Sidebarred: A Legal Briefs Novella (2 page)

Before Rory can retaliate, Chelsea gives them The Look, then hands Rory three more pieces of bacon. I pour a cup of black coffee at the counter, turn around, and almost trip over tiny Regan, standing next to me with a hairbrush and elastic tie in her hand.

“Can you do my braid, Daddy?”

Regan and Ronan are the only two who call me and Chelsea “Mom” and “Dad”—too young to have any real memories of their parents, Robert and Rachel. To some, it might seem weird that the kids call us different names, but for us, it works.

I run the brush through her hair—it’s getting really long—and weave the light-brown strands into a French braid in record time. She smiles, her top two teeth adorably missing, then sits at the table to finish her eggs.

On my right, I catch Chelsea giving me a different look than the one she tossed the kids’ way. It’s of the I-want-to-drop-to-my-knees-and-blow-you-so-bad variety.

“What?”

She shakes her head and steps closer. Her perfect breasts jiggle just a little beneath the lettering of her black San Diego Chargers jersey—and I lick my lips. I should’ve given her tits more attention this morning. I mentally promise to make it up to them tomorrow.

Chelsea’s voice is low, so the kids can’t hear. “There will never be anything sexier than watching you—with your muscles and tattoos—braiding a six-year-old’s hair.”

I shrug. “My braids are awesome.”

“They are.” She laughs. “And I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I lean down and kiss her.

Until Rory complains. “That’s enough face sucking. You’re
married
for God’s sakes—act like it.”

Chelsea giggles against my lips. But then whispers, “We should talk later.”

Huh. She wants to talk. Great. Cool.

Said no guy ever.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I think so. Just . . . later.” She gives my forearm a squeeze—right over the tattoo with her and all the kids’ names on it—and walks to the table to replenish the eggs.

I sit down at the head of the table, snag a piece of whole-wheat toast, and ask, “What are the plans for today, team?”

Riley pipes up first. “I’m going to Peter’s.”

Peter Wentworth is Riley’s boyfriend of the last six months. He seems like a decent kid—doesn’t piss his pants in my presence, like some of her past suitors. So I give him points for bravery. But . . . he’s just such a fucking
dork
. A cosplaying, World of Warcraft–obsessed, could-be-an-understudy-for–
The Big Bang Theory
dork. Even for puppy love, I just don’t think Peter’s good enough for her.

Raymond raises his hand. “I have to go to the library to meet my group to finish a summer project for astronomy.”

Rosaleen goes next. “I have piano.”

Then Rory. “I have baseball practice.”

And Regan. “I have ballet and tap today.”

Then, finally, Ronan, his sandy-blond hair sticking up because no one’s gotten around to brushing it for him. “I got nuffin’.”

I point my finger. “Then you’re with me today, kiddo.”

Chelsea sits down at the other end of the table.

“You’re going to see the Judge?”

I nod. “I’ll take Ronan with me, drop Rory at practice on the way, and pick him up on the way back.”

“Rosaleen can come with me to Regan’s dance class,” Chelsea says. “We’ll make it back home in time for her piano lesson.” She turns to Riley. “And you can drop Raymond off at the library when you go to Peter’s.”

It’s a solid plan. Except—Riley’s a teenager, so she whines, “
Come on
, the library’s on the other side of town.”

“That’s the thing about cars,” I tell her. “They can travel long distances. It’s amazing.”

She rolls her eyes. “Why do I have to do it?”

“Because you agreed to help drive the kids around when we agreed to buy you a new Camry instead of a used one. That was the deal, Riley,” Chelsea answers.

Robert and Rachel McQuaid had a sizable life-insurance policy when they died, so even with six kids to care for, money isn’t really an issue for us. The house is paid off, each of the kids has a healthy college fund, and being a founding partner of my own law firm, I do pretty damn well. But—thanks to the advice of my best friend and partner, Brent Mason, who inherited more money than he’ll ever be able to spend—we keep that info from the kids. It’s important for them to have ambition, to set goals for themselves—I don’t want them ever thinking they can waste their lives living off money someone else earned for them.

“Fine.” Riley sighs. She looks at her brother. “How long are you going to be at the library?”

Raymond cleans his Harry Potter–like glasses. “Three or four hours.”

