A Forever Kind of Guy: The Braddock Brotherhood, Book 2 (38 page)

“That’d be Judge Wilkinson. Second floor. Anteroom C.”

“Oh, thanks. Thank you so much.” She turned for the elevator, nearly bouncing up and down in nervousness and anticipation. What if she was too late? What if she wasn’t?

“Stairs might be faster,” the deputy called out. “Turn left at the top. It’s the third door on your right.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “Thanks.”

She took the stairs two at a time, and in seconds she was in front of the door. She took a deep breath, knocked twice and entered. The buzz of conversation inside the room ceased. She stopped short, the door drifting to a close behind her as she stared at the familiar faces of those gathered around a large conference table all turned toward her.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise, but no words came out until her gaze zeroed in on Ray’s. He smiled and stood to approach her. He took her hand, kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear. “I knew you’d come.”

She stared at him, her gaze briefly flickering to the others in the room. Callie was there, of course, but so was Roscoe, dressed neatly in a short-sleeved, blue-striped shirt and navy slacks. Kaylee and Rick smiled back at her, as did Lena and Ken.
Lena and Ken?
Her surprise turned to shock when she spied not only Andre and Phil, but Paige and Lonny as well. A middle-aged man in a blue pinstriped suit and burgundy tie occupied the seat at one end of the scarred conference table. He must be Judge Wilkinson.

Her friends stepped forward to greet her. Paige was the last to envelop her in a hug, and Hayley whispered to her, “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

Paige squeezed her and let go, whispering, “It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

Except for the judge, she knew everyone in the room. Where were Fletcher’s adoptive parents then? Fletcher slid off his chair and hugged her legs. Automatically she patted his back and bent to drop a kiss on his head. “Hi, sweetie.” He tilted his head back and held his arms up. She picked him up and hugged him to her, determined to never let him go.

“What’s going on?” This she directed at Ray.

“We were waiting for you.” He grinned at her.

“Waiting for me?”

The judge looked at his watch. “Pardon me, Miz Christopher. I’m Judge Wilkinson.” He nodded in her direction. “I have a custody hearing in half an hour. Now that all the parties are present, could we move forward?”

“I thought—there must be some mistake,” Hayley stuttered. She looked around the room as if she could find an explanation there. “I thought this was Fletcher’s adoption proceeding.”

“It is.” Ray guided her to the chair next to his.

Her gaze moved around the table once more. Rick and Kaylee smiled encouragingly. Callie gave her a triumphant nod. Roscoe’s grin stretched from ear to ear. Even Lena and Ken offered her encouraging smiles and nods of approval. Fletcher settled into her lap as soon as she sat down.

“Miz Christopher,” the judge began, “Now that you’re here, we can move forward.”

Exasperated, Hayley said, “Would someone please explain what’s going on?”

Callie held up a hand when Ray started to speak. “Ray arranged to adopt Fletcher when you decided not to.”

Hayley stared first at Callie and then at Ray. “But you never said a word.”

“Because you made it clear that you didn’t think you were the best candidate,” Callie went on. “He didn’t want to put any pressure on you.”

Hayley looked at Ray and he nodded.

“When it came time to draw up the papers, he asked me to create two sets of documents. One in his name only and another with both your names. We been sittin’ here for fifteen minutes listening to his assurances that you’d be here.”

Judge Wilkinson sighed and pushed his cuff back to take a look at his watch. “Miz Christopher, I understand you’ve been through the approval process required by the State of Florida to become an adoptive parent, so I’ll ask you now, by your presence here today is it your intention to legally adopt the minor child, Fletcher Luis Mariano?”

It was Hayley’s turn to smile. “Yes, sir, it is.”

Ray squeezed her hand. She squeezed back.

“Then let’s get to it.” He nodded at Callie. “Miz Maxwell?”

The next half hour passed in a daze for Hayley as she listened and nodded and signed her name numerous times next to Ray’s.

