by Jen Talty
Nope. No ring.
Shit. Stop. Even looking was a bad idea.
“What can I get you?” the waitress asked.
“Two Grande Carmel mochas and two chocolate croissants warmed up. Please.” She stuck her card into the machine, since it was her turn to buy breakfast. She and Rose did this almost every morning, and lately, they met most evenings for drinks and apps to commiserate their singleness.
“Look at his ass.” Rose reached around her and snagged a napkin.
“Could you be any more obvious?” Jackie stuffed the receipt in her purse and made her way to the other side of the café, trying not to stare too hard at the handsome man tapping aggressively on his cell. He had impressively thick biceps, and his tight white T-shirt hugged his stomach, showing off some chilled abs. He sported a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips and a pair of beach flip-flops. His dark hair was slicked back by his shades, and it appeared he hadn’t shaved in a week or so.
It was a good look for him.
Her phone buzzed.
“I thought you might like a picture,” her sister whispered.
She glanced at her cell. Her cheeks flushed. “That’s not funny.”
“Why don’t I introduce the—”
“Don’t you dare,” Jackie said behind gritted teeth.
The sexy man pressed his phone to his ear. “Where are you? I’ve been waiting for over an hour.” He grabbed his coffee with his free hand and paused. “You’re not coming? You can’t do that.” He stood there holding his mug in the air.
And she was like a deer in headlights.
“She’s my daughter too, and you’ve kept her from me…stop trying to…” He pulled the phone from his face and stared at it for a second before he slammed his flimsy paper cup on the counter. Hot coffee spewed everywhere. “Fuck,” he mumbled. “Sorry.” He grabbed a bunch of napkins and did a lame attempt of cleaning up before storming out.
“Well, he’s a little too hotheaded,” Rose said with a slight chuckle. “Guess we dodged a bullet by not introducing you to him.”
“If you keep that up, I’m going to start setting you up on blind dates and not tell you, so please, stop. When I said I was taking a year off from dating, I meant it.”
Rose raised her hands as if someone were pointing a gun at her chest. “I was just trying to help a sister out. I mean, who goes without sex for a year.”
“They make vibrators for that.”
“Dear Lord, that’s pathetic,” Rose said.
Perhaps, but Jackie was never going to find herself in the same kind of situation she’d been in last year with Edwin, who still wouldn’t leave her alone.
Jackie nibbled on her croissant as she and her sister walked toward the hospital, making small talk about the weather and other lighthearted topics. Since she and Edwin broke up, Rose had been Jackie’s rock. She didn’t know what she’d do without her family, but especially Rose.
“I better get to work,” Rose said at the main entrance of the hospital. “I’ll see you tonight unless someone with a penis makes me a better offer.”
“You’re crazy.” Jackie entered the hospital. Becoming a psychiatrist had been her dream since she could remember. She graduated high school at sixteen so she could go to college early. She’d only been in this job for a year, but it was her entire world.
She set her paper coffee cup on her desk and flipped open her laptop. Immediately, her iMessages dinged with all the text messages she’d gotten since last night.
The first one she saw was from her sister and the picture she’d snapped of the handsome stranger who had a temper from the coffee shop.
Attractive didn’t do him justice.
Sexy wasn’t even a strong enough word.
Hot didn’t come close.
God’s gift to women. Yep. That was him.
Her computer continued to ding as the rest of her messages came over.
And Edwin’s name popped up several times.
Fucking asshole.
Quickly, she glanced at his texts that she’d been trying to ignore for the last few days, weeks, and months.
Edwin: We need to talk.
Edwin: I know what I did was wrong, but you won’t even hear my side. Please, just hear me out. That’s all I’m asking.
Edwin: I still love you. I know I shouldn’t have lied to you.
Edwin: Come on, Jackie. I’m separated, and you know it. Please, forgive me. Can’t we just meet for coffee and talk?
Nope. She should listen to her family and block his number, but she actually got some weird satisfaction out of watching him beg. Not that she’d ever take him back, even if he did get a divorce.
Because if he cheated on his wife with Jackie, he’d cheat on Jackie with someone else, and she wasn’t going to go down that road again.
Her phone buzzed and vibrated in her purse at the same time her computer pinged again.
Edwin: I’m at the hospital. I know you’re on call. I will sit in your office until you speak to me.
She jumped from her desk and raced to the reception area. “Hey, Natalie,” she said to the receptionist. “If someone by the name of Edwin—”
The doors to the office swished open and in walked Edwin.
Fuck. “Never mind,” she mumbled. “This isn’t a good time.”
“It seems it’s never is when it comes to you,” he said.
“There’s a reason for that.” She turned and made a beeline for her desk, knowing full well that he was hot on her heels. She’d give him ten minutes, tops, but then she’d kick his sorry ass right out the door. She leaned against her desk and gripped the sides. “What do you want, Edwin?”
