by Cassie May
“Please, Mr. Clary keep your voice down. The judge saw no reason for Miss Abby to come here due to the stress it would cause her. The death of her mother was a painful experience for the little girl and the judge is only looking out for her. He wants what’s best for your daughter.”
“Yeah, well, I want the little brat here and I can’t wait to get her back.” Kyle and his lawyer turned around the corner and Laynee could barely stifle her gasp of shock.
Kyle looked even worse than the last time she saw him. Obviously he hadn’t even tried to give the impression of being clean. His eyes were bloodshot and his expensive suit couldn’t hide the fact that he had obviously lost a lot of weight. It was at least one size too big for him. His hair was unkempt as if he hadn’t even taken the time to comb it before coming. His skin was waxy pale with a green tint to it and his right hand was shaking with a tremor.
Even though his presence made Laynee’s muscles coil tight, his appearance made her relax inwardly. He looked like the junkie he was and there would be no way a judge would give him the right to take care of a child. He was obviously not in the right state of mind to even take care of himself. A small smile curled her lips, but she hid it when Kyle’s eyes met hers.
“You! What is this trickery of yours not bringing the brat here? You know she’s mine and I have every right to get her. I am her flesh and blood and she belongs to me!” His screeching voice must have been heard even inside the judge’s chambers, but Laynee ignored him to follow her lawyer’s recommendations.
Mr. Davenport stepped forward. “Mr. Clary, please keep your voice down. This is an official court and I am sure we can do this in an appropriate volume. Miss Bradshaw didn’t bring Abby with her, because the judge saw no need for her to be present here and frankly, after your little show, I agree with him. Abby has already endured too much to be exposed to such a stressful situation.”
“You have no right to keep her from me!” Screeched Kyle at the same time the door to the courtroom opened and a bailiff looked outside.
“Bradshaw against Clary? You can enter now, Judge Miller is ready for you.” Kyle stomped inside, followed by his clearly flustered lawyer while Layne stood up slowly, smoothed down her skirt and entered with measured steps full of confidence.
“Good Morning, Miss Bradshaw, Mr. Clary.” The judge sat behind his oaken desk and showed no sign that he had heard Kyle in front of the door. He greeted them politely and waited till everybody took a seat. “I think your lawyers gave me everything important I need to make a decision concerning the whereabouts of Abby Woodley. Is there anything you want to add?”
Laynee’s lawyer nodded shortly. “Yes, your honor. If you allow, I have recorded a video of Abby yesterday and want to show it to you so you can see for yourself how good she has it with me. She even started talking again in the last few weeks and made some friends at the kindergarten I placed her.”
“This is not fair! I never had a chance to record something like this since this bitch kept my daughter from me. I tried to find her, but she has her kidnapped and hidden somewhere!” Kyle screeched immediately before the judge even had the chance to look at the video Laynee wanted to show him on her phone.
“Mr. Clary, this is your warning. I do not condone swearwords inside this room and Miss Bradshaw didn’t kidnap Abby, since she is her legal guardian, she has every right to move the child to a location of her choice she deemed good for the child’s health.” Laynee lifted one eyebrow when she realized the judge never titled Abby as Kyle’s daughter instead using her name or the child. She saw it as a good sign and pressed play.
Immediately Abby’s excited laugh sounded over the speakers and she shouted at someone who wasn’t visible. “Look what Buttercup can do, Gavin!” She placed an apple on her head and the small alpaca carefully picked it up with his teeth before eating the apple with scrunchy sounds, squirting juice all over Abby who squealed with laughter. The video stopped and Laynee saw the judge hiding his smile.
“She looks good, if I dare say so. Mr. Clary do you have anything to add to the information I already have in front of me?” He looked at Kyle, his demeanor cold again.
“Only that it is my god given right to know where my daughter is. This bit… woman has no right to keep her from me. I am her father and I should be the one to have her.”
