by Jamie Pope
“When is the last time you went fishing with your dad?”
“Right before I went into law school. I had gone wild after my football career ended. I’m a big man, but my father literally hauled me off my ass and dragged me fishing. I was hungover, booze coming through my pores. The last thing I wanted to do was go fishing, but he made me sit on a boat and just think. I needed that. It changed my life.”
“You should go fishing again.”
“You think I need a life change?”
“No, I think you need to spend time with your dad and your sister with no phones and no disruptions. It sounds like the most delicious thing on earth.”
A pang of longing hit Sunny. It was times like these she wanted to find her mother more than anything else. Just to ask her questions. Who was her father? Did he know about her? Did he love her? Who was her family? She needed to know where she came from.
“What’s wrong?” He touched her cheek.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me. I know you too well.”
He did know her. He could read her emotions. “I was thinking about Soren and this case and how we don’t seem much closer to finding out who her mother is.”
“Let’s go visit her.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah. I’ll win in court if it comes to that. I’ll destroy the birth mother. You don’t have to worry about the adoption not going through. But I would like to get more information upfront about her.”
“I don’t want her destroyed, Julian. I just want her to realize what is best for her child. And that is not traumatizing her again with a custody battle.”
“You came to me because I have a reputation for causing witnesses to break on cross. That’s how I win my cases.”
“No. I came to you because I thought you were a good man. And because I thought you were sexy.”
He grinned at her. “It doesn’t matter why you came. We still should talk to Soren.”
“But it’s your day off.”
“I took the day off to spend it with you. I’m with you so I’m good. Call Soren’s parents. Ask them if we can come by.”
* * *
An hour later they were at the Earls’ home. They lived in a two-bedroom apartment in a quiet neighborhood in Midtown. Even though the apartment was much smaller than his, Julian felt that this place was much homier than his own. The first thing he noticed was that there were pictures of Soren everywhere, as well as her framed artwork and soccer cleats and dance shoes. It looked like the apartment of a family that was involved with their kid. It was how every kid should grow up.
“How are you enjoying your summer?” Sunny asked Soren as she hugged her close.
“It’s been good. We are going to Lake George tomorrow. Mom showed me pictures of the house we’re staying in. It’s right on the lake. We are going to rent a boat and there’s an amusement park up there.”
“That sounds amazing!” Sunny said, giving the girl a squeeze. “I’m so happy you’re going.”
“Soren, why don’t you go see if you can pull the pictures up on your computer so we can show Sunny. Print them out. She might be interested in renting it too.”
Soren looked puzzled for a moment but did as her foster mother asked.
“I’m so glad you called today,” Mrs. Earl said in a quiet tone. “I was going to wait until we got back to show this to you, but I’m happy to see you because I don’t think I’ll be able to enjoy my vacation without sharing this with you.” She opened up the wall safe and pulled out a large envelope. “Another envelope came today. There was five hundred dollars in there and a letter saying the usual, but this time there is a return address on it.”
Julian took the envelope from her. There was an address on it. No name, but sure enough there was an address from Maryland. “She’s usually more careful than this.”
“Maybe she wants to be found,” Sunny said. “Maybe we can reach her.”
“I thought about it,” Mrs. Earl said. “I thought about driving down there and asking her what the hell is wrong with her. I had a shell of a kid. One who was too terrified to ask me for a glass of water. She hoarded her food for the first six months, afraid we were going to stop feeding her. This woman can say that she loves her all she wants, but she abused her. The only good thing she did for that child was leaving her at your agency.”
“You aren’t going to lose Soren, Mrs. Earl. You have my word. There’s no way.”
“I just want the letters to stop. I want to go to sleep at night and not be afraid that my kid is going to get snatched off the street.”
“Jeannie . . .” Sunny’s voice was choked. “I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I wish I could do more.”
“Do more?” Jeannie laughed. “You’ve done more for us than anyone else ever has. You convinced me to become a foster mother after my daughter passed away. You’re the reason we have gotten this much happiness these past few years. I didn’t think I would be able to feel anything but numb. You’ve given me a gift by making me a mother again.”
Tears began to roll down Sunny’s cheeks and Julian wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.
“I don’t mean to cry. I’m so emotional these past couple of days. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize! We’re going to miss you once the adoption is finalized.”
“I won’t get to see Sunny anymore once the adoption is done?” Soren came out of the back, holding papers in her hand.
“You will if your mom and dad let me. I’m not supposed to have favorites, but you’re mine.”
Soren grinned at her but only briefly. “Why are you crying?”
“Your mom was saying nice things to me. Plus, Mr. King promised me dessert and I got so excited I started to cry.” Sunny stepped away from Julian and took Soren’s free hand. “We need to ask you questions about your mama, Soren. I know it’s hard to talk about her but there are some things we need to know.”
“She’s trying to get me back.”
Jeannie looked horrified. “How do you know?”
