It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Charlie.”
“Olivia,” Josh corrected quickly. “But Charlie is her nickname.”
“Charlie, nice to meet you,” said Mr. Parsons, returning the smile, but it faltered when he addressed Josh. “Dr. Branson. Thank you for coming.”
His wife shook hands without making eye contact. Josh was surprised the instant dislike he expected to feel was absent. Instead, he found himself a bit sympathetic for the couple who were obviously uncomfortable with the meeting.
As Josh and Charlie returned to sit on the sofa, Drew spoke. “Mr. Parsons. Why don’t you explain to Dr. Branson why you wanted to meet with him?”
He glanced at his wife, who reached out to take his hand from her perch on an adjacent chair. “Dr. Branson... Mr. Warner has explained to us there’s a strong likelihood you and your wife will gain custody of both Jace and Chloe. If this happens, we... Well, we just want to implore you not to keep our grandchildren away from us.”
The wording of his question startled Josh. “Are you asking about both Jace and Chloe? Or just Chloe?”
At his question, tears began to streak down the wife’s face, and the husband squeezed her hand but kept his eyes on Josh. “I know you may not understand this, Dr. Branson, but both of our grandchildren are very important to us. They’re all we have left. Jace may not be our flesh and blood, but we’ve loved him since he was born. Your sister came to live with us as part of a program when she was an unwed mother, and she became like a daughter to us. When our only son came home from Afghanistan, they fell in love and got married and had two miscarriages before they had Chloe. So can you understand Jace is just as much our grandchild as Chloe?”
Josh couldn’t make sense of the situation. “But I thought you didn’t want Jace? I thought that was why you were trying to adopt Chloe, but not Jace.”
The woman sobbed even harder, and Mr. Parsons explained, “I have Multiple Sclerosis, and about a year ago it progressed to the point where I’m stuck in this wheelchair.” His voice broke. “When we lost Mark and Laurie, we hoped someone would adopt them, and we could continue to be grandparents. But when we heard you were looking at adopting them... Well, we knew you didn’t want to be part of our family, because Laurie had already tried to get you to meet us, and she invited you to Christmas, and you’d refused. So...”
“So you
thought I would keep them away from you?”
“Yes. And so we filed for custody of Chloe, but we didn’t think we had a chance with Jace, since Mark had never gotten around to legally adopting him. And, with me in my condition, we probably couldn’t even handle Chloe. We were desperate. But honestly, we just want to be grandparents. We won’t impose on your time or intrude on your family. If you could just find it in your heart...”
Josh found, much to his embarrassment, that his eyes were swimming in tears. “I don’t want to keep you from your grandkids. I thought... I thought you didn’t want Jace. I just wanted them to grow up together, as brother and sister. I didn’t want him to be like me.”
“But when Laurie invited you, why didn’t you—”
“I was jealous,” Josh said, his voice overcome with emotion. “I was jealous my sister had a family and I didn’t. And I can’t tell you how much I regret not getting to know her and her family. And now it’s too late.” Josh could hear Charlie sniffing next to him.
Mr. Parsons choked out, “Dr. Branson, it’s too late to get to know Laurie and Mark... but we’re her family. It’s not too late for us.”
Suddenly, Josh saw Charlie rush across to Mrs. Parsons, and then they were hugging each other and crying. Mr. Parsons looked from the two back to Josh and smiled sheepishly. “Women!” he said.
Josh walked over and shook his hand again. “Call me Josh.”
“Ron,” he smiled. “Call me Ron. And this is my wife, Kay. I can’t tell you how great this is. Kay’s exhausted trying to take care of Chloe and me, too. I’m not much help at all.”
Kay looked over and spoke for the first time. “But we can babysit and watch the kids when you go on trips. I just don’t have the energy to do if full time. Especially since I can’t get Chloe to take a nap.”
“I’ve got a great trick for getting her to take a nap.” Charlie smiled through her tears. “It’s a special book I read while she keeps her eyes closed. It’s like hypnosis. It works every time. I use it on my brothers, too.”
“So you won’t fight me on the adoption?” Josh asked.
“Not at all. As long as we still get to be grandparents.”
“When will I get Chloe?” Josh asked Drew.
“We can probably approve temporary custody on Monday. Having everyone in agreement makes everything pretty simple.” He turned to the Parsons. “I’ll have the proper papers drawn up and faxed to you so you can sign them and send them back. And I’ve got a form for Dr. Branson in my car.”
Josh and Charlie said their goodbyes and followed Drew outside and down the sidewalk, toward his car. “Dr. Branson, you now have an uncontested adoption.”
“So what does that mean?” Josh asked.
“It means you don’t have to be married to adopt Jace and Chloe. So Olivia...” He paused, scrutinizing Charlie, “is off the hook.”
Josh felt his cheeks warming, knowing Drew had recognized their deception. Charlie kept her eyes averted.
“So exactly what was your plan?” Drew asked. “Were you simply pretending to be engaged? Because I would have required proof of the actual marriage.”
“No, we really were getting married... just over two weeks from now.”
“You and the original Olivia? Or you and this new Olivia?”
“Charlie. My name is Charlie.”
“We didn’t know what to do when Charlie and I decided to get married. We didn’t know how to tell you.”
