Preach to me Baby

by Hazel Parker

  “Sorry if that hurt.” She said, embarrassed at how out of character she acted.

  He lifted his head to look at her, incredulous. “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried, baby.”

  Her stomach fluttered, excited and nervous to be on such unfamiliar territory. Pulling away from the wall, Dante carried her into the living room and sat on the couch, Jacqueline on his lap.

  “I’m glad I got to see you relax, even if it was for just a couple minutes.” He said, urging her against his shoulder. She laid against him, letting him run his hands over her back. She listened to his heart beating and thought about his words. Maybe he was right, she was always on pins waiting for Whitney to show up or waiting to run and bail her out of whatever trouble she had got herself into. Maybe she could relax now for the first time in a long time.

  She had never had a one night stand before and the rules for how to proceed afterwards were foreign to her. She knew he had to leave before Penny woke up in the morning, though.

  “You should probably go.” She mumbled against his chest, sleepy.

  “Yeah. I should.” He said, though he made no motion to leave and the soft pull of his fingers stroking her hair felt too good for her to worry about propriety.

  “I don’t know what happens next.” She said with a yawn and even she wasn’t sure if she was talking about just for now or for her future.

  “Just lay down and be happy for a minute. You worry too much.” He shifted his hips until they were laying on their sides, still facing one another, cuddled on the narrow couch.

  Jacqueline lay her head back on his stretched out arm. The tips of her fingers lightly traced the lines of his tattoos until her eyes felt heavy and the sleep she had been chasing for days finally caught up to her. Through the haze of sleep she vaguely felt Dante getting up. He pulled a blanket over her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She snuggled down into the blanket before she drifted back into sleep, the heavy sound of his boots across the hardwood was the last things she heard.

  ******

  The next few days went by in a blur. There were less visitors as each day passed, and that left more time for just her and Penny. When Jacqueline looked at her niece she saw so much of Whitney in her and it scared her. If she hadn’t been able to stop her sister from making the choices she had what were the chances she could do that for Penny? It was like she had been given a do-over, but she was too scared of screwing it up again.

  She took small hope in the little things Penny did that were nothing like her mother. When Whit was little she could never sit still. She would always drag Jacqueline around behind her in another one of her imaginative schemes. She was such a live wire. But for as active as a 7 year old can be, Penny could sit and color for an hour at a time, or read for ages.

  Jacqueline looked at her now, sitting on the couch drawing in her notebook. She looked so sweet, so sad. Jacqueline grabbed a magazine and settled down beside her little niece, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. They sat quietly together until the phone got her up again. She went into the kitchen to answer it.

  “Ms. Gibson?”

  “Yes”

  “I’m calling from Mr. Dougson’s office.”

  “Yes?” Jacqueline said, curious why her attorney’s secretary was calling.

  “Mr. Dougson wanted me to arrange a time for you to come in to discuss some details pertaining to your custody of Miss Jacobs.”

  Jacqueline stilled at the mention of Penelope. “What details?”

  “Someone has stepped forward to challenge your custody.”

  “Who?” Her mind raced to think of the possibilities, but she came up empty.

  “He is claiming to be Miss Jacobs’ father.”

  Jacqueline couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. There had never been a father in Penny’s life. When Whitney got pregnant she said she didn’t know who the father was and that she didn’t care to find out. No one ever came around looking for a baby, which wasn’t surprising because Jacqueline had grown accustomed to Whitney never coming around with the same man twice.

  She looked into the next room at Penny. She had been through so much, not just this past week but her whole life. It hurt to know that even now she wasn’t being given the chance at stability. Jacqueline wanted to hang up the phone, move away, and pretend she never heard any of this. But she didn’t. She made an appointment with Mr. Dougson for the end of the week.

  ******

  Jacqueline sat in the waiting room of the lawyer’s office. She straightened the strap of her purse on her lap for the tenth time since arriving. Her eyes were drawn up to the clock on the wall, watching the second hand tick by slowly. When she arrived Connie, Mr. Dougson’s secretary told her that he was in meeting with Penny’s father and his attorney and they wouldn’t need her just yet. So she sat. Waiting.

  When finally the door opened Jacqueline jumped to her feet and met the lawyer just outside his door. He smiled kindly to her before ushering her into his office. Jacqueline took a moment to survey the other people in the room, to lay her eyes on the person claiming to be Penny’s father. She looked to the other end of the conference table to the man sitting beside a grey haired lawyer. Jacqueline couldn’t quite believe that she was seeing things properly. Beside the lawyer was Dante.

  She looked up at Mr. Dougson, who merely urged her to sit. Standing across from Dante she could see he looked just as perplexed as she was. She turned to Mr. Dougson.

  “Please tell me this is just a hoax?” She lamented.