“I figured it out. You and Papa are worried. You hide the mail from me. Mr. King is here. I just know.”
“And what do you think about it?” Jeannie asked her.
“I’m not going back.” Soren balled her fists. “I don’t care what anybody says. I will run away.”
“You aren’t leaving us. I would never let it happen.”
“Neither would I,” Sunny said. “That’s why Mr. King is here. We want to talk to you about your mama so maybe we can find her and talk to her.”
“You can tell her that I want to stay with my parents. They are going to buy a house in the country. We looked at some last weekend. And there’s going to be a yard and Mom said I could have a dog and maybe a cat. You tell her that I love them. Tell her I won’t go back.”
“What’s her name?” Julian asked.
“Her name is Gracie.”
Sunny jumped slightly as if the name startled her.
“What about her last name?” Julian asked, crouching before her.
“It changed a lot. She told different people different names. She used Smith the most.”
“Do you remember any of the other ones?” Sunny asked her.
“Sometimes it was Johnson. That was my daddy’s last name.”
“Is there anything else you know about your father? Something you haven’t told me before?”
“I don’t think so.” She shook her head. “Mama was sad that he couldn’t be with us so she took me to New York and then she got sicker and then things got really bad.” Soren’s eyes filled with tears.
Sunny went to Soren and hugged her tightly, smoothing her hands down the girl’s back. “I know how hard it was for you and I promise you it won’t happen again. We need to ask you a few more questions and then we’ll stop. I promise.”
“It’s okay.”
“Where were you right before your mama took you to New York?”
“
We lived in South Carolina. But Mama had family in Maryland.”
“Have you met them? Did they ever try to find you after she brought you here?”
“She had an aunt. But she was old and she died and that’s when Mama went out of her mind.”
“Just one more question,” Julian said, stepping forward and placing his hand on Sunny’s back. He felt the need to touch her then. He wasn’t sure why but she looked as if she was in just as much pain as Soren. But it made sense. Her life had been just as hard as Soren’s except no family had come to love her. “What was your father’s first name?”
“His name was Richard and he lived in Meriden, South Carolina.”
* * *
They had gotten all the answers they came for, but Sunny’s head was spinning because a thousand more questions popped into her mind. Was it possible that she and Soren had the same father as well? There were too many commonalities at this point, but it was too crazy to be true. Sunny’s mother was mentally ill. She heard voices. She saw things that weren’t there. How could she have gotten her act together to orchestrate this? How could she take care of another child for as long as Soren was with her mother? How could she have found the agency where Sunny worked? And find out where the Earls lived? And if she had known Sunny was there, why write to Soren and not to her? It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. But they had more information. A path they could try to follow.
Julian had taken them to a bakery so they could lighten the mood. Sunny could barely concentrate, but it was nice to see Soren so relaxed and bubbly with her foster mother. They were very connected and anyone who had eyes could see that they belonged together. Blood might be thicker than water, but water kept you alive. And Soren needed the life that this family could bring to her.
Julian took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers, causing her to look up at him. “I’m going to buy a dozen of those cupcakes for later. Which ones should I get?”
“Whatever you want, Julian.”
“But what do you want?”
“You know what I like. Just make sure there’s a chocolate one in there.”
He gave her a soft smile and then spoke into her ear. “Everything will be okay, Sunshine. I promise.” He looked up at Soren. “You want to help me pick out some cupcakes? Maybe your mom will let you take a couple home.”
Soren nodded and left the table with him, leaving Sunny and Jeannie alone. “What is going on with you and the lawyer? And please do not tell me nothing. The day Soren met him she came home and told me he was beautiful. I thought it was just a childish infatuation, but she was right. He’s incredibly beautiful and my husband told me he used to play pro football. Karl told me that it took everything inside of him not to scream like a teenage girl at a boy band concert when he met him.”
Sunny smiled. “He is beautiful. He’s an excellent lawyer and I have no doubt in my mind that if it comes to a custody case, Julian King will win. He’s invested. He’s good man.”
“I’m happy to hear that, Sunny. But you didn’t answer my question. He can’t stop touching you. He’s not just someone you’re working with.”
“No.” She shook her head. “We’re very good friends.”
“Good friends? The way he treats you. . . . There’s more there. There has to be more.”
It wasn’t just her then if other people could see it. She felt like she was special to him. She felt like he might share the same feelings she had . . . like love. “Our first priority is to your family.”
“My family would like it if you were happy. Don’t hold back on him because of us.”
“Mom?” Soren came running over to the table followed by Julian. She was holding a large pink box. “Mr. King bought a bunch of pastries. He said they were for Papa because he didn’t get to come with us today. Can we bring them home?”
“Of course. We’ve got to get going. Please thank Sunny and Mr. King for taking us out.”
“Thank you, Mr. King.” She hugged Julian, which was rare for Soren. She had never showed this kind of affection before. She had come so far from the half-starved, mute kid who was scared of everything and everyone.