“You could have said, ‘Mr. Warner, there’s been a slight change in the plan since we last met. This is my new fiancée, Charlie.’”
“That’s what my dad said. We were just hoping you wouldn’t notice.”
“I pride myself on my attention to detail. I could hardly forget meeting a girl with eyes like yours—quite beautiful. And Olivia seemed uncomfortable with children or the idea of children, while you appear to be quite the opposite. At any rate, it doesn’t matter now, because the marriage isn’t even necessary for custody. I do hope you’ll eventually get married, Josh, because it would be best for the children. But since you seem to be having a hard time settling on a fiancée, perhaps it’s a good thing there’s no rush.” He reached into his car and pulled out a briefcase. “Here are the papers I need you to sign and notarize. I’ll want them back as soon as possible.”
FOR THE FIRST THIRTY minutes of the return drive, Charlie chattered non-stop about every subject she could think of until she finally ran out of material and they fell into an uncomfortable silence. She knew what he had on his mind—it was the same thing she had on hers. Josh didn’t need to get married anymore. He could be Jace and Chloe’s father without having a wife. He didn’t need her anymore.
“Charlie?” She jumped as Josh shattered the silence.
“Yes?”
“What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know. What are you thinking?”
“I asked you first.”
“Well... I was thinking... I bet you’re glad you haven’t already given me a ring.”
“Does that mean you think we should call off the wedding?”
“What do you think?”
“I think I know what your dad would say.”
“Yeah, he already said we were rushing into it for the wrong reasons.”
“Do you think he was right?”
“No. I felt like we had good reasons for rushing things,” she said.
“Me, too.”
“But now...” She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. “I don’t know.”
Josh had tried to convince her he was in love with her, but she knew he was confusing physical attraction with love. For that matter, she wasn’t sure she could distinguish the difference either, at least not during or immediately after one of his intense kisses. So it was imperative she avoid getting physical with him. His kisses only muddled her brain, and she was confused enough already.
JOSH’S HEART WAS RACING and his stomach was churning. He was going to lose her. If he weren’t driving, he could kiss her and stop her from thinking. Like Brad said, you should never let a girl think too much. Once he reached the apartment building, he could kiss her. He wasn’t good at talking, but he was a pretty convincing kisser. He could persuade her to stick with the engagement once he got his lips on her mouth.
He stopped the car outside her apartment building and turned the engine off. “Charlie...” His voice was husky as he bent toward her. “I w—”
“I need to go, Josh.” Before the words were out of her mouth, she was sliding out the door.
He clutched her hand. “No! Wait!”
She swung her legs outside and tried to pull her hand away, exclaiming in pain.
“I’m sorry—I forgot that was your hurt arm.” He relaxed his grip. “But wait, Charlie! We need to talk!”
“No, Josh. You don’t need me anymore. You have no reason to commit to me. I’m not going to be responsible for ruining your life because of a promise you made by mistake.” She slipped her hand from his grasp, melting out the door.
“Wait!” He opened the car door, ready to chase her down.
“Hey buddy, you can’t park here. This is a no-parking zone.” The angry man was waving his hands in Josh’s face.
“But, I’ll be right back.”
“Are you deaf? This is a no-parking zone. That means you have to move your car now. Right now.”
Josh slammed the car door shut, fighting to maintain his self-control. He searched the sidewalk outside the apartment entrance for a sign of Charlie. But she was gone.
Chapter Nineteen
“DR. BRANSON? HEY! JOSH! Didn’t you hear me?” Olivia tapped Josh’s shoulder to snap him out of his reverie. He’d been oddly distant during her entire shift.
“No, I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked you if you’re sending Mr. Jenkins for an MRI?”
“Oh, uhmm... Yes. Yes, that’s right.”
She sat down next to him. “Okay. What gives? You’ve been out of it a
ll day.”
“You don’t know? I figured everyone already knew about it.” His face screwed up like he’d bitten into a lemon.
“About what? What are you talking about?”
“Charlie didn’t tell you? She broke up with me.”
“What are you talking about? She wouldn’t do that. Are you trying to trick me into marrying you again?”
“It turns out I don’t need to get married to adopt Jace and Chloe, so she dropped me.”
“Wait a minute. How did you find out you didn’t need to get married to get custody?”
“We found out yesterday afternoon at our meeting with the Parsons. And she decided to end it.”
“So you found out you didn’t need to get married? But you asked her to marry you anyway, and she turned you down?”
“No, I was trying to talk to her about it, but she ran off before I got the chance. It doesn’t matter—she doesn’t love me. She was only marrying me for the sake of the kids. She won’t even talk to me. I tried to call her last night. Today, too. It goes straight to voicemail.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Look how many times I called her. And see, I texted her, too. No response.”
She studied the phone. Apparently he’d reported accurately about his attempts to contact Charlie. Then she got the shock of her life. “Josh? Why do you have a picture of some woman’s boobs on your phone?”
He glanced at the phone with a bored expression. “Oh, that? It’s just some crazy nurse from the hospital in Colorado. She’s been sexting me. I delete them when they come in. What a freak.”
“Can’t you block her texts?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know how she got my cell number.”
“Couldn’t she lose her job for doing something like this?”
“Probably, so. But I hate to be that vindictive.”