  “I’m sorry Jackie, but Mr. McKenna has a pretty legitimate claim to Penelope.” His professional voice gave nothing away.

  “How legitimate?”

  “He has a paternity test dated around the time she was born.”

  “But she’s never met him before. If he knew this whole time why does he want her now?”

  From across the table Dante stood up.

  “What is she doing here?” His voice boomed at her.

  “I’m sorry Mr. McKenna. It seems we jumped right past introductions. This is Ms. Gibson. She is to whom Ms. Jacobs left custody of Penelope Jacobs. And Jackie this is Mr. McKenna and Mr. Jeffers who represents him.”

  “You’re Penelope’s guardian?”

  “I am. I’m the only family Penny knows.”

  “The two of you have met?” Mr. Dougson asked.

  “We have, but I didn’t know her last name at the time.” His eyes raked over her body and she felt her cheeks warm. This situation was bad enough, she didn’t need to throw feeling ashamed of her first ever one night stand in the mix.

  “Well why don’t we all sit and talk about the case that Mr. McKenna is bringing forward.” Mr. Dougson said, pulling her chair out. She held Dante’s stare until he relented and sat down, then she sat too.

  While the lawyers traded their jargon, Jacqueline watched Dante. He was dressed just as poorly as he was the night she met him, the scruff on his face was gone, though, revealing his striking cheekbones. Jacqueline gave herself a mental shake, reminding herself that he was the enemy. She tuned back into what Mr. Dougson was saying at the mention of her name.

  “Well Ms. Gibson was legally named as the guardian, and there is the question of his absence in the girl’s life up until this point.”

  “Mr. McKenna is the biological father of the girl and he has the means and desire to support her.”

  “That’s true, but if we can’t come to some kind of amicable agreement things will have to be settled with the help of a mediator.”

  It all started to sound too overwhelming. Jacqueline had been there for Penny every chance she was given. She took her to buy new shoes or a jacket every time Whitney brought her around. She taught her how to tie her shoes. She loved her. And in an instant Penny was going to be taken away from her and put with some travelling rock star. How in the world could she save her from following the same path as her mother now?

  “I just want what’s best for Penny.” She said, interrupting the lawyers bac
k and forth.

  “So do I.” The challenging stare Dante gave her intimidated her, but she wouldn’t let him know it. This had to do with more than her weaknesses. This was about Penny. Jacqueline would do anything for her family.

  “Perhaps both sides should take some time to review all the factors and see if a compromise could be reached. I think I speak for both sides when I say no one wants to go to court for this. I can’t imagine it would be in the child’s best interest.”

  Jacqueline nodded numbly. She didn’t think of having to go to court. The men moved around her, shaking hands and scheduling times to meet, but Jacqueline was oblivious to it all. All she could think of was Penny. Having this issued dragged out in court would be one more trauma that Penny just did not need. She had to work this out with Dante.

  Looking around frantically, she saw Mr. Dougson standing at Connie’s desk and the other two men making their way to the elevator. Jacqueline rushed out of the office after Dante, catching up with him at the elevator.

  “We need to talk, Dante.”

  “Mr. McKenna is under no obligation to talk to you Ms. Gibson.”

  “Take a break Gerry.” He said patting his lawyer on the back. Stepping forward he took her by the elbow a few paces from the elevator. “What’s up, Jac?”

  “I can’t let this go through the courts. We need to figure this out.” He looked at her, thinking. Brooding eyes not giving anything away. “Please. Penny has been through enough.”

  He finally nodded. “Sure. But not right now. I have a few things to finish up with Gerry. What if I swing by your place this afternoon?”

  She nodded, trying not to let the smell of his cologne affect her. The elevator dinged behind them and Dante turned from her and headed to the elevator. She watched his retreating back and hoped that she could make him see that moving Penny around again was just not a good idea.

  ******

  The hours seemed to pass slowly while Jacqueline waited for him. She had been able to enroll Penny in school even though it was so late in the year and she was thankful that it was a school day so she wouldn’t be here to witness what was about to unfold between her and Dante.

  Pacing the house one more time Jacqueline couldn’t help but feel nervous and she wished that it was just about Penny’s custody. She knew that part of it was thanks to her thoughtless decision to sleep with Dante. She never had sex with someone she just met, and the one time she does it comes back to bite her.

  Even so she couldn’t think of it was a regret per se. That night with Dante had been the most relief she’d experienced in longer than she could remember. He had a way of taking control of things with ease, and Jacqueline was so tired of being the responsible one. She had slept peacefully that night, not haunted by thoughts that something bad could happen at any moment. And every night since she had fallen asleep thinking of those stolen moments and it had been the best week of sleep she had gotten in ages.

  Jacqueline sighed and paced back to the living room. She would have to push those thoughts out of her head today, though. He was the enemy now.

