Before Ford could respond, the caseworker approached. Not the one he’d met, which was unsettling. They must have put someone new on his son’s case.
“Mr. Delgado, if you have a moment, I’d like to see Jaxon’s room. It won’t take long. Then we can schedule our next meeting.”
“Sure thing.” Ford held Jaxon tight as he backed into the house. His son hadn’t loosened his grip, and didn’t seem to want to be put down anytime soon. Which he didn’t mind at all. The kid had been through enough, and he needed to be held as much as Ford needed to hold him. “Do you need me to come upstairs with you or can Akira show you around?”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter who shows me. I just need to make sure you’ve made suitable arrangements for him.” The caseworker smiled. “Jaxon wasn’t very hungry today, but he promised he’d eat when he got home.”
Cort approached, hesitant at first, then reached out and ruffled Jaxon’s hair. “I was about to go make some burgers and fries. You want one or two, kid?”
“Two. I’m fucking starving.”
“Jaxon…” Ford didn’t want to start on Jaxon’s language, but the caseworker would think he was a shitty father if he kept letting his ten-year-old talk like that. “You really shouldn’t use that word.”
Jaxon leaned back a little in Ford’s arms, wrinkling his nose. At Ford’s level gaze, Jaxon rolled his eyes toward the caseworker, then sighed. “Fine. But I don’t think the dude minds. Not after the shi—the stuff he heard Uncle Kyle say.”
The caseworker gave Ford a stiff smile. “I will say I’m not the least bit surprised at some of the…language Jaxon emulates. It may take some time to break him of the habit, but I believe with some patience and good examples, he’ll improve in no time.”
Yeah…we’ll have to work on being those ‘good examples’. Ford inclined his head, bringing Jaxon to the kitchen as Akira led the caseworker upstairs.
At the stove, Cort had already started the burgers, setting them in the pan to fry them up and putting on the deep fryer for the fries. As Ford walked into the room with Jaxon, Cort met his eyes, mouthing “He gonna be all right?”
Ford nodded. Whatever else happened from here, he truly believed Jaxon would be just fine.
Even more so when Jaxon slipped out of his arms, gaze locked on a magazine that had been left open on the table. He pointed frantically at a picture, then glanced over his shoulder at Cort. “For real? You’re already looking into it?”
Cort laughed and nodded. “Yeah, but don’t get too excited. With that price tag, it’s gonna take me a bit. And we still need the car.”
The picture that had excited Jaxon was of an engine that would be compatible with the 1977 Camaro. Ford grinned as his son began to read the specs, sounding like he knew more about what he was talking about than Ford did. The kid couldn’t wait to get his hands dirty, and it would be tough to get him out of the garage if he was this amped up just looking at car parts.
When Ford was a teen, he’d let Cort teach him the basics—enough that he’d never get stuck in the middle of nowhere if his hotwired car died on him—but he’d never had the passion for mechanics that Cort did. If Jaxon was interested, he’d get back into it. From the sounds of it, the kid could teach him a thing or two.
While the food was cooking, they passed the time discussing cars, avoiding Ford’s past illegal involvement with them—though he couldn’t help mention how smooth a ride some of the more exotic ones had been, since that was all he really had to offer. Akira finished showing the caseworker around and came to the kitchen with him, taking a seat across the table while Jaxon sat between her and Ford, facing the man who’d likely be a regular in their lives for the next few months.
“The hearing will be scheduled within the next two weeks, once Jaxon’s uncle is served with a request to appear in court. As Jaxon’s father, your rights will be considered, but he will be given the opportunity to contest them, since he was given guardianship by Jaxon’s mother. Certain conditions must be met if he demands visitation, which we will go over at our next meeting, later this week.” The man handed him a card, which finally put a name to the face, since Ford had missed the introductions. Lester Boyle. Lester took out his phone and tapped open an appointment app. “The Dartmouth Cobras have two away games this week. Will you be going with them or can we schedule the meeting for this coming Friday?”