The judge stood and congratulated them. They were now Fletcher’s legal parents. The enormity of what she’d committed to washed over Hayley, but she didn’t have time to think about it as chatter and congratulations broke out, and she was hugged and fussed over by everyone present, including Ray’s mother. “You’re just what he needs,” Lena murmured in her ear. “And so is that precious little boy.”

“Okay,” Kaylee called out, as they reached the steps outside the building. “The birthday party’s at our house. We’ll see you there.”

Ray hadn’t let go of her hand while they made their way out of the building, and he still held it. “Birthday party?” she asked.

He gave her a sheepish grin. “It’s my birthday.”

“Your birthday! Oh, Ray, how could I not know that? I didn’t get you anything.”

He pulled her close. “You’ve given me everything I wanted.” He bent to kiss her, but Fletcher wormed his way between them, reaching his arms up toward Hayley and chanting something that sounded like. “Mommm, mommmm.”

Hayley glanced from Fletcher to Ray. “Did he just say what I thought he said?”

“I think so.”

She swung Fletcher up and held him tightly. His arms circled her neck, and he squeezed her back. “Oh, Fletcher, I love you so much.”

Hayley couldn’t quite make out the garbled sound he made in reply, but she decided it was his version of “I love you too.”

“Ready to go?” Ray asked.

“I’m ready for anything.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“I did it again, didn’t I?” Hayley asked Paige. They’d managed to escape the party and step outside together to stroll arm in arm along the tree-lined street in front of Rick and Kaylee’s house.

“Did what?”

“Messed up our plans.”

“Oh hush,” Paige said. “You didn’t mess up anything.”

“I had a plan, though, just like when we were in college. And I swore this time I wouldn’t let a man get in the way.”

Paige gave her a gentle nudge with her hip. “Just between you and me, I don’t think he messed anything up for you. And he certainly isn’t standing in your way. On the contrary, I think Ray’s the kind of guy who’s going to be standing beside you every step of the way. Forever.”

Hayley hadn’t had a minute alone with Ray all day, yet a new sense of confidence infused her. Her future with Ray and Fletcher, her new job at the Y, even completion of her college education had been settled. For so long the possibilities for her future had spun around her like sand particles in a cyclone with her caught in the middle unable to grasp the ones she wanted, until they all fell into place today. Instead of the rather murky concept of what might happen once she put her L.A. relocation plan into place, she had a clear vision of the direction she was headed.

Hayley smiled. “Yeah. He’s a forever kind of guy, that’s for sure.”

They walked for a few minutes in silence before Hayley said, “But what about you? You’re going to need help once the baby comes. And I won’t be there. I feel like I’m letting you down again.”

Paige grinned. “Well don’t. I already hired your replacement. Replacements, I should say.”

“You have? Who?”

“Andre and Phil.”

“Andre and Phil? How could I not know about this?”

“Because we’ve all been plotting behind your back.” Paige gave Hayley another hip nudge. “Andre and I’ve been in touch more so than usual the last few months, ever since he came to visit you and met Ray.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes really. And we decided since we both love you and want what’s best for you, even when it’s staring you in the face and you can’t see it—”

“Paige!” Hayley pretended outrage even though she knew Paige spoke the truth. It had taken her much too long to see what her two best friends saw or sensed from the beginning.

“You were so dead set on sticking to your
plan
, you were looking to throw away something really special. Not just Ray, but Fletcher too. We couldn’t let that happen.”

“So you’ve been plotting. The two of you?”

“Maybe plotting’s too strong of a word.
Encouraging.
That’s what we’ve been doing.”

“Encouraging me toward Ray.”

“Encouraging you to do what was best for you, not what you thought everyone else expected. Not stick to a plan you made months or years ago when it was no longer right for you. We wanted you to be happy, that was all.”

“And you didn’t think I could figure out how to do that on my own?”

“I was afraid maybe you forgot how,” Paige said quietly.

Hayley chuckled. “I think I came close.”

“Anyway,” she said, as they turned a corner, “Once Andre and Phil retire after this season, they’ll be ready for a change of scene. My L.A. crowd’s going to go crazy over them. They’re both in great physical condition, cameras love them and they already have a following. Phil’s got a background in marketing, and Andre needs to use that business degree he got while he was playing at LSU. It’s going to work out perfectly for all of us.”