“And this is where you are wrong, Mr. Clary. You signed over your right to Abby’s mother when she was born and have never made any attempt to get to know the little girl when her mother was still alive. In her will, Kelly Woodley named Miss Bradshaw as her legal guardian and as far as I can see it was the right decision. The little girl looks great and doesn’t seem traumatized anymore. I will stick to the will and won’t change the guardianship. Abby will stay with Miss Bradshaw till she becomes eighteen and the guardianship ends. Case closed.”
“Are you kidding me right now? That’s it? You won’t even take into consideration what I did to get that brat? That I killed her mother so I can have her and the damned money? That bitch always hid the brat from me and it was the only way to get my hands on the money! Never would I have thought that she would do something stupid like this! I am her father and the brat has to stay with me!” Kyle shouted while a vein on his forehead pulsed dangerously and his face turned an unhealthy shade of red.
Laynee felt as if someone had poured ice water over her. Had she heard that right? Was Kyle really stupid enough to admit cold blooded murder? He must be stoned out of his mind to say something that foolish.
“Mr. Clary, I strongly recommend that you don’t speak any further”, Kyle’s lawyer stated while simultaneously trying to pull Kyle out of his chair, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Why the hell should I shut up? It seems as if I already lost and you were doing nothing to help me win this thing. You are a useless little shit and I don’t want you to represent me anymore!” Kyle shouted angrily.
Laynee could only stare at him while shaking her head. What was happening here? Was this all a dream? The judge’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Bailiff, lease arrest this man right now.”
Immediately the bailiff stepped forward and arrested a shouting and resisting Kyle for the murder of Kelly Woodley.
After they left Laynee blinked dazedly. Did that really happen? Did Kyle really confess the murder of Kelly?
“Your honor? I have to ask you to not take the confession of my client seriously since he is clearly under the influence of something at the moment.”
The judge lifted one eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, that only cements my opinion that Mr. Clary is not the right guardian for a little girl. Miss Bradshaw this document states that your guardianship is legal and won’t be contested ever again. If Mr. Clary gives you any trouble, please feel free to contact law enforcement immediately. They will help you out with everything.”
Laynee felt the relief spreading through her pushing the coldness of the shock aside. “But… what is going to happen with Kyle now? I mean, he confessed, that has to mean something, doesn’t it?”
The judge nodded slowly. “Well, first we are going to administer a drug test. If it comes back positive, we will have to investigate further. I can guarantee you that Mr. Clary will stay in jail for a very long time, since he is a flight risk. You and your young ward have nothing to fear from him anymore. I wish you all the best Miss Bradshaw.”
Laynee felt the tears streaming from her eyes over her cheeks. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I can’t even express how happy you made me, made us right now. It means so much for us that she is safe now and allowed to stay with me. May I ask just one question before you go?”
The judge nodded and Laynee waited till Kyle’s lawyer left before posing her question.
Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm Laynee once again when she arrived at Billings Airport the next day. It seemed to have become a usual pattern for her when she returned to Peace. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks when she thought back on the things that had happened in New York. Sh
e still couldn’t believe she’d been right that Kyle had killed her best friend and left Abby motherless. Shaking her head, she forced her thoughts toward a more joyful direction and grinned at the surprise she carried with her in her bag. It wasn’t decided, yet, but she wanted to have the option to give Abby a real family when she was ready. The buzzing sound of her phone snapped her out of her thoughts and she answered via the Bluetooth system of her rental car.
“Laynee Bradshaw, hello?”
“Pumpkin, where are you? Abby is getting anxious and your man has called about a thousand times already to ask if we have heard something from you. Why didn’t you call after your meeting with the judge? How was it? Is Abby going to stay with us?”
Laughing Laynee tossed her head back. “Would you calm down, please? Yes, we won. Abby is staying with us forever and Kyle won’t be a threat anymore. I learned some things in the meeting I had to come to terms with at first. I couldn’t call immediately. It was… surprising to say the least. I never expected things to go the way they went yesterday. I am twenty minutes from Peace, so please try to stay calm and wait for me. And I wouldn’t say no to something to eat.”
Her father grunted and then his chuckle reached Laynee’s ear. “Your mother is already cooking up a storm. I think she wants to feed an army today and Abby is helping her. It distracted her and I have to say she is really good.”