“Friday’s fine. I don’t go on the road with the team. I’ll be here.” Ford spoke quickly, hoping the man didn’t think he’d be taking off and leaving Jaxon alone. “I’ll adjust my hours at the forum so I can be here for Jaxon after school. You can come anytime. Or we can meet during the day. Whatever works.”
“Very good. So he’ll be returning to the same school? Maintaining his routine will be important.”
“Yes, sir.” Ford’s neck heated as Cort shot him an amused look from behind Lester. Did ‘sir’ sound weird? Calling the man Lester didn’t feel right. The man had the power to decide if he was good enough to be a father. “Mr. Boyle, I’ll be bringing Jaxon to school every morning and picking him up after school. He’s also shown interest in taking skating lessons from Akira, so he’ll likely be at her rink a few times a week. He’ll have a perfect routine.”
“I don’t expect perfect, Mr. Delgado.” Lester stood and held out his hand, shaking Ford’s before stepping back and grabbing his briefcase. “Stable, well cared for, and happy. That’s all Jaxon needs. I’ll call to confirm our appointment sometime this week. Enjoy your weekend.”
Leaving Jaxon with Akira and Cort, Ford followed Lester to the front door, stepping outside with him because he had one more question, but didn’t want to ask it in front of his son. “Jaxon mentioned seeing a doctor, but…what about a therapist? Is that something he’ll need?”
Lester hesitated, then inclined his head. “Officially, there hasn’t been any behavior that leads me to put it as a requirement in your gaining custody, but after looking at his file, I suspect you won’t see any troubling behavior until he’s comfortable with his situation. If you don’t have a family therapist, I can recommend several who’ve worked with cases like Jaxon’s before.”
“I’d appreciate that. Thank you.” Ford took a deep breath as Lester jotted another note on his phone. “What about the court case? Does he have to be there?”
“It will depend on the judge, but I don’t believe so. Jaxon made a statement that will be admissible. Another can be made if further details are requested. We will all do our best to make sure this situation is as easy on him as possible.”
“Good. That’s all I needed to know.”
“I understand your concern, but I believe Jaxon is at a good age to handle whatever steps are necessary from this point on. He may want to be there. May even want to see his uncle again.” Lester held Ford’s gaze for a moment. “You need to consider the possibility that the judge will allow his uncle visitations under certain terms.”
We’ll see about that. Ford forced himself to nod, then watched Lester head back to his car, standing there long after his taillights had disappeared at the end of the road. He’d known today wouldn’t be the end of his fight for custody of Jaxon, but letting him see Kyle? After all the man had done to him?
He couldn’t think about that. Not yet. This was still a huge step in the right direction.
After supper, Ford noticed Jaxon was close to falling asleep in his bowl of ice cream and picked him up, carrying him to his room, and sitting him on the edge of his bed. He expected Jaxon to start saying he was too old to be carried any day now, but until then, he was going to enjoy one of the many things he’d missed while his son was growing up.
Grabbing a pair of the pajamas Akira had bought for Jaxon, Ford brought them to the bed, laughing when Jaxon sleepily lifted his arms. “You look beat, buddy.”
As he pulled off his son’s shirt, the offhand comment wasn’t so funny anymore. He’d known there were marks, Jaxon had told him about them, but…seeing them was different. The way they w
ere placed made it clear Kyle had been careful they couldn’t be seen even if Jaxon was wearing a T-shirt. High on his shoulders, dark bruises marked his pale skin. There were lighter bruises over Jaxon’s ribs. Nothing a kid would get playing normally.
“Dad?” Jaxon seemed to wake up a little as Ford stood in front of him, gripping his pajama shirt tight. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, of course!” Ford swallowed hard, holding the bottom of the shirt and helping Jaxon pull it on. “I’m just damn happy you’re here. I thought it would take longer, but you were very brave, speaking up for yourself like you did. I’m proud of you.”
