I sat up in her bed and glanced at my phone. I noticed I had several missed calls from Jackson, my roommate and business partner. We all usually referred to him as Jax.
Joy sat up, climbing behind me, and started to kiss my neck, “Wanna go for round two?”
I stared at my phone distracted. Jaxson rarely called me. “Uh, I’m sorry I really can’t. I need to get home.”
“Really? Why?”
I turned to face her. “Jackson called me a few times. I gotta go see what’s up.”
She nodded like she understood although she was clearly disappointed. “Oh okay. I hope nothing is wrong with the business. I need that job.”
I stood up and got dressed. “I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
She stood up, still completely naked and wrapped her arms around my neck. She pulled me in for an intense kiss, that I really wasn’t into, but I kissed her back half-assed. “Yes, you will.”
Shit. I was grateful to have an out for the night, but didn’t know how the hell I was going to deal with this the following day.
I didn’t bother calling Jackson back because our house wasn’t far from Joy’s. I drove home and walked in. Jax was sitting on the couch and looked up at me, “’Bout time you got home!”
“Yeah. I was busy. What’s up?”
“You have a message on landline phone. From the Overland Park Police Department.”
“What? Did they say what they wanted?”
He shook his head, “No just left a number. It’s still on the machine. You have a warrant or something?”
“I haven’t been in Kansas for three years.”
He shrugged and went back to working on his laptop. Jackson was the numbers guy for our business and handled the books. I mostly handled the people. We both worked on the cars whenever we could, even though we usually had enough guys on staff to handle that part.
Our garage was one of the most successful restoration garages in the state of Oklahoma and had become extremely successful the last couple of years.
I walked into the kitchen where the phone was and listened to the message. I wrote down the number and went into my bedroom. I dialed the 913 number and a woman’s voice came over the phone, “Overland Park Police Department. How may I direct your call?”
“My name is Dylan Monroe. I have a message to call Detective Morrison.”
“Hold please.”
A gruff masculine voice was next, “This is Detective Morrison.”
“Hello, sir, I had a message from you.”
“Yes. I’m very sorry to tell you this, especially over the phone, but your father, Daniel and his wife Sylvia, were involved in an accident this afternoon.”
Panic started to set in, “An accident? Are they okay?”
“I’m sorry, they were both pronounced dead at the scene.”
I sat down on my bed trying to stop my world from spinning. “Um.” I swallowed hard, “What about my brothers and sisters. Are they okay?”
“The youngest, Gabriel was in the crash, but there were no physical injuries. The other three were not in the vehicle.”
I let out a small breath of relief that my siblings were okay. “Where are they?”
“Right now they are the care of social services, but that is temporary and we were hoping you could come and get them right away.”
My dad and his wife Sylvia were both only children and their parents were all long gone. I was the only family those kids had left. “Of course, I live in Oklahoma City, but I will find a flight or drive there. Whichever way is the fastest.”
He gave me the contact information for when I got into town and thanked him and then hung up.
I put the phone down and walked into the living room where Jackson was. I felt like a zombie, incapable of any emotion. When he saw my face he stood up and walked toward me. “What happened?”
My mouth was dry and I just stared at him blankly before finally choking out, “My dad and Sylvia are dead.”
I met Jackson when I went to college in Oklahoma, but he had met my family a couple of times when he joined us for the holidays. He walked closer and put his hand on my shoulder, “Shit man. I’m sorry. What happened?”
“Car wreck.”
“Are the kids okay?”
I nodded and sat down on the bar stool at our kitchen’s bar. “Yeah. I have to get to them.”
Jackson moved back to the couch and picked up his laptop. After a minute he looked over at me, “No flights until tomorrow. We driving?”
I stood up. “Yeah, but someone has to take care of the garage.”
He grabbed his keys and headed toward the door. “I’ll call Joe on the way. He’s capable of watching over things for a few days. Let’s go.”
I didn’t argue and we went out to Jackson’s BMW SUV. We both got in with Jackson behind the wheel and started our five hour drive to Kansas.
We arrived in Overland Park, which was the large suburb of Kansas City that I grew up in, just before five in the morning. I tried to call the number the officer had given me, but I just got a recording stating that the office didn’t open until nine.
We found a hotel and checked in to try to get some sleep in the four hours we had. I laid in the comfortable clean bed, but never got a second of sleep. I heard Jax snore as my thoughts drifted to what Gabby had seen in the accident and where my brothers and sisters were. I hadn’t even seen any of them for almost three years.
My mom died when I was five from a drug overdose and my dad remarried Sylvia when I was ten. A couple of months after they got married they had Luke and then three others over the years. I hated Sylvia at first and gave her a hell of a time, but she had really grown on me over the years. Even after my father and I had a falling out her and I had stayed in contact.