  The loud knock on her door made her jump, and she rushed across the room to pull open the door. Dante filled the doorway and she brushed off the rush of desire that passed through her as she took in his tall body, remembering his possessive hands on her. She stepped back and let him come in. He entered and, without waiting for an invitation, walked to the island that separated the kitchen from the living room. She followed him and came to stand across the island from him.

  His eyes skimmed over her body and she felt a flush creep up her cheeks. She couldn’t imagine he remembered the other night like she did, he probably slept with a different women each day of the week, but the way his eyes bore into her like he could see through her cotton dress made her think he was remembering it too. His eyes snapped up to hers, his emotions masked.

  “You wanted to talk?”

  “Yes. I want to understand what your intention with Penny is?”

  “My intention? I’m her father. I intend to exercise that right.” He said, his voice hard, clipped.

  “Yes, but I want you to look at this from her perspective. I’m the only family she knows and I really think she needs that connection right now.” Her eyes pleaded with him, hoping for an ounce of understanding.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll still let her see you.” He said, brushing off her concerns. “Maybe she can even crash here while I’m touring.”

  “No, she needs somewhere she can crash all the time. You can’t drag her around with you wherever you go and not expect that to affect her. She’s a kid.” Her voice raised, concern giving way to anger.

  “Yeah. My kid.” He matched her tone, his eyes sparked.

  “Whom you’ve never met. Why do you want her now when you didn’t want to have anything to do with her before?”

  “Because Whitney wouldn’t let me see her.”

  “And why would she do that. I love my sister, but I knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t likely to turn down the help of a hot rich guy.” She dug her fingernails into her palm, her heart rate speeding. She hated confrontation, but this was one fight she couldn’t back down from.

  “Then you should also know her well enough to know that she was a stubborn thing too. We were already history when she found out she was pregnant. Things were messy as shit between us at the time and she said she would never allow her kid to see me. All she wanted me for was money.”

  “If you were paying her child support why was there never any paperwork pertaining to it?”

  “Because Whit was smarter than that. She knew that if she filed for child support through the right channels, that money would be monitored. She would have to spend it on its intended purpose and not on herself. She had me deposit money into her bank account every month.”

  “Which she turned around and snorted. Wow, your case for getting custody just gets better and better.”

  “I was an idiot, okay? The way she said it, if I didn’t go along with her plan she would start telling people it wasn’t consensual, or some other story. And Whit was crazy enough to do it, too, so I figured I would just pay her the money and she would be happy.”

  “And you never thought about Penelope again?” She bit out.

  “Of course I did. I might be an asshole, but it killed me thinking that my kid was going to grow up never knowing who I was. Or worse yet, having Whitney as her mother.” Dante cut his eyes away from her, rubbing the back of his neck. When he spoke again his voice was weary, low. “I tried to get in touch with Whit a few times over the years but she always turned me down. Told me if I wasn’t calling about money then don’t call.” He turned back to her and Jacqueline saw the hurt in his eyes. “I know why Whit thought I would make a terrible parent, but why do you?”

  Looking into his stormy blue eyes she softened, the fight draining from her. “It’s not that I think you would be a bad dad, I just think that Penny needs stability. She needs the chance at a normal life.” Jacqueline inhaled a shaky breath. “She needs to not become her mother.”

  Jacqueline fought back the tears that threatened to spill, the result of her anger, her guilt. She turned her back to him, pacing into the kitchen.

  She didn’t hear him follow her until his voice rumbled from behind her. “That’s all I want for her too.”

  She turned to face him and he caught her in his arms. She looked up to him, gathering her courage to trudge on. “I tried to help Whitney and I failed. I can’t fail Penny. I don’t think I could bear to see her take the same path as Whitney.”

  This time the tears fell onto her cheeks and she cast her eyes down. Dante took her head in his hands and turned it up again. He pressed a kiss to each stream on her cheek, far gentler than she could imagine. The urge to let herself go with him was great, but she held on to the last remaining shreds of dignity she had.

  “Whitney kept her from me for 7 years. I can’t lose her again.”

  “I don’t want to ke
ep her from you, I just want to keep her safe.”

  “Ditto.” Dante’s lips brushed against hers, a flutter of a kiss that made her breath hitch and chased away the sadness, replacing it with an ache of desire.

  “If we both want the same thing for her how do we choose?” The touch of his fingers along her ribcage sent a shiver through her, which culminated low in her belly.

  “We don’t.”

  “What do you mean?” Kisses peppered her jaw until he reached her earlobe making it difficult for Jacqueline to stay focused on their conversation.

  “We share.” Taking her earlobe between his lips, he sucked, then released it.

  “What?”

  “You said it yourself, we’re both her family, we both want the same things for her. Why fight about it?”