Hayley’s heart froze. “He’s out of jail? He wants Fletcher back?”
“Nope.” Callie held up the pages. “He relinquished parental rights.”
Hayley sagged back in her chair. “I didn’t think he would. At least not so easily.”
“It’s possible Mr. Mariano had some incentive dangled in front of him. I’m not saying he did, but you know, it could happen. If the charges against him stick, he won’t be going anywhere but a jail cell for the foreseeable future. Since he gave up his parental rights, it means the state takes permanent custody of Fletcher. It also means Fletcher can and will be put up for adoption.”
Hayley breathed a sigh of relief. This was the outcome she’d hoped for. That Carlos would let Fletcher go without a fight. That Fletcher would find a good home with a proper family to provide for him, to take care of him. To love him.
“You want to adopt him, right?”
“What?” Hayley stared at Callie. “Me? No. I can’t adopt him.”
“Sure you can. You’re already done with the background check. You passed. Adoption is a matter of more paperwork and some legal fees. The state will help you out with that.”
Hayley shook her head. “No. No. I’m not—I can’t. I mean, I love Fletcher. He’s a good kid. And I promised Steffie, his mother, I’d do what I could for him. But I can’t adopt him. He needs—I wouldn’t be able to provide what he needs.” Protection from Carlos. “He needs a real family.” An anonymous, completely unrelated family so Carlos can’t find him.
“What’s that? What’s a real family?” Callie asked as if she genuinely wanted to know.
Hayley stared at her. “You know. A mother. A father. A house. Maybe some other kids around. A family. People who will love him.”
“You said you loved him,” Callie pointed out.
“Yes. I do. But I’m just learning how to be on my own, how to take care of myself. I want to go back to school. I’ve got a real job lined up with a friend of mine in L.A. I have to get my act together, you know? Adopting Fletcher wouldn’t be a good idea.”
She was babbling, she knew, unable to think clearly. She hadn’t told Callie or anyone else the real reason she couldn’t adopt Fletcher. She’d made a deal with the devil but she was afraid to renege on it now, since Carlos had apparently kept his part of the bargain by giving up his parental rights.
Callie tilted her head to one side, her gaze piercing. “For you or for him?”
Hayley lifted her chin. “For both of us. Fletcher can do much better. I’m in no position to give him what he needs.”
“And what is it you think he needs?”
“What Fletcher needs most is to be protected from Carlos Mariano. The only way Carlos would agree to give up his parental rights is if I agreed not to adopt Fletcher. Now can we drop this?” Callie’s continued questioning made Hayley uncomfortable. She didn’t want to examine too closely her motives for not adopting Fletcher at the first opportunity. She had her reasons. She knew they were the right ones. But with her head filled with cotton, yet seeming to weigh a ton, her own answers confused her.
“Okay then. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
Callie looked back down at the papers in front of her. She began filling in a form, her pen checking off small square boxes and scribbling notes. “Fletcher’s information and picture will go up on the DCW web site. We do some outings so he can meet people looking to adopt. I’ll let you know when.”
“Okay. Is there anything else?”
“Nope,” Callie said with a disappointing finality in her tone. “That will be all.”
Hayley had been dismissed. “All right. Good-bye then.” She turned and left on the echo of Callie’s good-bye.
She slogged through the afternoon, pushing away thoughts of her conversation with Callie, and of last night with Ray. If she thought about either of them too much, she might have to admit to herself that she didn’t know what she was doing with either situation, although she felt more sure of herself where Fletcher was concerned. Of course, she’d had longer to think about that, and she knew she was in no position to adopt him. If she’d needed any further convincing, her behavior last night had done it. She’d panicked and run off to the ER like a chicken with its head cut off. She’d dumped Molly in the waiting room and left her there. She didn’t have her purse or her cell phone. She hadn’t called Ray or Rick to tell them what had happened. She still wasn’t clear on how they’d all ended up at the hospital in near-record time. Except that Molly had used Kaylee’s phone. Even an eight-year-old had more presence of mind than she did when disaster struck. That ought to tell everyone something. She probably should have told Callie Maxwell about that. Maybe she wouldn’t be so quick to suggest that Hayley adopt Fletcher.
