The Love We Found

by David Horne

  Harry groaned.

  “You, Andrew Lewer, are one fucking bastard.”

  “That I do know. And I’m looking out for my daughter’s interests.”

  Harry said nothing. He simply hung up. Andrew tossed the cell phone onto the counter and buried his face in his hands. Caitlyn was coming home. And he couldn’t wait. But the knowledge that Antoinette was going to be there to try and throw a wrench into the works was still there. It wasn’t about to go away.

  “Andrew?”

  Andrew looked around. Jackson was in the doorway, rubbing at his eyes. He had unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a rock-solid chest that had Andrew staring. It was beautiful. He tore his eyes away and focused on Jackson’s face.

  “Caitlyn’s going to be discharged the day after tomorrow if she shows the doctor the progress he expects. And she wants to come back with me.”

  “That’s good.” Jackson smiled, and Andrew had to shift on his stool. His jeans were feeling far too tight now. “She can rest here, and you needn’t worry about her.”

  “I will need to worry about Antoinette. She’s not going to let this go lightly.”

  Jackson walked over and squeezed Andrew’s shoulder.

  “Don’t focus on Antoinette. Focus on your daughter. She’s going to be fine. You know it.”

  Andrew loved Jackson’s enthusiasm. He just wished he had the same enthusiasm regarding his ex-wife. Once Antoinette realized she had no real hold over their daughter, she was going to go mad.

  Chapter Seven

  Andrew spent the morning at work, trying to focus on his employees. But with it being right across from the park where the incident had occurred kept distracting him. He found himself staring across at the park, memories of what happened flashing into his mind. It sent shivers down his spine, and Andrew struggled to keep his focus.

  At least the Blackhawks’ vice president was understanding. Before lunch, he had come back and, surprised that Andrew was actually working. He ordered Andrew to go and be with his daughter, refusing to let Andrew anywhere near the place until Caitlyn was better. Andrew had protested, but Joe Cornell’s word was final. It would be pointless to argue with him.

  And he was right. Andrew found himself more at ease sitting at Caitlyn’s bedside. She was sitting up and still pale, but the smile in her eyes when he walked through the door was enough to make Andrew feel better. They spent hours talking, Caitlyn crying on Andrew’s shoulder about her homelife. She wasn’t telling him everything, Andrew could tell that, but he didn’t push her. That was something for later.

  All he knew was that Antoinette had done a number on them. And that confused him. Antoinette had previously been a loving, doting mother. She and Caitlyn had used to do lots of girly things together and Antoinette would support Billy at his football games. Even Charlie had Antoinette smiling and she was there for lots of cuddles even during the divorce proceedings. But everything had gone downhill. Andrew had no idea why.

  It couldn’t just be using the kids as a weapon against him, that they wanted something to do with their other parent. Something else was going on, and Andrew found himself wanting to figure out what was going on. A small part of him still cared about Antoinette, no matter what. They had been together a long time, and she was the mother of his children. That wasn’t going to go away.

  If only Antoinette would confide in him. They had talked about everything before. If Antoinette was in trouble, Andrew would be willing to help. But she just pushed him away. Andrew couldn’t begin to count the amount of restraining orders his ex-wife had attempted to put on him.

  She didn’t want him to know about something, and now she was taking it out on the kids. That was not fair. And Andrew couldn’t see Antoinette changing anytime soon.

  The morning that Caitlyn was supposed to be discharged, Caitlyn called Andrew in excitement. She was going home. Andrew found himself smiling at her excitement. Almost as soon as he finished with his daughter, he called Harry. Harry promised to meet him there.

  And he was as good as his word. Harry was already in Caitlyn’s hospital room when Andrew arrived, along with a bag of clothes for his daughter. Caitlyn changed as quickly as she was able with her belly wrapped up, and she settled into the wheelchair the nurse provided. Andrew pushed her out into the hall and toward the elevator. Caitlyn had already signed the discharge papers. Now all they had to do was get her into Andrew’s car.

