by Dorie Graham
Chase held his breath and glanced around the small courtroom, but it appeared no one else was present. The judge put aside her paperwork.
“Okay, let’s get to this. Mr. Carrolton, would you care to tell the court why you’ve requested custody of Miss Kara Anders?”
Chase nodded. “Yes, Your Honor. You see, Kara is my sister, actually my stepsister, but the ‘step’ part had never really mattered to us. In every sense of the word, she’s my sister. Her mother married my father when Kara was three years old and I was seventeen, almost eighteen.”
Pausing, he glanced at Tony, and his friend nodded for him to continue, so Chase went on. “My father had some challenges. He, unfortunately, liked the bottle a little too much, and Kara’s mom couldn’t take that. One day she split and we never heard from her again. Well, I think Kara got birthday cards for a couple of years, but then those stopped. You see, Kara didn’t have much of a family after that, except for me. My dad was great about half the time when he was sober, but mostly I took care of her. I went to a community college so I could stay at home and look after her as much as I could, but then I transferred to McKinney University and I moved to the campus and got a job as a security guard. I went home as often as was possible, but I couldn’t always be there.
“And then my dad got one too many DUIs and Kara ended up in the custody of the Department of Family and Child Services. I wasn’t able to support her at the time, but I swear I have always been an emotional support to her. We talked on the phone or texted almost every day.” He shrugged. “And now that I’m older and I’m stable, I want to take care of my sister. I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to do so sooner.”
Silence descended over the room. The judge sighed as she wrote something on a paper before her. Chase glanced at Tony, but his friend’s expression was unreadable. Shit. Had he babbled too much? He shouldn’t have mentioned his father’s drinking.
“Mr. Harris, can you speak to the department’s stand on this?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” Mr. Harris said as he stood. “Our findings show that Mr. Carrolton meets satisfactory standards as far as maintaining a stable home and employment. He travels a good bit for work, but considering the minor is seventeen and the number of days he travels per trip are limited, we feel this isn’t a reason to deny custody. My interview with Miss Anders corroborates Mr. Carrolton’s statements that he has maintained a close relationship with his stepsister, demonstrating a strong attachment bond toward the child.”
He paused and consulted with the woman beside him for a moment and then said, “With the prerequisite that Mr. Carrolton attend adequate parenting classes, the department recommends placement of the minor with Mr. Carrolton.”
Relief filled Chase as the judge nodded her agreement. “This court hereby grants custody of Kara Marie Anders to Chase Mitchell Carrolton until the minor reaches the age of eighteen.”
As they exited, Chase turned to Tony, smiling. “I can’t believe that’s over. Thank you so much for all your help.”
“No problem, though I still say you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” Tony pulled his phone from his pocket and frowned. “Sorry, man, I have to take this. I’ll see you later, okay? Go celebrate.”
Celebrate. Chase felt suddenly disappointed. It wasn’t as if he didn’t look forward to celebrating with Kara. She was going to be thrilled, even though she hadn’t shown a single sign of being concerned over the outcome.
But then she’d likely jump on her phone to text all her friends and Chase would be left on his own. Celebrating with Kara would be great, no doubt, but celebrating with Alex would be so much better. What good were these wonderful moments in his life if he couldn’t share them with her? Had he been too quick to break things off with her when everything had gone south after their return from Indiana?
He’d made a stand for Kara. Was he ready to make a stand for Alex, as well?
* * *
ALEX SIGHED AS SHE ENTERED her father’s house. She’d been on an emotional roller coaster since her early-morning run. The time she’d spent with her mother had been bittersweet, but she was glad she’d told her mother the truth and they’d had that connection.
She felt lighter now that she’d let go of all that anger.
The aroma of coffee reached her, and Megan called out to her as she hit the stairs, but she replied, “I need a quick shower and then I’ll be down.”
She raced through her shower, marveling at how her mother had tolerated hugging her after her run. She’d pushed herself on the trail and wasn’t as fresh as she’d have liked to be. She’d been determined to see her mother, though, and was glad she’d gone when she had and had caught her mother in a clear state of mind.
Those moments were becoming so rare.
Fifteen minutes later, she descended the stairs to find Megan and her father in the kitchen. Megan’s bag was by the door. They both greeted her as she entered.
“I’m so glad I caught you,” Alex said, slipping into the seat beside her sister. “We haven’t had a chance to catch up.”
“Catch up?” Megan drew back to better see her. “When do we ever catch up? The only time I ever see you is when Carly insists you come over, and then you spend the time hanging with her and avoiding me as much as possible.” She shook her finger. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“I can’t deny that. But you do know why, don’t you, Megan?”
Her sister’s eyebrows arched. “Because I’m always harping on the family. But family is important, Alex.” She turned to their father. “Right, Dad?”
“That’s true,” he said.
“Yes, it is,” Alex said.
“I’m so glad you agree,” Megan said.
“I wasn’t ready to hear it before,” Alex said.
“Honey,” her father said, “I think we’ve all done things in the past that might have given the impression we didn’t think family was important. I know you’ve been hurt by the actions of—” he shrugged “—well, your mother and me, the two people you should have been able to count on the most.”