She checked on him twice during the afternoon. Bonnie had decided to let him continue sleeping after she got the other kids up from nap time. And she’d given him another dose of pain reliever at lunch time. Other than that, he seemed to be doing okay.
On the way home Hayley stopped at Publix and splurged on a rotisserie chicken with all the fixings. She was practically brain dead. Meal planning and preparation were beyond her.
Ray’s Explorer wasn’t in the driveway. For once, Fletcher didn’t seem to mind. He ate more than usual and fell asleep before Hayley was halfway through Are You My Mother?
Hayley couldn’t wait to brush her teeth and crawl into bed. She hoped Ray was doing the same even though it was only 8:30.
Roscoe had been humming happily all day long, and it was starting to get on Ray’s nerves. During their morning coffee session, he’d learned the reason why. Ray’s eyes were gritty from lack of sleep and his body was so relaxed he felt boneless. He slumped against the Explorer and eyed Roscoe, who was grinning from ear to ear as he handed Ray his coffee.
“What are you so damned happy about?” Ray growled.
“I’m in love.” Roscoe’s grin widened, if that were possible.
“Thought that was old news. Unless you dumped Callie and found someone else.”
“Nope. But I’m more in love with her than I was before.”
“How is that possible?” Ray asked irritably. The certainty of Roscoe’s future with Callie annoyed him when his own situation with Hayley was up in the air and he had no idea where he stood with her.
“You know what that woman did?”
“Nope.” Ray sipped his coffee and hoped the caffeine would improve his mood, or at least wake him up a little.
“She called me up yesterday and asks can she pick Jasmine up at school. Sharla says it’s okay with her, so I tell her go ahead. Callie takes Jas to the McDonald’s there on Spring Street and guess who’s waiting for her?”
Roscoe paused, as if he genuinely expected Ray to guess. Ray obliged. “The Hamburglar?”
“Nope. Serena. Jas’s friend. The one Callie yanked out of her momma’s house last year.”
“Really?” No wonder Roscoe was happy.
“Yep. She let them go sit outside together, and she stayed out of their way. Jas said Serena told her going into foster care was the best thing that could have happened to her. She got placed with a woman in Westlake. She’s doing good in school, staying out of trouble.
“Callie told Jas if they want to get together again, she’ll drive her up to Westlake or pick Serena up and bring her here.”
“Wow, Roscoe. That’s great. Jasmine’s okay with Callie, huh?”
“Ha. Better than okay. Before I dropped her off last night Jas asked when was I going to marry Callie and can she be in the wedding.”
Ray drained the rest of his coffee and followed Roscoe to the job site. Roscoe had done everything right with Callie. To begin with, he’d asked her out on a date. A real date, not dinner at his house with children present. Yes, there’d been some bumps in the road for the two of them, but it looked as if they were going to make it work. Ray couldn’t help being a little bit envious of Roscoe.
As darkness fell,
they were still on a job. Ray was bone tired and wondering why he’d ever chosen anything to do with carpentry or construction as a profession. He’d been out of sorts all day, and he knew Roscoe had noticed. Ray had about had it with Roscoe’s good-natured suggestions as to what had caused his mood.
“We’re almost done here. How about I buy you a beer when we’re finished?”
Ray knew that was Roscoe’s way of having more of a chance to probe. For all that Roscoe was one of his best friends, he didn’t want to discuss Hayley with him. He didn’t want to hear Roscoe’s platitudes or advice. He wanted to go home and go to bed and get some sleep.
“I’ll take a raincheck, okay? I’m beat.”
Roscoe wisely didn’t pursue it. Instead he changed the subject entirely. “Anyway, now that I know Jasmine’s okay with it, I’m going to ask Callie to marry me.”