  The elevator doors opened as they were crossing the lobby and Antoinette stepped out. She looked like she was dressed for a day of shopping, wearing large white sunglasses and a light pink jacket over a red dress. Andrew stopped and stared when he saw her face. The sunglasses were huge, but they didn’t hide the bruises that were peeking out.

  Who the fuck had attacked her?

  Antoinette stopped fiddling in her bag when she saw her ex-husband, her mouth dropping open. Then it closed and she snarled, striding toward him.

  “Get away from her, Andrew.” She shrieked. “You’re not allowed anywhere near her!”

  “I’m here to take Caitlyn home, Antoinette.” Andrew said. He was aware of Harry moving to stand between the two of them. “She needs rest, and I can provide that for her.”

  Antoinette snorted rudely.

  “No, you can’t. You can’t provide her with anything. If it hadn’t been for you, Caitlyn wouldn’t be here.”

  “I didn’t stab her.”

  “But trouble always follows you, doesn’t it? I know how the biker world works. If you’re in it as an affiliate, you become part of its lifestyle. And Caitlyn got hurt as a result.”

  Andrew said nothing. His hands tightened on the handles of the wheelchair. Arguing was not going to help Caitlyn and both of them would get thrown out.

  “Mom, enough.” Caitlyn protested. “I’m going back to Dad. That’s my choice.”

  “No, you’re not.” Antoinette tried to reach for the wheelchair, but Harry stepped in the way. She glared up at him. “Get out of the way, Harry, unless you want me to put in a complaint with your boss.”

  “Go right ahead.” Harry said smoothly. “Caitlyn’s an adult now, and she is allowed to make up her own mind. If she wants to go back with her dad, we have to listen to her.”

  “But...but…” Andrew couldn’t remember the last time he saw Antoinette on the back foot. “She’s my daughter!”

  “And she’s a grown woman.” Harry shot back. “You can’t stop Caitlyn. Neither can I.”

  “As if you’d stop her.” Antoinette growled. “You’re the one who’s been drooling over my daughter. The moment she’s away from me, she’s not going to be resting unless that counts as resting on your cock.”

  Harry went bright red. Caitlyn groaned and buried her face in her hands. Andrew had had enough.

  “Antoinette, that’s enough. You shouldn’t be embarrassing your daughter. Let her go home.”

  Antoinette swung around on him, pointing at her ex-husband.

  “I’m filing a protective order on you!” She screamed. “You are not fit to be near my kids. And I’m filing a complaint with the police department on your actions, Harry!”

  “You have every right to,” Harry had recovered, but his face was still red, and he looked like he was about to explode, “But you’re going to end up being laughed out of the office.”

  Antoinette was breathing heavily, baring her teeth at Harry. Then she turned her scowl onto Andrew.

  “I’ll get you for this, Andrew.” She hissed.

  She turned on her heel and stormed into the elevator, slamming her hand onto the buttons. Andrew watched her face as the doors closed. She was angry, certainly. But there was something else. Something that surprised him.

  Antoinette was terrified.

  Chapter Eight

  The ride home was completely silent. Andrew was drained, and he could tell Caitlyn was at a loss for words. It was always the same whenever Antoinette chose to pick a fight. She seemed to suck the air out of the room.

  But Andr
ew was also concerned about Antoinette’s reaction. It wasn’t just about losing control. She was scared of losing Caitlyn, whether she was going to admit it or not. But why? Their relationship had gone downhill in the last few years, and Andrew could tell Caitlyn was in pain about it. Their mother-daughter relationship had been close, and Andrew had been immensely proud to see the two of them together doing girly things. Now that was gone. Caitlyn was upset about it as he was.

  Antoinette clearly was as well. Even under everything happening, she wanted her daughter’s love back. But she was going about it the wrong way, closing herself off from everyone. Caitlyn knew there was something going on, but Antoinette refused to say anything. They had talked about everything before.

  If only Antoinette would actually admit she was having problems. Andrew didn’t need to guess that Antoinette was in some kind of trouble. And her pride wouldn’t allow anyone to help her.