“I saw Mom,” Alex said. “Just now. I went for a run and then I had this compelling need to see her and she was Mom. She knew me and wasn’t living in some delusion of the past. She was clear of mind and we talked.”
“Oh, my God.” Megan pressed her hand to her chest. “You told her about Robert.”
“I really didn’t mean to, but she has a woman there who helps her keep tabs on all of our comings and goings and she knew that Robert and Dad hadn’t been by.” She turned to her father. “I didn’t know you visited her.”
He nodded and fiddled with his coffee cup. “I haven’t been able to get by there lately between your brother and the hardware store.”
“Well, Mom figured that out,” Alex said. “She figured something was wrong because you guys hadn’t been by and when she asked me about it I bawled like a baby.”
“Shit, Alex,” Megan said.
“It was okay, though. She was upset, but I think she had a right to know.”
“She did,” her father said, nodding. “She had every right to know. If it were me, I’d want to know.”
“Well, it all came out.” Alex bit her lip. “About Charles McMann and everything.”
Megan stared at her, her eyes rounded. “You couldn’t spare her that?”
“The one thing your mother doesn’t want is to be spared anything because of her illness,” her father said. “Especially if it has to do with this family.”
“It just all came out,” Alex repeated. “I really just wanted to go there to see her, to see if I could get over being mad at her.”
“And did you?” Megan asked.
“I did,” Alex said, smiling. “We hugged and we were sad, but it was okay, because she was Mom today and that was what I needed more than anything.”
Her father again bobbed his head. “I’m glad for you, Alexandra.”
“And Robert and I had a kind of coming to terms last nig
ht, as well,” Alex continued. “And one of the things I realized was that I kind of thought all of you sucked, I’m sorry to say, but part of that was because I also sucked, and I freely admit that. I know I haven’t been an active participant in this family for years and that’s been my choice, but in light of all these recent revelations, I’ve come to look at family in a different light.
“We aren’t perfect in any way and we fit Aunt Ellis’s nickname, the Broken Family, way too well, but no family is perfect. The perfect family that I thought existed all those years ago was really an illusion. We were so screwed up, but we didn’t realize it. So I figure if I go into this now, knowing all that, not expecting us to be perfect, then when we fall to pieces again, as we inevitably will, then it will be okay. I think I’ve learned that I can love you all unconditionally.”
Megan squeezed her hand. “I love you, too, Alex.”
Her dad smiled, but made no further response. Alex reached for his hand and her throat tightened. “Dad, I’ve been the hardest of all on you, and I can’t tell you how very sorry I am for that. I’m still not happy with what you did, but I know I don’t understand what was going on with you and Mom at the time. I know we’re all human, and I’m sure I’ll do something totally stupid at some point to wreck everything, but you’ll all be more understanding when that happens.”
“So, speaking of which,” Megan said, “what happened with you and Chase? I spoke with Robert this morning and he said your on-again status is officially off-again.”
“It is,” Alex said, her mood slipping. “It’s so ironic. He broke it off with me the other day because I turned my back on all of you.”
Megan looked shocked. “But you’re making amends. You just said you love us. I for one am stunned. Aren’t you stunned, Dad? We should call Chase and let him know how stunned we are.”
Alex shook her head. “Please don’t. I’m turning over a new leaf, and part of it may be because of what I went through with Chase. But let’s give it some time to make sure I’ve got this whole ‘being a part of the family again’ thing down. If things are meant to work out with Chase, they will. I don’t want anyone coercing him. Is that clear?” She glanced from Megan to her father, whose eyes were misty.
“Absolutely,” Megan said.
“I think I need a hug,” her father said, and for the second time that morning, Alex hugged it out with one of her parents.
THE SCENT OF GRILLED SALMON filled the air as Chase pushed through his front door. He inhaled deeply as Kara stepped hesitantly toward him.
“Well,” she said, “are we official?”
Smiling, he spread his arms wide. “We’re official.”
With a squeal, she launched herself into his arms. He laughed and swung her around, then set her down again on her feet. “I wasn’t so sure it was going to happen, but it actually went pretty smoothly.”
“I told you not to sweat it. How could they say no to you?”
“I’m not exactly the saint you make me out to be, you know. I had a wild streak when I was younger.”
She quirked her mouth to the side. “If you’re referring to your little fireworks episode, I hardly call that wild.”
Surprise filled him. “How do you know about that?”
“Alex may have mentioned it at our last tutoring session. You were upstairs with Robert and she was trying to make me feel better about my episode at the police station.”
He shook his head. “You two talk too much. How come she knew about this Bruce guy and I didn’t?”
Kara’s shoulders shifted in an easy shrug. “She asked.”
“She asked. That’s it? So all I have to do is ask you who you’re hanging with?”
Her eyes widened. “I have no secrets, Chase. If you want to know something, just ask me. I had a thing for Bruce, but obviously, that’s over. Jerk.” She grinned. “Him, not you.” Her eyebrows drew together. “Except, what the hell is going on with you and Alex? It’s all weird between you two now. You did something stupid, didn’t you?”