My phone went off fifteen minutes before nine and Jackson and I headed to the Office of Social Services, where we were greeted by a portly, frazzled woman. When I told her who I was she looked at me with pity, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I just need to see my siblings.”
“Of course.” She flipped through the huge pile of papers on her desk until she pulled out a file that was labeled, “Monroe”.
“Ah, okay. There is some paperwork you need to fill out and I need to get a copy of your ID. After that I will take you to pick up your siblings.”
After filling out what seemed like an endless amount of paperwork, Jax and I followed the woman to a decent sized house on the other side of town.
Jackson waited in the car while I went in with her. A friendly, middle aged woman answered the door and allowed us into her home. My brother, Luke and my sister, Cassie were sitting on the couch watching TV when I walked in.
Cassie ran over to me and hugged me tightly, “Dylan!”
I hugged her back and held on to her shoulder, pulling her back slightly to get a good look at her. She had grown since the last time I had seen her, her braces were gone and acne cleared up. “Hey Cass.”
Her face was puffy from crying. “I’m so glad you are here.”
Luke walked up behind her and I barely recognized him. The last time I saw him he was a scrawny thirteen year old boy and he had filled out quite a bit in the three years since I had seen him. “Do we get to leave with you?”
His voice had changed since the last time I had talked to him, it was a lot deeper. I felt a pang of guilt that I hadn’t even heard his voice in three years. I nodded. “Yeah, I have temporary custody. Where are Michael and Gabby?”
Cassie pointed to the backyard. “They are out there on the swing set.”
I gave Cassie another quick hug and squeezed Luke’s shoulder as I passed him on the way to the backyard. The woman from social services stayed near the front door, talking to the temporary foster mother.
I went outside and my brother, Michael, who had just turned ten, ran over to me. “Dylan! You’re here!”
“Of course I’m here. Are you okay?”
&n
bsp; He shook his head, “I wanna go home.”
I nodded. “Okay. Well run in and get your stuff. We’re leaving.”
He hugged me and then ran inside. I walked over to Gabby who still swinging. “Gabby?”
She just looked up with me with a solemn expression on her face, but didn’t say a word.
I walked closer to her and put my hand on her knee and looked into her eyes, which stared blankly back at me. “Gabby, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
She still didn’t say a word and climbed off of the swing. I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her tiny frame. “I have no idea what you’ve been through in the last twenty four hours, but I am her for you. Anything you need just let me know.”
I held onto for a little longer and then we walked inside to get her stuff.
When all of the kids had their bags in their hands we stood at the door. The lady from social services handed me a card, “That is the card of your father’s lawyer. Please call him soon to get a permanent custody agreement in order.”
I nodded and took the car, then led the kids out to the SUV where Jax sat waiting patiently. We all piled into the car and then I turned to Luke, “Same address?”
He nodded and I told Jax where to drive us to. Ten minutes later we pulled into the driveway of my childhood home. I got out of the passenger seat and looked at the modest, three bedroom white house before me. It hadn’t changed at all since I was there the last time.
Chapter 2
Dylan
We all went inside and I looked around, not much had changed inside either. I walked over to the dining room table, where we always ate our holiday meals. I remembered how excited Sylvia always was to have everyone together. A sense of melancholy swept over me as I realized we would never have that again.
The kids went off to their rooms and Jackson and I went to the living room. He sat down on the couch, “The place hasn’t changed much, but I still expected Sylvia to welcome us with a plate full of warm cookies.”
A small grin came across my face. She loved to entertain guests and had really like Jax when I brought him home. “Yeah, me too.”
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the number on the business card for the lawyer. A secretary answered and I introduced myself and asked to speak to Mr. McCullough. He came on the line shortly after, “This is Edward McCullough. Dylan?”
“Yes.”
“Hello. I was your father and step mother’s lawyer. Do you have time to meet today to speak about their will?”
“Yes, I just picked up the kids and we are at their house.”
“Okay. I can meet you there in an hour. Will that work for you?”
“Yes. I will be here.”
I hung up the phone and turned to Jax. “He’ll be here in an hour to discuss the will.”
“He didn’t tell you any details?”
I shook my head. “No, just that he will be here in an hour.”
We hung out in the living room in silence until the doorbell rang. I got up and answered the door. A man in a nice black suit held his hand out to me, “Dylan, I’m Edward.”
I shook his head and motioned for him to come in. “Thanks for coming. We can go into the dining room.”
“Perfect.” He followed me into the dining room and we both sat down at the large table.
He looked around the room and then back to me, “Where are the children?”
“They are resting in their rooms.”
He nodded and pulled papers out of his leather briefcase. “Okay. I’ll keep this short. I know that you have had a hell of a day already. Daniel and Sylvia left everything to you, the house, the cars, and the kids.”