  They arrived at Andrew’s house, and Andrew helped Caitlyn inside. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder and an arm wrapped around his waist. It made Andrew want to cry. His daughter used to be so confident, and now she was clinging to him.

  An eighteen-year-old shouldn’t be like this.

  Andrew led Caitlyn into the lounge and sat her down carefully on the couch.

  “Move yourself up and put your feet up, honey.”

  Caitlyn did as she was told, grimacing as she moved, and Andrew put a cushion behind her before laying a blanket over her lap. His daughter smiled up at him.

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Do you want me to get you anything?”

  “I just want you, Dad.”

  Andrew had to swallow back the hard lump in his throat. He nodded and sat beside his daughter, putting an arm around her shoulders. Caitlyn leaned into him with a heavy sigh.

  “I’m so glad I’m here and not at Mom’s,” she said. “I didn’t think Mom would let me go that easily.”

  “She didn’t have a choice.”

  “But she’s not going to let it lie.” Caitlyn sighed. “Ever since I turned eighteen, Mom’s been getting worse. I’m barely allowed to go out with my friends unless it’s at school. That day was the first time in four months I was permitted to do anything beyond school.”

  Andrew knew he wanted to rant about his ex-wife, but that wasn’t fair on Caitlyn. His daughter needed to make up her own mind. And from the way she was acting, Caitlyn already had.

  “Sounds like she doesn’t want to let you grow up.”

  Caitlyn snorted.

  “You got that right. I’m glad to be out of there, but I wish Billy and Charlie were with me.”

  Andrew said nothing to that. He couldn’t agree more. Billy and Charlie were still in Antoinette’s home, and he was sure she would be taking her frustrations out on them. More Charlie than Billy; at fifteen, Billy was much taller than his mother and much stronger. He could easily fight back. Charlie couldn’t, especially with his arm in a cast.

  It made Andrew feel sick not to have his kids out of that environment. Antoinette was going off the rails.

  “Charlie didn’t fall off his bike and break his arm.” Caitlyn said quietly.

  Andrew’s arm tightened around her.

  “I know. Charlie doesn’t even have a bike.”

  “One of Mom’s boyfriends pushed him down the stairs.”

  Andrew froze. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “What? Why?”

  “Charlie wanted Mom for something, and he went into the bedroom when Mom and the guy...they were, you know, having sex.”

  “With you guys in the house?”

  Caitlyn looked up at him.

  “When he wants it, he wants it. Mom doesn’t argue.”

  “The boyfriend?” Andrew could feel his anger building. “What’s the bastard’s name?”

  “I don’t know. Mom never told us.”

  “She never told you her boyfriend’s name?”

  Caitlyn shook her head.

  “She doesn’t tell us. Just that she’s going to have some ‘Mommy time’.” She made a face. “They’re just so loud. Billy and I have to turn up the volume on the TV and distract Charlie or take him out, so we don’t have to hear.”

  Andrew had never realized. A new boyfriend and a love life were one thing, but not to the point of neglecting their children. He felt sick.

  “What happened?”

  “The guy got mad that Charlie had bothered them and chased him out of the room, butt naked.” Caitlyn shuddered and her voice hitched. “He pushed Charlie and practically chucked him down the stairs. Billy and I were the ones who called an ambulance, but then Mom came running downstairs and sent them away, telling us that we didn’t have the money for an ambulance and to mind our own business. It was two hours of Charlie screaming before she took him in, and that was only after she and the guy had finished.” Caitlyn swallowed. A tear trickled down her cheek. “It was horrible, Dad.”

  Her youngest son had been badly hurt, and yet all Antoinette had done was go back to fucking the bastard who had hurt her son. It was stomach-churning to hear. And it was painful to see Caitlyn so upset about it. She shouldn’t have had to deal with her little brother like that.

  He pressed a kiss to his daughter’s head.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that, honey.”

  Caitlyn leaned her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a while. Andrew’s arm was starting to fall asleep and Caitlyn was getting heavy on his shoulder, but he didn’t care. They didn’t need to be talking for Andrew to enjoy himself. He was just glad Caitlyn was with him.