Laynee felt herself relaxing even more at her father’s lovingly spoken words. “Good, that’s good. I’ll call Gavin right now and invite him for dinner so I don’t have to tell everything twice.”
“Do that, pumpkin. I’ll inform your mother and Abby.”
Laynee confirmed and ended the call. Taking a deep breath she told herself once again that everything would be good. Abby would stay with her and Gavin and they were now able to move forward. Abby could finally heal completely and maybe… maybe they could start their own family and give Abby a sibling.
She knew she was dreaming too far. It was not guaranteed that Gavin would stay with them after everything that had happened, but her gut feeling told Laynee that she could be optimistic. And she would be. Life was too short to be a pessimist and she vowed to herself to live more in the moment from now on.
Taking a deep breath she dialed Gavin’s number and waited for him to pick up.
“Finally! I feared something horrible had happened to you. Why didn’t you pick up your phone when I called you? How was your meeting? Can Abby stay with us? Why are you not saying anything? I was worried, love.” When he needed to take a breath, Laynee interrupted him with her laughter.
“If you would let me explain, I can tell you what happened.”
“Sorry, love, but I was really getting nervous here.”
“I’m sorry, Gavin. I should have called, but it was crazy in New York. Absolutely crazy. I felt as if I was in a movie while meeting with the judge. I’ll tell you and my parents everything at dinner, okay? The most important thing is that Abby is going to stay with us. Kyle won’t ever get her. Not now and not in the future.”
She heard Gavin exhale heavily on the other end of the line. “That’s good. No, not good, great. It’s great! I am getting ready to go to your parents right now. When will you be there?”
“I’ll need another ten minutes, so I’m almost there.”
“Okay, I’ll see you there. And Laynee?” Gavin asked hastily.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
Laynee felt the heat of a blush rising in her face. “I love you, too.”
With that they ended the call and Laynee drove the short distance to her parents grinning like a lunatic at the possibilities that had opened themselves for her with Gavin and Abby. She had the feeling that life would be better for them in Peace than they could have ever had it in New York. And that feeling was a good one.
As soon as she stopped her car in the driveway of her parents she saw Abby running toward her. Quickly she jumped out of the car and opened her arms for the small girl. Just in time since Abby was already jumping in her arms and clinged laughingly to her neck.
“Papa said I can stay with you!” She whispered and Laynee felt hot liquid dripping on her shoulders.
“That’s true, buttercup. You’ll stay with us. With me and Gavin. You don’t ever have to go back to New York, I promise. Now stop with the tears you have nothing to cry about. Everything is going to be good.” Laynee carried the still laughing and crying Abby inside and greeted her parents.
“Hi Mom, hi Daddy. It’s good to be back and it smells delicious.” She sat down on a chair and looked at Abby. “Daddy told me that you helped cook? What did you do?”
Laynee tried to distract Abby from her tears. She knew that they were happy tears, but they hurt her anyway. Grinning Abby looked up to her and started an explanation on how much she had helped Eleanor with the food and forgot all about her tears.
When Gavin entered the room a short while later Abby jumped from Laynee’s lap and raced toward him. He lifted her up easily and grinned at her excitement. “I can stay with Laynee and you! We can be a family now!” The small girl screamed and Gavin grinned even wider.
“Is that what you want, little one? A family with Laynee and me?”
Abby nodded and scrambled to be let down again. “And a sister! I want a little sister! Can you do that?”
Gavin raised an eyebrow and looked at Laynee who felt the blush rising again. Abby made it sound so easy, but she didn’t know if Gavin even wanted the same. She saw him squatting down in front of Abby. “What would you say if it was a little brother? Would that be okay as well?”
Abby frowned while thinking about it then shrugged carelessly. “I think so, but a sister would be better.”
Gavin laughed heartily. “I see. Well, then Laynee and I have to do our best to give you a sister.” He winked at Laynee who felt the blush getting even hotter and refused to look at her dad who chuckled quietly.