I took a deep breath, I had assumed as much since I was the only living relative over eighteen, but to hear it out loud was still jarring. “I have custody of them?”
He nodded. “Well you will have to go to court to ensure permanent custody of the children, but you will hold temporary custody until then.”
I looked at him confused, “I have to go to court even though it was in their written will?”
He nodded, “Yes. It’s custom in situations like this one. Usually it is just a formality, but I will say your age may be a concern for the judge.”
“My age?”
“Yes. You are twenty six and this would be leaving you in care of four minors.”
“I’m their brother. I will do everything I can to take care of them.”
“Yes of course, but you are young and you do have a past of being irresponsible.”
Of course my father had told him about my past. I shook my head wondering why my father had left everything to me when he still hadn’t trusted me. “Okay. So when is court?”
“Thursday at two.” He stood and thoroughly examined me, “Please wear a suit and tie. I don’t see any piercings.” He pointed to the tattoo on my bicep, peaking out of the sleeve of my t-shirt and moved his gaze to the small tattoo on the left side of my neck, “Please make sure all tattoos are completely out of sight.”
“My tattoos are going to cost me getting custody of my siblings?”
He looked slightly irritated with me. “The judge will likely see them as…” He hesitated as if he was trying to be careful, “immature.”
“They’ll be covered.”
“Good. I will see you on Thursday then.”
After Mr. McCullough left things went lightening fast and everything was a blur. I organized the funeral and took care of my brothers and sisters the best I could, luckily it was summer so they weren’t in school yet.
The funeral was on Wednesday and the next day I went to court with the kids, dressed in a brand new suit that covered everything.
Mr. McCullough wasn’t wrong. The judge was a hardass who hated me as soon as he saw me. He made it very clear that he didn’t agree with my dad and Sylvia’s decision to leave the kids to me.
In the end he granted me temporary custody of my siblings and the court assigned our family a case worker that would be monitoring us constantly over the next year. The judge’s words were still ringing in my ears as I left the courthouse, “Make one mistake and these children will go straight into a foster home equipped to raise children properly.”
Chapter 3
Brooke
I walked into the stuffy social services office and walked over Janice’s office. I had just finished with my Master’s Degree in Social Work and had interned at this office for several months, so I was very familiar with the building.
That day was different though, because I was an official licensed social worker and no longer an unpaid intern. She looked up from her desk that was covered by files and papers. “Ah Brooke. Welcome to hell.”
I smiled uncomfortably, not sure what to say, “Thank you.”
She smiled and stood up, “Okay so I would love to take it easy on you and really ease you into this, but that’s not the world we live in. Your first family is a doozey.”
She handed me a file with the name “Monroe” on the tab. “Walk with me honey. I’ll show you your new cubicle.”
We walked out into the sea of endless cubicles and made our way through the maze. I glanced at the file as we walked toward mine and she gave me an idea of what I was in for. “Okay, so it’s a custody case, which you’ve seen when you’ve joined Marla out in the field, but this one is unique. The parents died in a car accident two weeks ago.”
“Oh that’s terrible.”
“Yes. Well in the parent’s will they left custody of the children to the oldest sibling who is only twenty six. There are four children under the age of sixteen. The judge has ordered weekly scheduled visits for the first few months and unscheduled “pop-in” visits every other week.”
We reached an empty cubicle and I assumed it was mine and put the folder and my purse down on the desk, “That seems extremely excessive.”
“Something about the guy really pissed off the judge. And he’s twenty six. He’s only two years older than you. Thi
nk about the guys you know. You think they are capable of taking care of four minors?”
That thought was scary. Not that I knew that many people my age, but from what I had seen that was terrifying. “Good point.”
She smiled. “I will obviously sprinkle in more cases this week, but this one is your top priority. Don’t let me down. I know you can do it.”
I really liked Janice. She was blunt, overworked, and tired, but I could tell she was one of the good ones that truly cared about the children.
I sat there reading over every inch of the file in my hands. It was amazing the type of information we had on people in a custody case.
Dylan Christopher Monroe, age twenty six, was now in custody of his four younger half-siblings. Lucas Jonathan Monroe, age sixteen. Cassandra Marie Monroe, age fourteen. Michael William Monroe, age ten. And Gabriel Lynn Monroe, age six.
Geez that was quite a range in the kid’s ages. I couldn’t imagine taking care of that many children at my age.
Apparently, Dylan had lived in Oklahoma City, OK and owned his own home and business there. He was unmarried and had a net worth of two and half million dollars. All of the zeros really popped out on the page, but I went on.
The kid’s home was located in Overland Park, KS, not far from our Johnson County Department of Social Service’s office.
---Get more of Brooke and Dylan in Unsocial coming very soon!
Evolve (Soulmates Book 4) Page 18