“What!” Ray wobbled on the ladder before he regained his balance. He stared at Roscoe. “You barely know her.”
“Oh, I know her,” Roscoe assured him with a self-satisfied grin. “I know she’s the one.”
“You have got to be kidding me. You’re going to propose after what? A couple of months? You’ve been single practically your whole life. How can you be sure?”
Roscoe shrugged as he adjusted another length of crown molding, lining it up with the last one. “Hand me a shim.” Ray complied, and Roscoe did some more adjusting before using his nail gun to secure his end.
“I can’t exactly tell you how. I only know I am.”
“And Callie? You think she’ll say yes? You think she’s sure too?”
Roscoe’s eyes twinkled. “Yep.”
“But what if—”
“Can’t live your life on ‘what ifs’,” Roscoe informed him. “Take your brother and Kaylee, for example. They hardly knew each other, what…six months, before they were walking down the aisle. Rick knew Brenda since junior high and look how that worked out. Don’t be thinking knowing somebody is a substitute for knowing somebody. When you know, you just know.”
“Roscoe Washington, Master Philosopher,” Ray muttered under his breath.
“Yeah, well, no man ever got what he wanted by sittin’ on his ass. You want something, you better go for it before the opportunity passes you by.”
“You got a ring and everything?” In spite of himself, Ray was curious. Was Roscoe that sure?
“Got one picked out. Put a deposit on it.”
“What if she hates it? What if it’s not what she wants?”
Roscoe glanced his way and gave him a disbelieving look. “She ain’t gonna hate it. What got into you? You ain’t usually such a downer. Why you rainin’ on my parade today?”
“Sorry. I’m happy for you. It’s great.”
“That’s better.”
On the drive home, he couldn’t stop thinking about Roscoe and Callie, but the more he thought about it, the more he began to wonder if Roscoe didn’t have something with his when you know you know philosophy. It was true. Rick and his first wife had known each other since junior high. Maybe even before that. They’d dated all through high school and got married shortly afterward. And that hadn’t worked out.
Heck, his own parents had had a whirlwind romance and they were still together all these years later.
Maybe rushing into something when you knew it was the right thing wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
As exhausted as he was, when he parked in front of the duplex and saw the lights out on Hayley’s side, he couldn’t stop the wave of disappointment that washed through him.
He felt as if he’d done everything wrong. Everything was backwards. He was in love with her, and they’d never even been on a date. They’d had mind-blowing sex, but no definitive relationship. There was a whole lot going on between them, but Ray was beginning to wonder if it was only in his head. Had he imagined it all or was there something real and genuine there? Had he built this idea of a future with Hayley, one that included Fletcher, as easily as he’d built the swingset out back? Suddenly he was assailed by doubt because it occurred to him that he had no idea how Hayley felt about anything. About him. About their future. If she even thought they had one.
What if he’d rushed her after all, and she was ready to run the other way?
He unlocked the door and let Oscar out. The puppy did his business and ran in crazy circles around the yard, stopping to sniff here and there and occasionally charging back to Ray for his approval.
Ray watched the dog, thinking what a mess he’d made with his approach to Hayley.
He’d known Caroline casually for a couple of years, and they’d dated for two before he’d proposed. Of course, he reminded himself, that was no guarantee of anything. When it got right down to it, how well did you ever know anyone?
Hayley thought she’d known her ex-husband too, and he did a number on her.
Ray yawned and whistled to Oscar, who came running, tongue lolling, eyes bright in the dim light of the porch. Ray rubbed him behind the ears. “You’re a good dog, you know that? Don’t let anyone tell you different.”
He fed Oscar, ignored his own growling stomach and fell into bed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next night, Ray made a point of getting home early. He took a shower and waited for Hayley to arrive. He’d thought all day about what he could do that she would like, how to approach her now. He was afraid she’d back away after the other night. Maybe he’d scared her off.