Ducking his head, Jaxon shrugged. “Never had a reason to before. It was either being in a group home, or with Uncle Kyle. At least with him it was just one asshole I had to deal with, you know?” He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them. “Then…well, when I came here I was kinda worried you’d think I was bad and not want me. I pissed him off, so I might piss you off too. Then the cop showed up and I knew you’d sent them to get me out of there. He was mad again. He’d just left my room—told me I was going to ruin everything because I…I was upset when grandad said you weren’t coming and I broke a plate.”
“Did your grandfather ever…ever see Kyle hurt you?”
Jaxon shook his head. “Grandad only saw me at suppertime really. Sometimes around the house, but he’d just look at me all sad-like. Say I looked like some guy named Antoine.”
“Yeah…he’s said the same thing about me.” Ford wondered if he’d have liked his older brother, the only one of Anthony Delgado’s children he seemed to have really cared about. “Antoine was the oldest kid, but I never met him. Your Aunt Oriana could probably tell you a bit about him if you want.”
Shrugging, Jaxon finished putting on his pajamas, then climbed into bed. “Maybe one day. Is it bad that I don’t want anything to do with uncles for a while?”
Ford laughed and shook his head as he pulled the blankets up to Jaxon’s chin and kissed his forehead. “Nope. I get it. Believe me.”
Jaxon brought his thumb to his mouth, chewing on the skin by his nail, his brow furrowed. “Are they gonna make me go back? Like…there’s still all kinds of legal shit, right?”
“There is, but you let me worry about that. I’m your father and I have a damn good lawyer. We’re going to make sure you don’t ever have to see him again.”
“Promise?”
Fuck, Ford wasn’t sure he should make that promise. Not after what the caseworker had said. But how could he look at his son, after all the boy had been through, and let him believe he wasn’t able to protect him? If the court didn’t come through, there were still other…options.
So he cupped his son’s cheek and met his eyes. “I swear to you, Jaxon. He’s out of your life for good.”
Chapter 26
“Hey, Ms. Lalonde.” Madison opened the door, holding it for Ainsley as she stepped in with a tray of coffees and a box of pastries. “Is it horrible of me to ask if you brought extra apple turnovers this time? Mackenzie ate mine last time.”
Ainsley grinned at the young woman as she carried her breakfast offering to the kitchen. “I noticed that, so I got you two each this time.”
“You’re awesome.” Madison pulled out a chair, sitting slowly, but without the pain that had tightened her features the first few times Ainsley had stopped by. “Dad is on a call in his office, but he shouldn’t be long. Mackenzie’s in the shower, so she’ll take forever.”
“That’s fine, we can spend some time discussing that horror channel you like.” Ainsley handed Madison the chai latte she’d picked up for her on what had become her daily coffee run for the past week, then opened her own regular coffee to take a sip. “Did you finish watching that ‘Dear David’ series?”
Madison’s eyes widened. She sat forward, holding her fluffy white bathrobe close to her chest. “Oh my God, it freaked me out so much. I kept pausing it to get a closer look at the pictures. No one will ever convince me they’re fake.”
“I have a hard time believing the author didn’t make up the whole thing for book sales.”
“Because that’s what you’re supposed to believe. Imagine the panic if people knew ghosts were real? Or demons? I think Dear David is really about a demon and that’s why the story ended.” Madison’s cheeks were pink, as though she was excited, but also a little nervous to be discussing the scary story that had started on Twitter last summer, then continued for months. Dear David was her favorite topic to discuss with Ainsley.
Apparently, her father only tried to convince her not to be afraid and her sister teased her.
With Ainsley, she got into all the theories she’d spent hours reading. Even though Ainsley didn’t believe in ghosts, she found the whole situation fascinating. Even if the illustrator, Adam Ellis, had concocted the whole thing for sales or attention, he had a great imagination. Ainsley had found him on Twitter and read over all the tweets, eager to debate the validity of each one with Madison the next day, knowing the girl would have an explanation for everything because she truly wanted to believe.
Her goal seemed to be to convince Ainsley to believe as well. But more importantly, she just had fun with the idea of all the spooky things. With scaring herself.
And Ainsley, which Ainsley had admitted the second time she’d come here, after they watched a YouTuber, Hailey Reese, give her take on parts of the story. She’d had a nightmare of the young woman, staring at the camera while ‘David’ crept up behind her.