“I want you,” he said matter-of-factly. “For the last month we were together, I was trying to find ways to tell you the truth, and I was planning on leaving my wife, but I have kids and I had to—”
“Excuses,” she said, holding up her hand. “You lied to me from the moment we met and continued to spin that elaborate tale for months. I let you make a fool of me in front of my family. I’m standing here looking at you wondering what I ever saw in you in the first place.”
He clutched his chest. “Ouch, that hurt.”
“The statement wasn’t intended to hurt you. I’m just saying I don’t feel the same way about you at all, so I’d appreciate it if you’d stop calling and texting me.”
“How can you be so cold after all we shared?” he asked, taking a small step forward.
She shot her hand out. “Edwin. I’m serious. This is the last time I entertain a conversation with you. Please leave, or I’ll call security and have you removed.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Edwin’s jaw slacked open, and his eyes narrowed.
She shook her head and pointed toward the door.
“Wow,” he mumbled. “I left my family for you, and now you’re calling security on me?”
She swallowed the words she wanted to say. Calling him names wouldn’t do her, or his family, any good. She did have compassion for his children, who were innocent bystanders in the mess their father created. “My secretary can validate your parking.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Jackie let out a long breath and smoothed down the front of her slacks before snagging her phone and texting her sister Rose.
Jackie: You are NOT going to believe who just showed up at work.
Rose: Who?
Jackie: Edwin the asshole. And he actually said he left his wife for me. Doesn’t he remember the field I work in, and I know his lawyer, and I know his wife is suing his sorry ass for a lot of money and custody of the kids.
Rose: Let…it…go…he’s not worth your energy or any more space in your brain. It’s been six months.
Jackie rolled her eyes as she made herself comfortable behind her desk. Her family had been on her case for months to stop talking about Edwin. It was so bad that her baby sister Ethel had started an Edwin jar, and every time Jackie brought him up, she had to put a five in the damn th
ing.
Jackie: I didn’t invite him or ask him to come. Hell. He texted me ten times, and I didn’t even answer him once.
Rose: Well, that’s a start. I hope you told him to go fuck himself.
Jackie: Not in so many words. But you would have been proud. Are we still on for drinks and apps tonight?
Rose: Abso-fucking-lutely! See you at Lenora’s!
“Hey, Jackie,” Doctor Anna Bogart, head of Psychiatry at Newport Beach Hospital, said as she tapped on the door. “Do you have a couple of minutes?”
“Of course.” The good thing about being single was that other than her siblings, she hadn’t a single distraction from work, and she loved her job more than anything. She considered herself one of the lucky ones. So many of her friends, when they hit their very early thirties, all they did was bitch about how much they hated their jobs.
While hers could be frustrating and often stressful and depressing by nature, she still couldn’t imagine doing anything else with her life.
“I’d like you to handle this case.” Anna handed her a folder.
Quickly, Jackie flipped to the front page and scanned the summary.
Father sued for visitation joint custody. Mother refuses any visitation, indicating father is violent. Father had child for a few hours on first visitation. Child came back with bruises and also a stomach bug with a bad rash. It was decided rash was from having constant diarrhea.
She turned the folder and showed it to Anna. “That’s all you’ve got on the notes. How is it a case with that little information ends up needing a custodial psychological evaluation?”
“Special circumstances. The father is a decorated soldier, with a sealed record, and a history of insubordination.”
“And did a doctor evaluate the bruises?”
Anna nodded her head in agreement. “The mother took pictures but didn’t take the child to a doctor.”
That wasn’t unusual. Jackie flipped through the six pages, which was the smallest file she’d ever seen come across her desk. Usually, by the time her services were needed, the court documentation was novel-sized. “I see there is a filing for a restraining order that was tossed out. This is open and shut. We don’t even need to be involved. Give the father visitation, putting a hold on joint custody for six months. Recommend counseling for all. If all goes well, the judge can sign off on that and hopefully the parents will come to terms with their crap.” Jackie closed the file and tossed it toward Anna.
Anna pushed it across the desk with her index finger. “The father’s lawyer is pushing for the evaluation. He said that the mother has told him she will never let the father see his little girl again. That she threatened to go underground.”
“Can he prove that?”
Anna shook her head. “But Judge Taylor has decided that something doesn’t feel right and decided to bring us in.”
“Who is going to have to pay for this? Mom or dad?”
Anna let out a small laugh. “The father offered without questioning anything.”
Jackie flipped through the pages and started to make mental notes.
The father had just left the military only two weeks ago. He’d only seen his daughter twice. Once six months ago when the little girl had been hospitalized for a nondescript stomach virus and thirteen days ago. That’s when the mom said the young girl returned with bruises.
But no documentation.
Jackie swallowed. She had to go with the idea that the bruises existed.
The only thing the father had to say about the mother was that she’d never told him about the baby and never planned on it. He found out about the child from a distant relative.
And the father quit his career to move to California to be with his daughter.
Points for dad.
But so far, the lawyer for the mom had come up with a sealed juvie record. That could be anything from jaywalking to drug dealing to murder. The Army couldn’t have a Special Forces soldier with an open record, so they were notorious for making them go away.