“Okay—text me when you’re ready to be picked up.”

Raymond nods.

And just like that, plain old chaos becomes organized chaos.

This is my life now. And it’s pretty fucking great.

Chapter 2

I crouch down and pull out the weeds around the white marble, then brush away the grass clippings clinging to the etched name.

“Hey, Judge!” Ronan’s baby-sweet voice chirps. He places a pot of forget-me-nots at the base of the headstone proudly. “We got these for you. They’re like the color the sky gets sometimes.”

His round eyes look up at me. “Can I go look at the statues?”

I nod, smiling. “Stay where I can see you. And don’t run on the graves—it’s disrespectful.”

“Got it!” He scampers away, toward the large old crypt in the center of the cemetery.

The Judge passed away six months ago, but it feels like he’s been gone a lot longer. His last year was rough. Advanced Alzheimer’s is a bitch. He stopped speaking, eating, walking. It was almost . . . a relief when he went. Because the real Atticus Faulkner—the man who saved me from prison and from myself—would’ve never wanted to live the way he was living then.

I used to visit him in the nursing home every week. These days I stop by once a month, to let him know I’m still thinking of him, still grateful for all the things he taught me. And . . . because I just miss him.

“Hey, old man. What’s new?”

No, I don’t actually expect an answer. Chelsea’s Catholic, and so are the kids, but I’m . . . nothing. Our wedding was held at sunset, in the garden outside our reception venue. I would’ve converted—for her—but Chelsea didn’t want to wait as long as we would’ve had to, to do the deed in a church. I don’t know if I even believe in God . . . but the Judge?

I believed in him.

“The scholarship has been running for the last month. We’re already getting submissions. Lots of smart kids who’ve done some stupid shit in their lives.”

The Judge didn’t have any family, so he left his entire estate to me, with a note:
You’ll know what to do with it
. I didn’t, at first, and I cursed the son of a bitch for not being more specific. I imagine he got a good laugh over that—he never liked making things too easy for me. But then I got it: The Atticus Faulkner Scholarship. It’s open to high school students with difficult backgrounds who can show they’re smart and willing to work hard. The scholarship will pay for their education.

“Lots of kids who remind me of me—you’d get a kick out of them.”

I hang out at the cemetery a little longer talking to the Judge and watching Ronan running around in circles, like our dog, Cousin It, chasing his tail. Before we head out, I tap the top of the headstone. “See you soon, Judge.”

****

Later that afternoon, I’m in the den watching the baseball game. Except for Riley and Raymond, the kids are scattered throughout the house, but it’s quiet, which is a rare commodity around here. Chelsea comes in and hands me an iced tea.

“Thanks.”

“Sure.”

She sits beside me on the couch, facing me, her legs tucked, her pretty feet curled under her. Yes—Chelsea has pretty fucking feet, okay? I never knew feet could be pretty—until I saw hers.

“So . . . that talk I mentioned before? We should probably have that now, while we can.”

I take a sip of my drink and nod. “Yeah—I wasn’t at all hoping you’d forget about it or anything.”

Her face slides into a grin. “Funny.”

I look back at her, straight-faced. “I’m a funny guy.”

When she doesn’t say anything for a few moments, I ask, “What’s up?”

Because now I’m actually getting concerned. My stomach tightens as I brace for whatever’s worrying her—and before I even know what I’m up against, in my head I’m already planning all the ways I’ll take care of it. Because that’s what I do—and I’m good at it.

But what she tells me next blows my fucking mind.

“I’m late.”

Two words—ten thousand thoughts exploding in my head at once.

I’m a big guy, six-five, 225 pounds of muscle. Guys like me, our voices don’t squeak. But at this moment, mine comes damn close.

“Like . . . for an appointment?”

Chelsea’s beautiful face is tense and her crystal-blue eyes are iced over with worry. She takes the biggest breath and says, “No.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Fucking, wow.”

“I know.”

I’m guessing couples usually talk about having kids before they get married—but Chelsea and I didn’t. Mostly because our plate was already fucking full.

“How . . .” I begin, then stop myself.
Obviously
I know how. “I mean, you’re still wearing the patch?”

Chelsea nods. “Yes. But it’s not one hundred percent effective and remember a few weeks ago it kept peeling off?”

I’m lucky I remember my own name right now.