“Except for me,” Hayley told her wistfully. “I miss you. And now I’ll miss seeing Andre and Phil too.”

“Not to worry. I already told Ray we expect long-weekend visits from you guys quarterly. And we’re going to be popping back here on a regular basis as well. There’s no way my child’s going to grow up and not know who his godmother is.”

“His?”

“Or hers,” Paige said playfully. “But I think it’s a him.”

They meandered the rest of the way around the block until they arrived back at the house. Ray was leaning against the rear of his Explorer.

“I think I’ll go see what Lonny’s up to,” Paige informed them and went inside.

Ray watched Paige’s progress until the door closed behind her. “I knew there was a reason I liked her.”

Hayley poked him in the ribs. “Too bad for you, she’s married.”

“Ha ha.” Ray’s hand cupped the back of her head. Shivers ran down her spine. When he kissed her she discovered all the little broken pieces of her shattered heart had glued themselves back together. She was whole again. She’d almost lost everything but she’d gained more than she’d ever thought possible. When the kiss ended she looked into Ray’s eyes, sure of what she wanted to say. “Ray?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you. I’m in love with you. I should have told you before, but—”

“But you were scared.”

She nodded. Once again he needed no explanation.

“But I’m not scared anymore. You’re my hero.”

Ray smiled at her. “Nah, I just needed a damsel in distress to save me.”

They gazed giddily into each other’s eyes for a moment before Ray snapped his fingers. “I got you something.”

He opened the driver’s side door and reached across the seat. He reappeared and handed Hayley a bouquet of red roses.

Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Ray. You didn’t have to do this. Adopting Fletcher, waiting for me to see what was right in front of me was enough.”

“I’ve got some more news for you. Tim called a few minutes ago. Carlos is being charged with manslaughter after all. The witness that backed out agreed to testify after another witness came forward. A member of Carlos’s gang, as a matter of fact. So it looks like Carlos is going to be in jail for a long time.”

“Wow. That is good news.”

Ray grinned. “Would you like to go to the movies with me this weekend?”

Hayley smiled back. “You mean like a date?”

“Yeah. I think it’s time we started dating.”

He bent to kiss her when an unusual sound broke the still air, a sound they’d never heard before. She and Ray turned to look at Fletcher as he trotted around the corner of the house toward them. He laughed out loud at Brutus, tugging for all he was worth on the other end of a long stick. When Fletcher saw Hayley watching, he repeated his earlier attention-getting statement, which to her ears most definitely sounded like. “Look, Mama.”

“On second thought, since we’ve done everything else backwards, maybe we should get married before we start dating.” He grinned at her. “What do you think?”

Hayley’s gaze drifted to Fletcher, who was still playing with Brutus. “I think I wanted Fletcher to have a real family. Some stability. It would be good if his parents were married. To each other.”

“Right.”

She turned back to Ray. “Hey, wait. Was that a proposal?”

He’d been watching her closely the entire time. “No, it wasn’t, but this is.” He got down on one knee and took her hands in his.

“Hayley, would you marry me?”

She tugged her hands away from his and bent toward him, threading her fingers through his hair. “Would you marry me?” she asked softly. “For forever?”

Ray grinned in delight. “Is there any other way?”

About the Author

When not writing fiction, Dr. Seuss-like poetry or song lyrics, Barbara Meyers masquerades behind a green apron at the local Starbucks where she picks up story ideas in exchange for serving up lattes.

A native of Southwest Missouri, she grew up in the Midwest, but was later successfully transplanted to Southwest Florida. Her hobbies include tormenting her long-suffering husband and interfering in the lives of her grown children. She also likes to sneak into nearby gated communities to walk her almost perfect dog, Pepper. For exercise and meditation, she plugs in MP3 ear buds and takes long bicycle rides and beach walks.

For the truth about Barbara Meyers, check out
www.barbmeyers.com
.

Follow her on Twitter at
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Contact her at
[email protected]

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© 2008 Barbara Meyers

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