“All right, so that brings me to the next question.” Jackie set the file on top of the rest of her paperwork. “Why are you giving it to me? It’s not a complicated case. This would be a great place for the new kid on the block to get his feet wet.”
“I would agree, only he put in for his vacation three months ago. If he wasn’t getting married and going off on a honeymoon, I’d stick it to him.”
“Say no more.” Jackie held up her hand. “I’m happy to deal with it. I’ll file the paperwork with the judge this afternoon and start setting up interviews.”
“Thanks, Jackie,” Anna said. “I knew I could count on you.”
“That’s why I get the big bucks.”
Jackie took the folder again and opened it. She woke up her laptop and pulled up the necessary files to send to the judge. She quickly filled in the proper names of the parties involved and digitally signed her name before sending it off to Judge Taylor. He was a fair man and always took everything into consideration before making decisions.
Next, Jackie opened a new internet tab and Googled: Sergeant Alston Walsh Special Forces United States Army, Retired.
Nothing.
She tried: Sergeant Alston Walsh, Army.
Nothing.
She shouldn’t be surprised. Many Special Forces military personnel didn’t have any social media. But they often did once they left the armed forces.
Okay, so he’d only been out for two weeks.
Next she tried: Kari Hampton, Newport Beach.
A Facebook and Instagram account popped up. A lot of pictures of her and her daughter, but there were a couple that caught her attention, and those were the ones of little Coralie in the hospital a few months ago.
Jackie pulled up the patient portal of the hospital and typed in Coralie’s name and date of birth.
“Doctor Eileen Ambrose,” Jackie mumbled. Might as well pay her a little visit. She snagged her mug and headed toward the elevator. Her path had crossed Eileen’s a few times over the years, and Jackie found her to be a highly competent and compassionate emergency pediatrician.
It took Jackie ten minutes to make her way to the Peds wing. She ducked her head into the doctor’s room, grateful Eileen was there, sitting behind a desk with her legs propped up on the wood object. “Hey, Eileen, long time no see.”
“Right back at you.” Eileen shifted, dropping her feet to the ground with a thud. “What brings you down to my neck of the woods?”
“I was just handed a case five minutes ago, but you treated the child, and I wanted to ask you some questions.”
“Who and when?”
“Baby’s name is Coralie Hampton, and it was about six months ago. She came in presenting with a stomach bug and was admitted for four days. On her third day, her father—”
“I remember the case well. Mom said dad was abusive, which is why she never told him about the baby. She filed for a restraining order.”
“That order never took. She had no proof,” Jackie said. “Did you meet both parents?”
“I did. I had the pleasure of introducing Coralie to her father for the very first time. It was a very sweet bonding moment for both father and child.”
“And how did mother respond to the visit?”
“She didn’t know until after the dad left, but she wasn’t happy about it. I think she called me a fucking bitch and said she’d have my medical license for it.”
Jackie arched a brow. “You did that without the mother’s knowledge?”
Eileen nodded. “And I’d do it all again without question. If you saw the pain in that man’s eyes. I could tell he was worried he might never see that little girl again, and to be honest, I’m shocked that mom didn’t hightail it out of town. She left against medical advice that afternoon.”
“Anyone ever tell you that your memory is wickedly scary?”
“Yeah. My husband and kids,” Eileen said with a chuckle. “Would you like me to send all the records to your office
?”
“I’d appreciate that, thanks,” Jackie said. “Anything else you think I should know?”
“Why don’t you read through all the medical records. I believe the child was born in the hospital and treated on three different occasions. After that, come at me with any questions.”
“Will do.” Jackie checked her Apple Watch. “I better get going. I’ll be in touch.”
It took a lot to keep an open mind in custody evaluation cases, but her job was to make a recommendation on what she thought was in the best interest of the child.
Not the parents.
And that is exactly what she intended to do.
2
A couple of days after Alston Walsh realized that the only way he was ever going to see his little girl was if he fought Kari for custody, he found himself in the same hospital where he’d first met Coralie. Only this time he was in the psychiatric wing, not the pediatric wing. Though they looked exactly the same with their scuffed-up white tile floors and florescent lighting. Not to mention the furniture was equally uncomfortable.
“You need to relax,” Carol Hunter, his lawyer, said.
“Easy for you to say.” He forced his leg to stop shaking. The last time he’d been this nervous had been when he sat in an attorney’s office waiting to find out if he’d successfully had a possession charge expunged from his juvie record so he could join the Army at the ripe old age of eighteen. “You’re not having your life turned upside down.” He rubbed his hand from where he’d burned it three days ago after making an ass out of himself in a local coffee shop when Kari failed to show up, again.
To make matters worse, she accused him of hurting their daughter.
The woman was crazy. All he was asking for was the right to be a father. It wasn’t like he didn’t offer to give her money, to help pay for whatever Kari and their daughter needed. But no, Kari decided to make him out to be some deadbeat dad.
“No, I’m not. And while this interview isn’t going to make or break your case long term, it is going to set the tone, so I’d like you to be less jittery.”