“Okay, dinner is ready. We can eat if you help me to carry everything out.” Eleanor’s voice saved Laynee from answering and she jumped up.
“I’ll help you, mama.”
They all sat down on the table after carrying out the food and started to eat. After everyone had finished the first few bites Laynee put her cutlery down and looked at everyone. “I think it’s time that I told you what happened in New York. I don’t know if it’s good that Abby is here while I tell this, but I don’t want to keep secrets from you, buttercup. If you have a question or don’t understand, please ask and don’t forget that I love you, okay?” Abby nodded, eyes wide and grabbed Laynee’s hand for support. Laynee felt her other hand being taken in the big warm one of Gavin and smiled thankfully. She needed all the strength she could get for telling her story.
“At first everything was how I expected it. I was way too early and Kyle almost came too late. He was… not himself. I think he had taken something and seemed really aggressive from the beginning. It made me really uncomfortable, but I knew I had the better chances.” She smiled at Abby.
“I knew I wouldn’t let my little buttercup go without a fight and fighting I did. I showed the short clip I took of you the day before I left. I don’t think the judge would have needed all that, but I wanted to be sure that he understood exactly how much Peace helped us heal. After that the judge didn’t even offer to listen to Kyle. He said that it was obvious where Abby would be happier. That was Kyle’s breaking point. He started screaming that this wasn’t the plan that he wouldn’t have… have…” Laynee broke off. The memory of the horrible things Kyle testified was too much and she felt the tears roll down her cheeks. She hid her face in her hands and felt strong arms wrapped around her.
“Shhh… It’s okay. Take your time, my love. We are here. We won’t leave you. You have all the time you need.” That opened the floodgates and Laynee cried in Gavin’s chest. Sobbing and whimpering she clutched to his shirt.
“It… It was awful… He said… Oh my god, he said he hadn’t killed Kelly just
to let Abby go now. He murdered her! Just because of the money he murdered my best friend!”
Laynee heard the gasps around the tables, but the pain was too much for her to really care about it. She knew she should look after Abby, but she trusted her parents to take care of the little girl. Right now the pain she had kept too long bottled up inside her spilled out and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. She just let the pain roll over her and felt like drowning. Drowning in the pain over her best friend’s death. The malice of people who would do anything for money overwhelmed her and she felt a darkness rising inside her.
Through the cloud of pain that encompassed her she felt a small hand grabbing hers and looked down. Blurred from the tears she saw Abby’s hand touching hers. “Don’t cry, Laynee. It’s going to be good. We have Gavin now and I don’t want you to cry. I want us to be happy because we can stay together now. Mommy wouldn’t want you to cry.”
Choking on a sob Laynee couldn’t believe that Abby would comfort her after just learning about her father killing her mother. The tears stopped slowly and then a tumbler with brown liquid appeared in front of her.
“Drink that, pumpkin. It’s good for the nerves. It’ll calm you down.” Laynee nodded and emptied the whisky with two big gulps. Her father was right. It helped to calm her down and she pulled Abby onto her lap.
“You’re right, buttercup. Kelly would have wanted us to make the best of this situation just as she made the best out of you in her life. I’m sorry for my breakdown, but It was a hard few days. I never expected it to go that way in front of the judge.” She bit on her lip to stop herself from repeating that Kyle had killed Kelly. Abby obviously didn’t care too much about that fact and she didn’t want her to think about it too much.
Instead she took a deep breath and fished for her bag. It was now or never. She pulled out a few official looking papers and looked at Gavin and Abby. “After they took Kyle away I asked the judge for a favor. I wanted to wait, but it feels so right that I need to ask you now.” She showed them the papers. “I asked him for adoption papers for Abby. Since Kyle has absolutely no parental rights I wanted to give her a real family again. I want to adopt you, Abby, and, if Gavin wants that as well, I brought the papers for him as well. I know it might be too soon, but I want that. It feels right to make this completely official with you two…” She trailed off when she felt Gavin pushing her away and her heart fell to the floor. She had gambled too much and now had obviously lost him.
