Chapter Thirty-Seven

Avery

I had never been one to envy anyone, but I now had a very personal experience with what money could buy. I wasn’t sorry for it in this case. We had met with Jake’s lawyers, who were confident the custody hearing was in the bag. It was hard not to feel good about the upcoming meeting with the judge after listening to them talk. Now I understood why Jake had been telling me all along not to worry.

“You two ready?” the Arizona lawyer, Mason, asked.

There were still nerves in my stomach, but they were not nearly as bad as they had been on Friday.

“We’re ready,” Jake said, taking my hand in his.

Together, we walked into a small room where the judge was waiting. I looked around for Janice and was surprised to see she wasn’t in attendance. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

We sat down, and I held my breath. The judge looked at us and then a pile of paperwork in front of him.

“Good morning,” Mason said, all smooth and lawyerly like. “You’ll see the motion I’ve prepared along with supporting evidence to refute all the accusations that were made earlier.”

The judge nodded. “I see.”

Jake and I stayed quiet and let the lawyer do all the talking. “My clients have proven, beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt, that they are more than qualified to give the child a home. They can provide a stable environment, and with my client’s direct relation to the baby, there should be no question as to who should be granted custody. Furthermore, my clients wish to adopt the child.”

The judge looked up. “That’s another matter that requires a bit more paperwork.”

“I understand that. We have already completed the application, and with the recent home study, there should be nothing to delay the process.”

The judge was quiet for a long time, flipping through papers and making me crazy. I wanted to shake the man and tell him to ignore everything Janice had said and written in her report. It was all lies based on one woman’s jaded opinion.

The judge removed his glasses and put them on the file before looking at me, then Jake.

“I see no reason not to grant you custody with the adoption paperwork to be processed immediately.”

My mouth dropped open. “Really?”

Jake nudged me under the table. “Thank you, sir,” Jake said.

“I understand our social worker may have been a bit overzealous in her prosecution. I’ve worked with her in the past, and she has always been a solid advocate for the children. I’ve reviewed the marriage certificate and checked with the judge who performed the marriage. I see nothing shady about it. I understand she was concerned with the speed at which you decided to marry. I’m sure the rush to do so did have something to do with this case, but I can’t prove that, and neither can she. And, quite frankly, I don’t think it matters.”

I was nodding my head. I kept my mouth shut but agreed with the man.

“Your lawyer has presented me with documentation that further backs up your dedication to your marriage and the child. You’re moving the headquarters of your company to Phoenix?” he asked Jake.

I had only found out that morning what he was planning to do. I had been thrilled by the news. I didn’t want to be apart from him for even one night. He would be working locally and still planned on having a home office so he could be home more often.

“I am. I expect it to take a couple months, but in the meantime, I will be working from home like I have been these past few weeks. I have a man in charge who is handling the majority of the meetings, freeing up my time,” Jake said coolly.

“Good.”

The judge turned to look at me. “And you’ll continue working?”

I nodded. “That’s my plan. I don’t know if it will be forever. I may also choose to work from home.”

The judge smiled and shook his head. “It’s nice to live in the twenty-first century, isn’t it?”

I grinned. “It certainly is. We get to have the best of both worlds, work and home.”

He nodded. “Indeed. I’ll call CPS and let them know I’ve made my judgment. I expect we can have Iris brought to the courthouse shortly. Would you like to take her home today?”

“Yes!” Jake and I said together.

He chuckled. “Good. I’ll sign the paperwork and get it filed. The adoption paperwork will get going as well.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jake said, choking up. “I appreciate you taking the time to look into this further for us. I know that isn’t the standard.”

He shrugged. “I don’t like to make a snap judgment that can negatively impact a young one’s life. Children deserve every chance at happiness in a loving home. I’m here to make sure that happens.”

“She will be very loved, and I will make sure she’s very happy,” I said enthusiastically.

“Just don’t spoil that girl. I’m tired of seeing all these spoiled, undisciplined kids in my courtroom.”

Jake chuckled. “We’ll do our best to provide good discipline, but I make no guarantees she won’t be spoiled.”

“Good enough.”

We left the room, and I nearly collapsed against the wall. I couldn’t believe it was finally happening. Jake had pulled Mason aside, and they were talking quietly.

I waited to hear what was going on. Jake came back and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me on the forehead.

“How about we go get our little girl?”

“What?” I asked, not sure what he was saying.

He smiled. “I happen to be tight with the foster parents. I talked with them this morning and let them know I was confident we would be getting Iris and to please have her ready. Mason is going to make the call to child services and get everything made official.”

Tears were flowing once again. I had never cried as much in my entire life as I had cried in the past month.

“I have to call Sally,” I choked out. “She’s been waiting to hear how it went.”

“Let’s go outside. You call Sally, and we’ll wait to make sure the paperwork is filed. The last thing I want is Janice slapping us with kidnapping charges.”

I rolled my eyes. “She would, too. Crazy bitch.”

Jake burst into laughter. “That’s exactly what I’ve thought about her as well. Hopefully we never have to deal with her again. I’m leaving everything else up to Mason. I want nothing to do with any of this stuff ever again.”

I nodded my head in agreement. “Me either.”

We walked outside into the bright sunshine that suddenly felt much brighter. We waited on one of the benches until Mason came out, waving a paper in his hand.

“Go get your little girl!”

I jumped up and down, clapping my hands, feeling like a crazy woman and not caring at all.

“Thanks, man. You’ll let me know what else we need to do to get the adoption moving along?” Jake asked, holding my hand in his.

I was bouncing, anxious to get in the car and go.

“I will.”

“I don’t care what it takes. Pay whoever you have to. I want this thing wrapped up fast,” Jake said, his voice deadly serious.

“Got it,” Mason said.

I pulled Jake away. When we were finally in the SUV, I reached over and put a hand on his.

“Two things,” I started. “One, thank you so much and I’m sorry I ever doubted you. Two, you look crazy fucking hot when you are bossy and throwing your money around.”

He laughed. “You’re welcome, and hold that thought. I can be very bossy, and I will cover you in money if that’s your thing. I will fuck you on a pile of money.”

I giggled and then got serious. “We’re parents now. We can’t talk like this in front of Iris.”

He nodded. “Got it, but the moment she goes to bed and our bedroom door closes, you better believe it’s on.”

“Sounds good to me.”

I sat back and let the man navigate through the streets. We were going to have to go shopping and get so much stuff. I was grinning so big, my cheeks hurt. My heart was overflowing with happiness I never thought I would experience after losing Tracy and then Iris.