The dream still gave her chills, but Madison had been thrilled. To her, it was more proof that David was real.
To Ainsley, seeing the teen so energetic, growing stronger and healthier every day, was worth being creeped out. There were small signs of what the doctor had warned of. Sometimes Madison’s speech would slur. Or she’d forget parts of conversations. But she was still healing. And either way, all that mattered was she was alive.
“You know, after seeing how Adam’s cats reacted to David in the videos, I really think I should get one, don’t you?” Madison lowered her voice as footsteps sounded down the hall. “Dad says he’ll think about getting a pet eventually, but he’s been saying that for two years. Could you talk to him?”
Oh boy. Ainsley shook her head as Lorenzo stepped into the kitchen. No way was she getting in the middle of this. Though…it wouldn’t hurt to encourage the conversation. “I’m sure he’s been considering it, but it would be best if you asked him yourself.”
“Good morning, Ainsley. You do know you don’t have to keep spoiling us like this.” He smiled at her as she handed him the second to last coffee in the tray. “Though I must say this has become one of my favorite parts of the morning. Thank you.” He leaned over and pressed his lips to Madison’s rumpled blonde hair. “Now what is it you wanted to ask me?”
Madison took a small sip of her latte, eying her father as he took a seat across the table. “You have to promise you won’t just say ‘you’ll think about it.’ If it’s ‘no’, then I hope you’ve truly considered the pros and cons, but I’ll accept your final decision.”
Lips curving slightly, Lorenzo inclined his head. “Fair enough.”
“All right, I think I should be allowed to adopt a kitten. I’m responsible, I always have good grades—I’ve kept up with all the work Mackenzie’s brought home from our teachers—and even though I can’t do chores right now, I’ll make up for all of them as soon as the doctor says I’ve healed enough.” Madison took a deep breath, then continued, speaking fast. “Besides, we need to know if this house is haunted and cats have a sense for the supernatural that is invaluable. Wouldn’t you like to know if something is here, watching you?”
Lorenzo rubbed his jaw, looking from Madison to Ainsley. “Actually, I’m not sure I want to know. I sleep better not knowing.”
“You won’t if the ghost gets too comfortable. The more I learn, the more they’ll want to be acknowledged. If they think you’re ignoring them, they’ll act out.”
/>
“And a kitten will satisfy them?” Lorenzo’s tone was serious, as though his daughter’s answer would be taken into consideration.
Which tugged at Ainsley’s heartstrings and made it hard not to smile at him. Sure, some parents would think a girl of Madison’s age being so invested in the supernatural was ridiculous, but she was grounded, and still very mature. She simply had an interest that was a little outside the norm.
Better ghosts than other things young people were into these days. Ainsley hoped she wasn’t dealing with anything scarier than demons when Sawyer hit his teens. The real world could be a much darker, scarier place.
“A kitten will warn us and give me a chance to banish any negative entities. Trust me, Dad, I’ve done enough research to be able to handle pretty much anything.” Madison’s were wide with hope, as she held her father’s steady gaze. “Please? You won’t even know it’s here.”
“Well now, if I don’t know the cat is here, how will it protect me?” Lorenzo steepled his hands on the table. “Is there anything we need to look for when we’re selecting a kitten from the local shelter? I imagine the kitten will need to be intelligent. Not too distracted by toys to notice the ghosts?”
Madison let out a little scream. “Really, Dad? Don’t mess with me. Is that a yes?”
“That’s a yes. We can take a trip down later today.” He hesitated. “Under one condition.”
“Anything.”
He glanced toward the door as Mackenzie slipped in, looking excited enough herself to have caught the gist of the conversation. “Mackenzie will have to help with the litter. I don’t mind doing it some days, but you’re not to lift it for the next month at least. I also expect you both to make sure the kitten always has clean water and fresh food. And I’ll make sure it has plenty of scratching posts, so try to keep it from destroying the furniture.”
OverTime (The Dartmouth Cobras Book 9) Page 31
