A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 (28 page)

He pushed back from his desk and stood. “Why don’t you put together some ideas, and we’ll meet again next week. We’ll have to start small and build. Our fiscal year ends in October, which means we have time to plug this into next year’s budget. We’ll have to make a presentation to the board by early September.”

As soon as Hayley left Pablo’s office, she slid one of her precious dollars into the vending machine and downed a can of soda on her way to Callie’s office. She’d need sugar or caffeine or
something
to get her through the rest of the day.

Callie sat behind a battered metal desk in a cluttered cubicle on the first floor of the rather rundown social services building a few blocks from the Y.

She greeted Hayley and gestured to one of the wooden chairs on the other side of her desk.

“You look different,” she commented as she studied Hayley for a moment before opening her file.

“I do? I can’t imagine why.”

“Hmm. You look like you got yourself some good lovin’, that’s what. And if you tell my supervisor I made such an inappropriate comment, I’ll deny it.” Callie grinned at her.

Stunned, Hayley wisely kept her mouth shut. She’d once viewed Callie Maxwell as a pencil-pushing, cross-the-t’s-and-dot-the-i’s bureaucrat hoping to catch her doing something she shouldn’t. But since Callie became involved with Roscoe, she seemed to have loosened up. Or maybe Hayley’s perception of her had changed. Or possibly Callie was also the recipient of “some good lovin’” and that had changed her attitude. That also might explain the number of early morning visits she’d made, even though, as she’d pointed out, she was required to vary the times when she stopped by unannounced. If she spent the nights with Roscoe, she wouldn’t be far from Hayley’s neighborhood the next morning.

“Well, let’s see. This isn’t going to take too long. You been approved.”

“What?”

“I said you’ve been approved to be a foster parent.”

“I have? You’re kidding.”

“No, ma’am. I’m not kidding. I did all the paperwork and all the home visits myself. I have your background check right here. There’s nothing that says you can’t be a foster parent, so you are one.”

“But…I thought…all the negative publicity, the divorce—”

“Ain’t nothing says divorced people can’t take care of kids. As far as the state is concerned there’s no proof you did anything wrong or immoral or illegal no matter what gets printed in newspapers.”

“The DUI—I didn’t think—”

“It was almost two years ago,” Callie reminded her. “No priors. You paid your fine, did your community service, took the class. Your drug test came back clean. State says it’s okay.”

Almost two years ago, Hayley thought. The beginning of the end. She and Trey had been invited to a house party in Key West. Deep sea fishing, golf, sunbathing and a weekend of shopping, fine dining and camaraderie awash with morning Bloody Marys and Mimosas followed by afternoon Margaritas around the pool and cocktails with dinner.

Hayley’d had to take a later flight due to a conflict in her schedule. She’d agreed to be part of a celebrity fashion show to raise money for a shelter for abused women. The irony of it didn’t escape her.

She was supposed to meet Trey at the party, but when she arrived there was no sign of him, and no one knew where he was. Hayley had a couple of drinks and mingled with a few people she knew, but Trey’s absence nagged at her. He was still recovering from his first knee surgery, and things had not been progressing smoothly.

The host had encouraged the guests to explore the extensive grounds and the mansion itself. He’d made it clear he expected his guests to enjoy themselves, and nothing was off-limits. As she stepped outside, Hayley snagged a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. She sipped at it as she circled the swimming pool, which would have rivaled that of any luxury resort hotel. She was already a bit tipsy from the two earlier cocktails and she hadn’t eaten, too wound up and worried over Trey’s behavior of late.

At the far end of the pool area was a guest cottage, she supposed, although it was almost too big to be classified as a cottage. Still, it looked charming from the outside, with its arbor of bougainvillea, which lent privacy to a tiled terrace.

Hayley peeked into a window to see the décor was a sort of Moroccan-inspired café. She found the door unlocked and stepped inside. After investigating the living area and kitchen, she wondered if the theme had been carried throughout. A wide hallway led to several closed doors. She opened the first one and came to an abrupt halt. The champagne glass slid from her hand, to the slate tile, startling the occupants of the bed. Her gaze clashed with Trey’s before she noticed the naked, Asian-looking woman atop him, glaring at her.

Hayley turned and ran. Across the pool deck, through the maze of guests, her vision blurred. She slid across the tile in four-inch heels and her spaghetti-strapped Calvin Klein cocktail dress, until she was outside once again.

She couldn’t breathe, but she had to keep moving, had to get out of there, though what she’d seen was burned into her retinas for eternity.

She stumbled to her rental car, somehow retaining the presence of mind to retrieve her purse on the way out. Since she’d arrived late, her car wasn’t blocked in. The engine roared to life, and she’d driven half a mile before she remembered to put the lights on.

Maybe that’s what alerted a patrolling police officer. Or maybe she’d slid across the yellow line once too often. Hayley never knew, but swirling red lights appeared in her rearview mirror, and she wasn’t far enough gone not to realize what that meant.

She and Trey had never recovered from the aftermath of that night. His half-hearted apologies and excuses combined with her humiliation tore them apart. Hayley’d always thought of that night as the beginning of the end, for once she discovered undeniable proof of his infidelity, Trey was less inclined to bother hiding it. The doctors provided the pain pills, the liquor store delivered, and soon she barely recognized her husband. Or herself.

She supposed if the state of Florida was willing to overlook her transgressions, she could too. She’d certainly learned her lesson and never got behind the wheel of a car with so much as a drop of alcohol in her system. But still, she couldn’t quite believe she’d been approved as a foster parent.

She addressed Callie again. “But what about those home visits, when…other people were there?”

“There’s nothing that says you can’t have guests in your home. No hanky-panky going on with any of them either. Least not then.” Callie grinned at her knowingly. “So you can be Fletcher’s foster mommy, but I gotta talk to you about something else too.” She pulled several paper-clipped sheets of paper out of one of the file pockets. “Carlos José Mariano.”

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?”