Frustration filled him. “Can we not talk about that? Dinner smells incredible. Let’s celebrate.”
She planted her small blonde self in front of him. “I’m not dishing up a thing until you tell me what’s going on. I let you off easy and didn’t ply you with questions when you came to get me from Roy’s and you were in that shitty mood. I’d been hoping you and Alex would have hooked up on your trip. But you’ve been so disgustingly polite to each other. You did something to screw things up.”
“It’s complicated, Kara.”
Her eyebrows arched. “And you think I can’t comprehend complicated?”
“No, of course I don’t think that. The whole thing just makes me a little sick and this is supposed to be a happy time. We’re supposed to be celebrating.”
“And I was hoping to have Alex here celebrating with us, so why isn’t she?”
He shook his head. “Dad’s right, you are trouble. Maybe I should go back and tell the judge I changed my mind.”
She socked him so hard in the arm he took a step back. “Ouch. Okay, truce. I’ll talk.” He gestured to the kitchen, where she’d already set the table. Dishes with amazing aromas dotted the surface. “Let’s sit.”
She planted herself in the chair across from him, her gaze intent. “Okay, spill it. Tell me what you did so I can help you fix it.”
He shook his head. “She walked out on her family. Robert was in the hospital, in a bad place and none too happy that we’d gone looking for his real father. Tensions were high, but she just gave up. She washed her hands of them.”
“So you washed your hands of her.”
“It sounds horrible when you put it that way.”
Kara let out a heavy sigh. “It is horrible. You were upset with her for turning her back on her family, which I get. It’s awful. People don’t appreciate each other the way they should.” Her gaze pinned him. “And then you turned around and did to her exactly what you were upset with her for doing.”
“It was a matter of self-preservation. She’d gotten way under my skin again. You don’t know what it was like before. I don’t think I’d survive that again.” He stopped and inhaled deeply. “You’re right. I did to her what she did to her family.”
Kara nodded but didn’t comment.
Chase fisted his hand. “But she’s the one who started this whole ‘not a date date’ thing. I mean, it worked before the trip, but...”
“I knew it. You did hook up.” She groaned. “And then you blew her off. That’s so much worse.”
His frustration increased. “I guess you’re right.”
“So grow some balls and tell her it was to be a date date or forget about it.”
“You mean, kind of like make a stand. That sounds familiar.”
“Make a stand, grow some balls. Tomato, tomahto.”
“You like to boil it down to the obvious, don’t you?”
Her ponytail swung as she shook her head. “If we’d all keep it simple, the world would be a better place.”
“I wish it were simple.” He rose and moved toward his bedroom, saying over his shoulder, “Enough of this depressing stuff. I’m officially your guardian and we’re celebrating.”
He returned a moment later and handed her a big wrapped box. “It’s heavy. Be careful.”
Her eyes rounded as she accepted the weight of the gift. “And iron skillet?”
Laughter rose in his throat. “Open it and see.”
She made short work of the wrapping and grinned happily at him as she hefted the skillet. “You do love me.”
A heartfelt smile parted his lips. “Welcome home, Kara.”
* * *
“DID YOU FINISH proofing the last round of promotion material for the new exhibition?” Chase peered over the assistant curator’s shoulder as she sat working at her computer.
Donna jumped and turned to him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that. I finished it this morning and let Marketing know we’re okay with i
t.”
“Excellent.”
“Have you gotten a date for the gala yet?” she asked.
He shrugged. He hadn’t been able to confirm anything with Alex yet. He’d taken Kara to the Petersons’ house the other night so Alex could tutor her, but between Robert being home and needing help and Alex working with his sister, he hadn’t had a moment alone with her.
“Chase, it’s this Saturday. You’ve waited too long. You won’t find a date with it just being a few days away.”
“I have one lined up,” he said. “I just need to confirm it.”
“Well, you’d better get on the phone. You need to give a girl some time, you know. She might need to buy a dress, get her hair or nails done.”
He smiled. “I don’t think any of that will be an issue.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
He frowned. “Well, okay, maybe not.”
“So call her.”
“I will.”
Donna’s smile lit her face. “You’re going to have a date, Chase, a real date. I’m so proud of you.”
He opened his mouth to correct her, but then he closed it again. Part of his issue in bringing up the subject with Alex had been that she was so bloody ready for it not to be a date. He wasn’t sure if his ego could take having a friend date with her. How would he even act?
“Who is she?” Donna swiveled her chair around to face him. “Where did you meet? Online?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve known her almost all of my life.”
“Oh.” She pursed her lips. “So she’s more of a friend.”
Again, he opened his mouth, but then closed it. How was he supposed to explain his relationship with Alex? “It’s complicated.”
“Oh.” Her eyebrows arched. “That actually sounds promising. Complicated in a good kind of way?”
“Um...yes, I think...I hope. Yes.” He nodded. “Complicated in a good kind of way. We’ve sort of been on again...and then off again.”
“I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Right. It should be...interesting.”
She held up her wrist, showing him her watch. “You should totally go call her now.”