The rest of them said their good-byes and they went their separate ways. Julian took her back to their building and walked her to her apartment. She opened the door to let them in, but he stopped her. “I need to say good-bye right here.”
“Right here?” She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around him and kissed his chin. “You’re sick of me already?”
“No. I want to come inside, but I looked at my phone and I have seven missed calls from my office. I have a very angry client. She is facing jail time and is mad that I disappeared for a day and a half or so says my assistant who sent me a very lengthy text.”
“I feel terrible. You took off for me.”
“No, I didn’t. I took off because I wanted to be with you. I wouldn’t change that for anything. Today was a good day. But now I have to go into the office.”
“You can’t even take an entire day off? I know this is what you want. But I hope down the road when you are partner and you have a family of your own that you’ll be able to take some real time off to enjoy them.”
Julian made a soft noise and then cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her sweetly. It took her breath away. “I have to go,” he said when he lifted his lips from hers. “I’m going to be busy for the next couple of weeks, but I will be working on Soren’s case.”
She nodded, feeling saddened. She had known that they couldn’t happen and he was backing away. His career would ultimately come first.
Chapter 13
Julian rubbed the back of his neck trying to work the stiffness out. He felt as if he was chained to his desk. He rarely saw daylight these past few days. He woke up, worked out, came to the office, and stayed at his desk until nine, sometimes ten o’clock at night. He was working in overdrive trying to get ahead on his cases. He was making headway. He’d settled a few cases. He was progressing in avoiding jail time for his angriest client, but he felt like shit. His head hurt. His muscles were stiff and tight. He was pissed off all the time for no reason.
“Mr. King,” his assistant called him from the doorway. “I’m heading out for the night. Do you need anything before I go?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I thought you had left hours ago.”
“No. I was trying to get all of the little stuff out of the way so you could stop working fourteen-hour days.”
“I appreciate it. I’ll make sure your paycheck reflects.”
“You always do. You’re a good boss, Mr. King. All the legal secretaries want to work for you. You say please and thank you and you don’t try to stick your hands up our skirts. If you ever leave this place, I’m coming with you.”
He smiled. “Thank you. I don’t think I’m going anywhere until I make partner so you might have to wait awhile.”
“You’ll make it and soon. Have a good night. Make sure you get some rest.”
“I will. Good night.”
He was alone for about twenty minutes when he heard a knock at his door. It opened slowly and Sunny stepped inside his office holding a small box in her hands. He hadn’t seen her in ten days. He had counted them. He had spoken to her a few times. He texted her every single day, but he hadn’t seen her face and he missed the hell out of her. Every time he stepped away from her this feeling got worse. It felt like he was missing a part of himself. That was crazy. He had known her a few months. His career had to come first. But missing her was starting to wear on him.
“I was in the neighborhood and I thought I would drop off some soup.”
He had told her that he wasn’t feeling well and here she was with soup. She was so sweet and his chest loosened as soon as he saw her. “You were in the neighborhood?”
“Yes, I had a meeting with Mr. Cleese.”
He frowned at her. “Why? I saw you speaking to him at the party. What’s going on?”
“We speak at least once a wee
k. I’ve been to his house once. He’s an incredible man. You should get to know him outside of this.”
“You’ve been to his house?”
“He lives in a brownstone on the upper west side. It’s beautiful. It’s a lot less pretentious than I thought it would be.”
“Why have you been to his house? Are you sleeping with my boss?” he asked, half joking. He believed her when she said she was meeting with Cleese. There was no reason for her to lie. But he couldn’t think of a reason why she would meet him.
She walked over to him, placed the box of food on his desk, and then sat on his lap wrapping her arm around him. “There’s only one lawyer I want to sleep with.” She kissed the side of his face. “How are you feeling? I bought you chicken and rice soup and tomato soup and a turkey sandwich and some hot tea. I wasn’t sure what you wanted.”
“Whatever you bring me is what I want.” She wore a blue skirt with white flowers on it. It had ridden up when she sat down, revealing her creamy thigh to him. He set his hand there and stroked her soft skin. “Why have you been meeting with my boss?”
“It’s his news to share. I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”
“Sunny . . .”
“You know I can’t reveal private information. Just like you can’t. What do you want to eat? You probably can’t remember the last time you got up from this desk.” She tried to get up but he wouldn’t let her go. He had missed her closeness. He didn’t want to give it up now.
“I will eat whatever you give me.” It almost hurt to look at her. She was so beautiful. And thoughtful and sensitive. “Why did you come here tonight?”
“Because you said you weren’t feeling well. You seemed off for the past few days.”
“Bullshit.”
“I missed you,” she admitted. “I don’t want to miss you. I don’t mean to miss you, but I do and today, as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t stay away.”
Julian crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with everything pent up inside him. He felt the same way she did. It was hard to stay away. There was something intense between them, something strong that he really didn’t want to think much about because it shook him.