My thoughts are still scrambled. Images of a tiny newborn mixed in with the six faces we already have. Ronan was only a few months old when Chelsea and I first met, so I know what’s coming. Midnight feedings, teething, crying for no reason at all. And the diapers—fuck—so many diapers. For
years
.

On the other hand, I’ve heard pregnancy makes a woman’s tits huge. My eyes are drawn to Chelsea’s already impressive rack. That pro might just outweigh all the cons.

I scrub my hand over my face. “Have you taken a test yet?”

“Not yet.”

In the years before Chelsea, I banged lots of women. Hundreds. But I never had a pregnancy scare because I was religious about condoms. There was an STD scare once—because those can happen even with condoms—but this is brand-new territory.

“Okay.” I stand up from the couch. “I’ll go buy a test.”

“I already bought one.” She smiles shyly. “I bought three, actually.”

“Oh.” My brow wrinkles. “Well, let’s go take them.”

I hold out my hand and pull her up from the couch. As I turn toward the hallway, her hand on my arm stops me.

“Jake . . . where are you on this?” She peers up at me, trying to read my face. “I mean, if I am pregnant . . . are we gonna be okay?”

I’m floored that she even needs to ask.

“Of course we’ll be okay.” I cup her jaw, holding her gaze. “It’s a hell of a shock, sure, but it’s not like we don’t know what we’re doing. Adding one more to the mix . . . will only make it better. Maybe.”

When she smiles, it’s full and relieved.

I kiss her forehead. “Let’s go piss on some sticks.”

****

“I couldn’t believe it when I didn’t get my period. I kept waiting for the cramps to start, I double-checked my calendar, and when the realization finally hit me, I was just like, wow! You know?”

Chelsea’s talking a mile a minute. She talked while she took care of the three tests and hasn’t stopped to take a breath while we wait to read them. She flutters around the room, like a twittering, gorgeous bird, putting laundry away, shifting things around on the dresser, unable to be still.

“I was thinking I’d like to have the baby down here with us for at least the first year. They’re so tiny when they’re first born, I don’t want to be too far away. I don’t know if we’ll need to do more construction, to make our room bigger—which will suck—but we have nine months still. There’ll be time.”

My mouth quirks up as her wheels spin. “Plenty of time.” I check my watch. “Speaking of time . . .” I tilt my head toward the bathroom.

Chelsea practically vibrates next to me. “I can’t look! You should do it, you look.”

“Okay, okay—I’m looking.” I chuckle as I walk to the adjoining bathroom to get the tests.

Chelsea’s voice follows me. “The kids are going to freak out. Regan and Ronan will be excited—Riley will probably be glad . . .”

I step back into the bedroom slowly, a heavy weight pressing on my stomach.

“Chelsea . . .”

“. . . that she’s leaving for college in a year. I’ll have to talk to my boss at the museum. I wonder—”

“Chelsea.” My voice is firmer this time, drawing her smile to my face. “It’s negative.”

Her smile freezes. “What?”

“They’re negative. All of them.”

Pink rises in her cheeks and understanding washes over her expression, taking her beautiful smile with it.

“Oh.”

She glances at the tests in my hand—and the weight in my stomach is replaced with an empty, sunken feeling.

Chelsea clears her throat and lifts her shoulder. “Well, I guess that’s good news then.”

“I guess.”

But it doesn’t seem like good news.

She exhales a big breath and takes the white sticks from me, tossing them in the trash can. Then she moves around the room quickly, rearranging the things on the dresser she just arranged.

“Of course it is. I mean, the last thing we need . . .” She shakes her head. Her back is to me so I can’t read her expression. “I must’ve miscalculated my dates. Stupid. I’ll be more careful.”

“Chelsea.”

She turns around, head down, moving toward the door. “I have laundry to do. Rory needs his uniform tomorrow and—”

Before she gets near the door, I catch her with my arm and pull her in close. She presses her face into my chest and a second later she lets out a deep, choked sob.

Chelsea’s not a crier. Or a sulker. She’s scrappy, tough in that feminine, enduring, always-making-the-best-of-things kind of way. And I do my damnedest to make sure she doesn’t ever have a reason to cry. Because I’m tough, too. Hard. Some would even say callous. Except when it comes to her tears.

They fucking wreck me, every time.