He stopped at Publix on the way home and bought some chicken and shrimp, bread, stuff for a salad and a bottle of the cheap white zinfandel Hayley appeared to prefer. He hadn’t figured out if she drank it because it was all she could afford or if she’d still be drinking it when she won the lottery.
He paused at the store’s floral display, debating he wisdom of showing up with flowers, being that he’d never done it before. Would it be strange if he did it now after they’d spent one night together? He didn’t know and decided not to take the chance.
He went with what he knew. Hayley hated to cook, and she wasn’t very good at it. And she liked cheap white zin. That ought to speak volumes to her about how he felt. More than a dozen red roses for sure.
By the time he got home, he’d decided he should have gone with roses, but it was too late to make a return trip to the store.
He didn’t like not knowing where he stood with Hayley. They needed to get some stuff settled between them. Sooner rather than later or he was going to go nuts.
He opened the door to let Oscar out the minute Hayley’s car pulled to a stop. She got out and let Fletcher out of the back. Oscar’s tail wagged in delight when Fletcher bent down to pet him.
“How you doing, Fletch?” he asked the boy. Ray put a hand on Fletcher’s head. The stitched area appeared to be healing nicely. Fletcher gazed up at him for a minute before taking off after Oscar.
Ray turned his attention to Hayley, reminding himself to be cool. To breathe. Yeah. Right. She looked delectable in a soft, pink, short-sleeved hoodie and matching shorts. Robust. Healthy. Fit. Her hair falling out of the clip like it always was. Her eyes bright.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her and said the first thing that popped into his head. “Your ex-husband is an idiot.”
Hayley laughed in delight. “Yes. I believe we’ve established that.”
He had to touch her. He cupped her face, which was becoming his favorite thing to do because that way he could touch her skin and her hair at the same time. He kissed her. She kissed back. So far so good.
She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “Wow. That’s nice to come home to.”
“I’m going to make you dinner.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“You are?”
“And I bought you some wine.”
“You did? Hey, I could go for a guy like you.”
He gazed over the top of her head for minute before looking into her eyes once more. “I should have brought you flowers…”
“What f
or?”
“I was going to.”
“You were?” Hayley bit her lip.
Ray had no idea why he was confessing. “But I thought, I don’t know, like it would be a weird thing to do. I never brought you flowers before.”
“But you have made dinner for me. And you know I like that. So you went with what you knew.”
“Yeah. But I can still get you some flowers.”
“Oh, Ray. Unless they’re edible, don’t bother.”
“I was thinking maybe roses.”
Fletcher came back to them with Oscar, his face flushed from exertion. Oscar was panting like mad from his run around the yard in the heat.
“Let’s go in,” she said to Fletcher. To Ray she said, “Give me about an hour, okay?”
Dinner was over, though Hayley could still taste the succulent shrimp and tender chicken on her tongue. Ray knew his way around a barbeque grill.
She hadn’t quite known what to expect when she saw him again. Not after the way he’d left the other morning. But they were on an even keel again. Sort of.
Hayley wasn’t dumb. Ray had been giving her searching looks off and on all evening, as if he were looking for a sign or signal from her. But she didn’t know what sign or signal to send. She was feeling her way along in new territory. She was in no position to give him any guidance.
He got Fletcher in the bathtub, and she could hear them, or rather she could hear Ray making exploding noises along with lots of splashing, so she assumed Fletcher’s boats were engaged in some kind of war.
Fletcher streaked across the room in his underwear, his skin rosy. Ray tagged along, holding a pair of pajamas. “Tell Hayley goodnight and let’s go read a story.”
Fletcher slammed into Hayley’s legs and wrapped his arms around them. He tilted his head back as far as it would go to look up at her. He smiled at her, and her heart almost stopped. Even through his ordeal night before last he hadn’t said a word. He’d barely whimpered, though his face and body language showed his distress.
A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 Page 23