  “She keeps saying awful things about you, Dad.” Caitlyn’s voice was quiet. “Telling us that you’re a bad guy and you’re not a good parent.”

  “I know.”

  “But I know you’re not a bad guy. So does Billy. And we make sure Charlie knows it as well.” Caitlyn snuggled closer against Andrew. “He’s been getting the sharp edge of Mom’s tongue lately, not to mention the physical abuse. Billy’s got old enough to stand up to her, and Mom knows he can fight back now. But Charlie...he’s too little. He shouldn’t have to go through that.”

  Andrew didn’t know what to say to that. Caitlyn had said all of it herself.

  “Can I ask you something, Dad?”

  “Sure.”

  Caitlyn looked up at him.

  “Why don’t you tell Mom off? You have every right to after what she’s done. I’m just surprised you hold your tongue whenever something happens between you.”

  “That’s because I’m not going to say bad things about the mother of my children in front of our kids.” Andrew stroked his daughter’s hair. “And I do tell her off, but just not in front of you. It’s not fair to you.”

  “I wouldn’t blame you if you did.” Caitlyn bit her lip. “What are we going to do about Billy and Charlie? They can’t stay there. Billy can’t be at home all day when Charlie’s alone with Mom. His grades are already starting to slip.”

  “I’m going to go back to court. My lawyer already knows what Antoinette has been doing.”

  Andrew wasn’t going to sit back and let anything else happen to his boys. He hadn’t been allowed to spend as much time with his kids as he wanted, especially Charlie. Antoinette had deprived him of his dad too much. And he wanted that back. Sitting back and allowing time to take its course was something he had to put aside. The children were more important than allowing Antoinette to shoot herself in the foot.

  “I love you, Dad.” Caitlyn said.

  Andrew kissed her head.

  “I love you, too. And I’m sorry for failing you.”

  “You’ve never failed me, Dad.” Caitlyn’s smile was enough to warm Andrew’s heart. “I’ve never thought you failed us.”

  Andrew had nothing to say to that.

  Chapter Nine

  Another assault. Same patient, different situation. Jackson was getting fed up with the patient lashing out. She kept playing the old lady card, that she
was mentally ill and didn’t know what she was doing. And the police bought into it. They couldn’t do anything about it.

  But Jackson saw right through it. The patient was a nasty piece of work. She was smart and knew exactly what she was doing. Jackson couldn’t begin to count the amount of times she had hit him while he was trying to deal with her medication or tell her she couldn’t do something like bother other patients. His cheek was currently sore from the punch she had landed on him.

  If she wasn’t a patient and a retired grandmother, she could have been a champion boxer.

  Assaults meant calling the police station and doing paperwork. Jackson was not surprised when the patient in question had a file of her own, choc-full of incident reports. And not just from Jackson’s ward. He didn’t think he could count how many wards she had been in on one hand.

  Jackson absently rubbed at his cheek as he finished writing the report. All he had done was escort her back into her room after she had been hassling the man in the next room. She had started stroking his leg, and he, as a young man, got very nervous. She freaked out when Jackson told her off and then lashed out.

  If only he was allowed to fight back. But Jackson needed this job. He loved being a nurse. He just didn’t like the old bats who played the system.

  He was just signing off the report when the phone started ringing. Jackson picked it up before it finished the first ring.

  “Ward thirty-nine, Nurse Prewitt speaking.”

  “Hey, bro.”

  “Harry.” Jackson put his pen down. “What are you doing calling me at work? Is something wrong?”

  “You don’t have your cell phone on you while you work, remember? And I just wanted to check to see if you were still alive. I haven’t seen you in ages.”

  “That’s because I’ve been taking bank shifts and doing doubles while everyone goes on vacation.” Jackson couldn’t remember the last time he had a day off. The last fortnight had been intense. He thrived on it, but he was starting to flag. “I’m alive. Just. But you didn’t call to check on me, did you?”